An Unannounced Scarlet & Violet Pokemon Has Been Hiding in Plain Sight for Weeks

A new Gen 9 Pokemon has been hidden in plain sight for weeks, and it’s only now on November 4, 2022, that it’s come to light thanks to a new Pokemon GO datamine. And the new Pokemon Scarlet and Violet ‘mon is both adorable and weird as hell at the same time.

Note: This article will discuss datamining and what is considered an “official” leak. So if you’re not into that and don’t want to be spoiled before the game releases on November 18, click away now.

An Accidental Pokemon S&V Leak Went Unseen For A Month

On October 6, 2022, The Pokemon Company released a 14-minute English trailer that went in-depth about what trainers can expect in the new Pokemon releases. It showed the open world, the Terastal mechanic, Gyms, and more. It also gave a look at the Camera App – alongside a new ‘mon by accident.

Around nine minutes in, the trailer featured a montage of players taking selfies in the game, and hidden behind some on-screen text boxes was an unannounced Pokemon. You can barely make it out, but it’s there.

Fast forward a month later to November 4, when popular Pokemon Go dataminers PokeMiners tweeted that a new Gen 9 Pokemon has been found in the mobile game’s files and showed its model.

Related: Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Type Effectiveness Chart – Strengths and Weaknesses

“A new Pokémon has been added with a file named “pmMystery” inside the file is it referred to as pm1080 so Pokémon Number 1080,” they wrote. “Only 3D assets were added, no 2D yet to see.”

If you go back to the Scarlet and Violet October 6 trailer, you can see that this is the same Pokemon that made an accidental appearance, confirming that this is indeed a new Pokemon in Gen 9.

As for details, we don’t know much so far, except it features a large gold coin on its back, which also matches up with what Pokemon leakers told fans a few months ago. We don’t know its name or typing, though it looks like it could be Bug.

You’ll just have to wait and see when S&V releases on November 18, exclusively on Nintendo Switch.

UPDATE, November 6: The Pokemon Company has officially revealed the mystery Gen 9 ‘mon as Gimmighoul, the Ghost-type Chest Pokemon. For more info, check out Two Worlds Collide: Pokemon GO and Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Are Crossing Over.