New Pokémon Winds and Waves Leaks Push The Franchise Into New Territory

Ahead of the official reveal for Pokémon Winds and Waves, the Gen 10 games had experienced myriad leaks and rumors, including one that revealed the names of the games beforehand last year. This has become par for the course for Pokémon games; it feels like for as long as the series has existed, there have been leaks, whether that’s for new Pokémon designs or info regarding gimmicks and new regions.

And, as we’ve seen with Gen 10, once the games are revealed, the leaks don’t subside. In fact, it feels like there are more Winds and Waves leaks out there than ever before. As the official reveal showed, a lot of these leaks have come true, while at least a couple have been disproven by the game’s first trailer. Maybe this is why we’re suddenly being flooded with leaked designs of allegedly new Pokémon all over the place.

Dealing With Pokémon Leaks In A World Full Of AI

This problem is, Pokémon Winds and Waves are the first mainline games to be revealed after the big AI boom. Sure, there were clearly some AI (or at least faked) designs for recent games, but not like this. And while more than a few Winds and Waves leaks seem credible, most of them appear dubious.

Countless regional variants for Winds and Waves have shown up, and they reached a fever pitch on April Fools’ Day, when it felt like hundreds of accounts were sharing fake Pokémon. Some of these were admittedly pretty funny, not attempting to fake us out but to make us laugh. Others just highlighted the growing problem with fake leaks.

It’s increasingly difficult to tell what’s real online and what isn’t. Not just with Pokémon, but with everything from an AI video of Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt fighting to political propaganda and profile pics. It’s much easier to fake Pokémon designs now, using AI to make them look as if they were created in an official engine. As with everything else, it means fans have to be more vigilante (and skeptical) than ever before.

How Reliable Are The Latest Pokémon Winds and Waves Leaks?

Once upon a time, it was fairly easy to know who to trust and who to ignore. Quite a few leakers have still maintained reliability, perhaps none more so than Billbil_kun, who has 100% accuracy leaking monthly PlayStation Plus games in advance. Accounts like Riddler_Khu and CentroLeaks have built up reputations (and followings) in the Pokémon fandom.

But even the most popular leakers aren’t infallible, and if you’re looking for reliable Pokémon information, the best practice might just be to wait. Until it’s official, don’t believe anything. Yes, that takes the fun out of it, but we’re in a bit of new territory now with leaks for Pokémon Winds and Waves. When it’s this easy to fake stuff, just assume everything IS fake.