Pokemon’s unused starter leaks have fans mourning the Mudkip that never was

Historic leaks from Gamefreak have uncovered an unused Generation 3 starter Pokemon that has fans wondering what could have been.

Pokemon developer Gamefreak is dealing with a major breach that has leaked information regarding the next generation of games in the franchise, Switch 2 details, and source code for classic Pokemon titles. Gamefreak responded to the leaks saying that the company would “strive to prevent recurrence by further strengthening security measures”.

Unfortunately for the developer, a great deal of damage has already been done. Multiple beta builds for older Pokemon games have been published as part of the leaks but fans of the franchise are stuck on a detail from Generation 3.

Based on information shared by trusted Pokemon leak reporter Centro LEAKS, it looks as if Pokemon players nearly got a very different Water starter in the Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald games.

Even casual Pokemon players should be able to recognize two of the little critters in the leaked concept art. While these early versions of Treeko and Torchic have some small variations from their final designs, they didn’t stray too far from their roots.

The Water-type starter is another story. Rather than the strange little fish-puppy that is Mudkip, we very nearly got an adorable little rabbit with its own in-built inner tube. It would have felt right at home on the beach of Slateport City.

Pokemon fans have loosely translated the Japanese name for this unused Water-type starter from the Pokemon leaks. In an alternate timeline, those of us who chose Mudkip would have instead ended up with Wallabit.

In no time at all, Pokemon trainers have adopted Wallabit as the unofficial darling of the fandom and speedily rushed out fan art of a more fully realized version of the mon.

A debate has also arisen over whether or not we are better off with Mudkip or if something truly special was lost when Wallabit fell to the cutting room floor.

“Why would Gamefreak keep this Pokemon from us!” one user on X lamented. “Big Mudkip fan, but I gotta say we were robbed. ‘Wallabit’ the innertube rabbit would be my favorite Pokemon bar none,” another replied.

Certain drafts of Pokemon intended for earlier Generations have crept into later games in the past. This means it’s possible some version of Wallabit may still grace a future Pokemon game.

Although, given some conceptual similarities to Buizel and Scorbunny, its spirit may already be present in the franchise.