An internal Game Freak documentary focused on Pokemon Diamond and Pearl has appeared online, revealing a trove of scrapped Pokémon and early beta designs from the Nintendo DS development era.
The footage originates from a title identified as "Pokemon Diamond and Pearl: Behind the Scenes DVD – Make All," a documentary that chronicles roughly two years of development at Game Freak for the fourth-generation mainline entries on Nintendo DS.
According to the archived copy posted to the Internet Archive, the documentary was never officially released to the public.
The material includes concept art, early sprites and cut content that was not present in the retail releases.
Leak aggregator Centro Leaks compiled and published many of the images and screenshots from the footage, making the various beta designs easier to review.
Journalistic summary of the footage: the documentary shows numerous unused and alternate concepts, including what appears to be a Delibird evolution, an alternate yellow Shellos, an early Arceus concept, and preliminary designs for the three Gen IV starter lines (Turtwig, Piplup and Chimchar).
The footage also includes several water-starter concepts, beta iterations of Dialga and Palkia, and other unused Pokémon art that did not make the final games.
The documentary is presented entirely in Japanese and, as of publication, there is no official English version of the DVD.
In 2019, separate leaks of Diamond and Pearl beta sprites were already documented online, making this the latest example of archival material revealing the titles’ development history.
Context within Pokemon history: Pokemon Diamond and Pearl were developed by Game Freak and released on Nintendo DS, marking the beginning of the Sinnoh region in the main series.
Gen IV introduced features such as the Nintendo Wi‑Fi Connection implementations for trading and battling, and the generation’s games were later remade by ILCA as Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl for Nintendo Switch in 2021.
For researchers and fans interested in development history, the documentary offers a rare, primary-source glimpse into Game Freak’s design process during the Nintendo DS era.
The Internet Archive copy provides direct access to the footage, and the Centro Leaks compilation serves as a convenient catalog of the uncovered beta designs.
The footage originates from a title identified as "Pokemon Diamond and Pearl: Behind the Scenes DVD – Make All," a documentary that chronicles roughly two years of development at Game Freak for the fourth-generation mainline entries on Nintendo DS.
According to the archived copy posted to the Internet Archive, the documentary was never officially released to the public.
The material includes concept art, early sprites and cut content that was not present in the retail releases.
Leak aggregator Centro Leaks compiled and published many of the images and screenshots from the footage, making the various beta designs easier to review.
Journalistic summary of the footage: the documentary shows numerous unused and alternate concepts, including what appears to be a Delibird evolution, an alternate yellow Shellos, an early Arceus concept, and preliminary designs for the three Gen IV starter lines (Turtwig, Piplup and Chimchar).
The footage also includes several water-starter concepts, beta iterations of Dialga and Palkia, and other unused Pokémon art that did not make the final games.
The documentary is presented entirely in Japanese and, as of publication, there is no official English version of the DVD.
In 2019, separate leaks of Diamond and Pearl beta sprites were already documented online, making this the latest example of archival material revealing the titles’ development history.
Context within Pokemon history: Pokemon Diamond and Pearl were developed by Game Freak and released on Nintendo DS, marking the beginning of the Sinnoh region in the main series.
Gen IV introduced features such as the Nintendo Wi‑Fi Connection implementations for trading and battling, and the generation’s games were later remade by ILCA as Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl for Nintendo Switch in 2021.
For researchers and fans interested in development history, the documentary offers a rare, primary-source glimpse into Game Freak’s design process during the Nintendo DS era.
The Internet Archive copy provides direct access to the footage, and the Centro Leaks compilation serves as a convenient catalog of the uncovered beta designs.
