Word of mouth
In the real world, rumors are rarely a good thing. Whenever one begins to circulate, people either tend to get upset, overly hyped, or disappointed. The same applies to video game rumors--when unconfirmed information about a game starts to spread, diehard fans cry foul at the changes, new fans get excited at the ideas, and everyone ends up hurt at one point or another. Youd think wed learn after a while, but even I fall victim to supposed juicy leaks about my favorite franchises.
In the months leading up to Pokmon X and Y's worldwide release, a number of "leaks" and "tips" began to appear online. Some came from forums, others from anonymous tips, and many were included in the 4chan posts of the mysterious "Mr. XY," who claimed to have insider information. Plenty of people dismissed these supposed factual leaks as lies, but they kept coming, and the Internet kept listening. So how close to the final product was this insider information? Ive rounded up the most notable rumors and theories so you can see for yourself.
Baby Heracross and Pinsir are going to be a thing.
Mr. XY began by claiming the proof of his legitimacy was going to be a trailer that would debut in March showing off baby evolutions of Heracross and Pinsir. They were to be called Chryscross and Buggler, but of course, the trailer never aired. Still, baby Heracross could have been pretty cute.
You cant customize your trainer
It was said that the player-controlled male and female trainers were to be called Jean and Jane. What got everyone upset wasnt their names, but the fact that Mr. XY claimed their appearances werent going to be customizable like the original trailer implied. And honestly, Im glad this one turned out to be false. Who doesnt love personalizing their trainers clothes and hairdo?
Trainers will level up independently of their Pokmon
The original leak claimed that trainers could gain experience along with their Pokmon, leveling up in the process. The little fighting monsters cant get all the glory, right? According to the rumor, a higher trainer level would mean different interactions with NPCs.
Trainers receive bonuses depending on their level
Besides affecting NPCs dialogue, a trainers level would also influence their Pokmon capture rate and the rarity of Pokmon encountered in the wild. While Pokmon NPCs are notoriously useless when it comes to their interactions with the player, the idea of trainer levels influencing Pokmon themselves sounded pretty promising.
Your character would be featured on the bottom screen during battles
This is kind of a neat idea, and it would have added personal investment into battles. If I could see my trainers avatar complete with speech bubble commands acting as the moves my Pokmon execute, I would have felt that much closer to my battling buddies.
Breeding now affects a Pokmons aesthetic
In what would have been a fun idea, one rumor claimed that certain Pokmon, when bred with different species, would result in offspring that featured different coats or patterns on their bodies. For instance, it was theorized that certain Pokmon could be bred sporting Pikachus famous red cheeks.
An in-game item called the Whistle can be used once per battle
Heres an interesting battle component that would have been surely banned from competitive play. The Whistle was supposed to be a last resort key item that could do various things like wake up a sleeping Pokmon or snap them out of confusion. It would have made the Elite Four a lot simpler, thats for sure.
A pair of sunglasses called the Bond-EYE grants magical powers
I really wish this one ended up happening. The rumor was that trainers could wear these glasses to see a Pokmons nature and capture rate in the wild. No more wasting Pok Balls on useless Ditto!
The Bond-EYE can also be used for online interaction in-game
These glasses would have also allowed players to see visual avatars of other players in the overworld and send them messages or trade and battle requests. This online feature would have been the first of its kind on the 3DS.
