Pokémon Diamond and Pearl introduced 107 new Pokémon, but several of them were concepts first seen in a Pokémon Gold and Silver beta. With over 900 Pokémon as of Legends: Arceus, it makes sense that unused ideas for Pokémon aren’t just discarded, but are held onto until a later date. Normally, fans would be unaware of any shelved designs that were later reused. That is unless a beta with scrapped designs is unveiled to the fandom, as was the case with Gen 2.
In 2018, the 1997 Spaceworld beta for Pokémon Gold and Silver was leaked after being hunted down by fans for years. When combing through this beta, fans discovered a bunch of never-before-seen Pokémon designs, as well as a very early draft of the Johto region's map. The game also looked a lot more like Red and Blue, likely predating the move to the Game Boy Color. Overall, it has a surprisingly small amount in common with the final release.
Most interestingly, some of the concepts that were found in this beta have been revisited in subsequent generations, specifically Gen 4. Pokémon Diamond and Pearl introduced Leafeon, Mime Jr., Tangrowth, and Lickilicky - all of which are related to older Pokémon. This was not the first time these concepts were explored, as evolutions of Tangela, Lickitung, and specifically, a Grass-type evolution of Eevee were included in this Gen 2 beta, as was a pre-evolution of Mr. Mime. Some unused Pokémon designs could even still appear in future games.
Pokémon Diamond & Pearl Reused More Than Just Pokémon Designs
What makes less sense is that this logic of recycling scrapped ideas may also be true for map designs. A big city that has an entrance at the lower right and is split in half by water is eerily similar to Sinnoh’s Canalave City. Even if the location of the Gym, Pokémon Center, and Poké Mart have been shuffled around, the rough placement of the buildings is also close to Canalave City’s design. One of the beta maps also features a strong resemblance to Snowpoint City, with similarly spread buildings and a cave entrance to the north that could be a precursor to Snowpoint Temple. The fact that it's covered in snow is another easy comparison point.
In addition to the leak of Diamond and Pearl's own beta sprites, the process behind their development involves another entry in the series. Gen 4's first games also pulled from the Ruby and Sapphire beta. Shellos and Gastrodon have sprites in the Gen 3 games, with slightly different designs than their two official forms. They were clearly intended to be Gen 3 Pokémon Why they were cut from Gen 3 is unknown, but they were slightly reworked and added to the Sinnoh Pokédex just four years later, with an added form gimmick. The blatant reuse of so much previous content makes the Gen 4 games feel like the culmination of everything that came before them.
Even 22 years after the date of the leaked Pokémon Gold and Silver beta, Farfetch’d was given a much-needed evolution in Sirfetch’d. Although the design was radically different from the one from the beta, revisiting the concept shows that not all ideas get permanently abandoned. Pokémon Scarlet & Violet’s Bellibolt may be another revisited design, and there may be countless more that fans would have no knowledge of. In of reusing beta designs though, Pokémon Diamond & Pearl still reign supreme.
