YouTuber Dr. Lava has been documenting cut content from Nintendo games for years on his website and YouTube channel. More recently, his Twitter account has become a treasure trove of creatures cut from Pokémon games. Every day, Dr. Lava posts a tweet with his Lost Pokémon of the Day. He’s been doing this since at least November of 2019, and in the past few months, these tweets have exploded in the Pokémon fandom, garnering close to 2,000 retweets on each instalment.
Most of this information isn’t new, but Dr. Lava’s work appeals to my Virgo arse because of how clean and organised it is. Not only does Lava include sources and quotes, he also compiles illustrations from leaks and promotional images. When those aren’t available, Lava has other artists provide speculative drawings and sprite work.
Lost Pokemon of the Day: Beta Wartortle Evolution
First revealed when Gen 1 beta assets leaked in February 2019, this Pokemon was the original evolution of Wartortle — in Gen 1’s beta, Blastoise was unrelated.
(Photo descriptions & more info continued in thread below) (1/4) pic.twitter.com/Yq92Lq0spw
— Dr. Lava’s Lost Pokemon (@DrLavaYT) November 30, 2019
This means that by keeping an eye on Dr. Lava’s Twitter feed, you’ll get a daily dose of obscure Pokémon knowledge to impress your friends with. Sometimes the Pokémon that Lava features are well and truly lost, like Crocky, an incredibly disturbing monster that I can only assume has taken its rightful place as king of hell.
Lost Pokemon of the Day: Crocky
First officially revealed by Game Freak in 2018, Crocky is one of the series’ oldest lost Pokemon — he was created in the early 90’s but discarded before the release of Gen 1.
(Photo descriptions & more info continued in thread below) (1/3) pic.twitter.com/ktOlvO1KcN
— Dr. Lava’s Lost Pokemon (@DrLavaYT) December 7, 2019
Other times, they’re depictions of eventual evolutions that weren’t final yet, like this version of Squirtle’s third evolution:
Lost Pokemon of the Day: Beta Wartortle Evolution
First revealed when Gen 1 beta assets leaked in February 2019, this Pokemon was the original evolution of Wartortle — in Gen 1’s beta, Blastoise was unrelated.
(Photo descriptions & more info continued in thread below) (1/4) pic.twitter.com/Yq92Lq0spw
— Dr. Lava’s Lost Pokemon (@DrLavaYT) November 30, 2019
Or this scrapped Farfetch’d evolution, Madame:
Lost Pokemon of the Day: Madame
22 years before Sirfetch’d, there was Madame. Gold & Silver’s 1997 demo contained many Pokemon that were later scrapped — including Madame, who evolved from Farfetch’d at level 24.
(Photo descriptions & more info continued in thread below) (1/4) pic.twitter.com/LgWfJroASI
— Dr. Lava’s Lost Pokemon (@DrLavaYT) December 18, 2019
Video games change a lot during development, and Pokémon is no exception. While I’m pretty attached to these creatures as they are, it’s also neat to see what could have been. Especially Madame. Can we get that as a regional evolution in a future game, Game Freak?
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