A Pokémon Godata miner leaked a Pokémon Scarlet and Violet creature ahead of the games’ release on Nov. 18.
Pokémon Go got a new update on Friday, according to data miner PokeMiners. Within those files, they found a cute little bug Pokémon that should look familiar to people who’ve kept up with the drip feed of unannounced ’mon; this little guy with antennae and a little coin on its back appeared briefly in a Pokémon Scarlet and Violet trailer from October. The Pokémon shows up in one of the trainer selfies in the middle of the 14-minute video, obscured by the camera’s interface.
Looking at the October trailer, it’s clear that these are the same Pokémon: You can see its bouncy antennae, round (and yet somehow still flat) purple head, and a quick glimpse of the coin on its back. PokeMiners said that the angry little dude is listed in a file called “pmMystery” as Pokémon No. 1,080. Pokémon Go only has 3D assets for the new Pokémon, PokeMiners said.
Beyond the adorable, short clip of the new Pokémon’s angry face, data miners also uploaded image files of it doing the classic T-pose. The assets also give us a clear look at the Pokémon’s golden coin, which, actually, was already added in an early, Oct. 31 Pokémon Go update. It’s unclear if the coin could be used for anything other than this Pokémon’s back bling.
Oh wow. It’s hard to make out, but this was visible in a recent Pokémon Scarlet & Violet trailer. It was likely left in the trailer by accident. pic.twitter.com/DJeKoYSsto
— PLDH (@PLDHnet) November 4, 2022
This creature has been dubbed the Coin Pokémon by eager Scarlet and Violet fans; prominent Pokémon leakers Riddler Khu and Centro Leaks first mentioned the Coin Pokémon months ago. Per Riddler Khu, this Pokémon will be hard to catch, like Spiritomb in Pokémon Legends: Arceus; to get Spiritomb, players have to catch more than 100 glowing wisps at night, scattered all around the world.
Needless to say, Pokémon fans are eager to see anything new from Scarlet and Violet just two weeks ahead of its Nov. 18 release date. There’s already been a number of fake Pokémon leaks over the past few weeks, so the community is excited to see something real for a change.
Polygon has reached out to The Pokémon Company for more information.
Update: This story has been updated to add new information.