A private internal documentary from Game Freak detailing the development of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl has surfaced online, exposing more than 100 early and scrapped lost pokemon designs that remained hidden for nearly twenty years.

Quick Facts

  • Documentary Title: Pokémon Diamond and Pearl: Behind the Scenes DVD MAKE ALL
  • Development Period Covered: Two-year development starting January 20, 2004
  • Discovery Method: Sold on Mercari in February 2026 for ¥82,000 (roughly $500), then obtained by collector Neos and archived by Lewtwo on July 22, 2026
  • Key Findings: Over 100 abandoned Pokémon designs, early environments, and original Japanese commercials

How the Lost Pokémon Documentary Surfaced

For nearly twenty years, the only public record of the documentary's existence was a 2007 blog post written by Diamond and Pearl director Junichi Masuda, noting that Game Freak employees watched the video together during a Pokémon Day celebration. A copy of the DVD appeared on the Japanese marketplace Mercari in February 2026, selling for ¥82,000. Pokémon collector Neos later secured another copy from a separate source in June, allowing a group of archivists led by Pokémon historian Lewtwo to preserve and publicly share its contents on July 22.

The internal production followed the team's two-year development cycle starting on January 20, 2004, capturing everything from the creation of Sinnoh's mythology to the technical hurdles of building the series' first environments in 3D graphics.

Scrapped Designs and Abandoned Concepts

One section of the footage features dozens of design sheets scattered across Game Freak office floors. Due to the low-resolution nature of the recording and overlapping papers, Lewtwo and other researchers conducted a frame-by-frame analysis—adjusting contrast and combining shots—to reconstruct the lost pokemon diamond and pearl designs.

Several sketches show early iterations of familiar Sinnoh creatures. Turtwig started as a Grass-type armadillo, Infernape was originally a heavy-set baboon bearing a flaming tail, and Piplup once wore a literal crown alongside a full parka. Purugly also looked closer to Glameow while keeping the coiled tail that eventually became its collar.

Other concepts were abandoned entirely. The documentary highlights a planned Lapras pre-evolution, a Delibird evolution, a Stantler pre-evolution, a potential third evolution for Swellow, and shared baby forms for Plusle and Minun. Completely original concepts included a two-stage sandcastle family, a saber-toothed jackal featuring icicle fangs, a constantly sleeping bear named Yasuraguma, and a rocky Pokémon styled after a train. Some of these ideas appear to have laid the groundwork for creatures in later generations, such as Sandygast and Chien-Pao.

Alongside the character art, the preserved DVD preserves early gameplay footage, internal development clips, original Japanese commercials, and segments detailing the creation of online features and the Underground.