History WhatCouldHaveBeen / Pokemon

* Here's one to consider in light of that 18-month report: ''Videogame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'' was originally scheduled for release in Late 1997, but was delayed to be adapted for the UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor. The first episode of the Anime aired on 1 April 1997:

* ''VideoGame/PokemonSnap'' originally began as a simulation game on the 64 DD simply called ''Jack & The Beanstalk'', but it was unknown what kind of simulation it would have been. The developers later reduced it to only a photography game, made it on-rails so photography was the only interactive focus, and finally, re-tooled an otherwise generic photography game by adding Pokémon before finally moving it to the UsefulNotes/Nintendo64 after the DD failed.

* ''VideoGame/PokemonSnap'' originally began as a simulation game on the 64 DD simply called ''Jack & The Beanstalk'', but it was unknown what kind of simulation it would have been. The developers later reduced it to only a photography game, made it on-rails so photography was the only interactive focus, and finally, re-tooled an otherwise generic photography game by adding Pokémon before finally moving it to the UsefulNotes/Nintendo64 after the DD failed. The game also featured a desert stage, and a dummied out tune that had a haunted feel to it. Ekans was also featured as a 64th Pokémon.

** Supposedly ''XY'' was going to have a very different (and rather crazy) plot, with a space theme, before it was decided to rework it into a more traditional plot. Team Flare was originally a [[TheMenInBlack MiB-like group]] made up of ancient aliens posing as humans that were plotting to destroy the planet with their Ultimate Weapon. They would have been opposed by a separate group of benevolent moon aliens led by Diantha that used Fairy-type Pokémon -- in fact, Fairy Pokémon would have come from the moon, tying into the old Clefairy lore. [[NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer Seriously.]] Mega Stones would have been formed from pieces of a spaceship previously flown by AZ, who would have been a renegade Flare member, and his Floette would have been the UW's key. Xerneas and Yveltal would have been living weapons, rather than batteries for the UW. Alexa would have been an IntrepidReporter investigating Team Flare's conspiracy. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Oh, and each Gym Leader would have had a sport theme of their own.]] A number of remnants of this can be seen in the final game[[note]]such as Team Flare's name and attire, Xerosic's chalk white skin, the uncanny appearance of Fairy Tale Girls, Valerie's alien-like appearance, Diantha's SignatureMon being Fairy-type, the Ultimate Weapon having the shape of AZ's Floette's flower and being connected to the monoliths in Geosence Town and Route 10 (said monoliths are based on Stonehenge, which has been historically speculated to be related to aliens), the Anistar Sundial coming from space, Olympia's space theme (who would have played a bigger role), or Grant and Korrina having sport themes[[/note]], and even ''Pokémon Adventures''.[[note]]Early XY chapters had a bit of a conspiracy theme involving Team Flare, with Alexa trying to uncover their secrets and intentions. Team Flare was also treated as a more powerful yet shady organization that secretly controlled Lumiose City, and was originally introduced in a [=MiB=]-esque fashion, with its agents mysteriously showing up in places where Xerneas and Yveltal were spotted.[[/note]] Some planned concepts and ideas even made their way into later games, like Pokémon rides replacing old features likes [=HMs=].

** Sawk and Throh originally had horns like an {{oni}}'s.

** Supposedly XY was going to have a very different (and rather crazy) plot, with a space theme, before it was decided to rework it into a more traditional plot. Team Flare was originally a [[TheMenInBlack MiB-like group]] made up of ancient aliens posing as humans that were plotting to destroy the planet with their Ultimate Weapon. They would have been opposed by a separate group of benevolent moon aliens led by Diantha that used Fairy-type Pokémon -- in fact, Fairy Pokémon would have come from the moon, tying into the old Clefairy lore. [[NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer Seriously.]] Mega Stones would have been formed from pieces of a spaceship previously flown by AZ, who would have been a renegade Flare member, and his Floette would have been the UW's key. Xerneas and Yveltal would have been living weapons, rather than batteries for the UW. Alexa would have been an IntrepidReporter investigating Team Flare's conspiracy. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Oh, and each Gym Leader would have had a sport theme of their own.]] A number of remnants of this can be seen in the final game[[note]]such as Team Flare's name and attire, Xerosic's chalk white skin, the uncanny appearance of Fairy Tale Girls, Valerie's alien-like appearance, Diantha's SignatureMon being Fairy-type, the Ultimate Weapon having the shape of AZ's Floette's flower and being connected to the monoliths in Geosence Town and Route 10 (said monoliths are based on Stonehenge, which has been historically speculated to be related to aliens), the Anistar Sundial coming from space, Olympia's space theme (who would have played a bigger role), or Grant and Korrina having sport themes[[/note]], and even ''Pokémon Adventures''.[[note]]Early XY chapters had a bit of a conspiracy theme involving Team Flare, with Alexa trying to uncover their secrets and intentions. Team Flare was also treated as a more powerful yet shady organization that secretly controlled Lumiose City, and was originally introduced in a [=MiB=]-esque fashion, with its agents mysteriously showing up in places where Xerneas and Yveltal were spotted.[[/note]] Some planned concepts and ideas even made their way into later games, like Pokémon rides replacing old features likes [=HMs=].

** The [[http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4pmwla very first trailer]] for the movie ''[[Anime/PokemonTheFirstMovie Mewtwo Strikes Back!]]'' in Japan is completely made out of scenes that didn't make it to the final product; the supposed grown-up Misty segment, in particular, is a huge source of speculation and discussion within the fandom, specially by taking account the movie would be the GrandFinale for the anime.[[note]]In mid-2019, WordOfGod points out that it isn't a grown-up Misty and the pink haired girl is nothing more than a random character.[[/note]] Creator/TakeshiShudo, in a [[https://www.reddit.com/r/pokemon/comments/5d496d/new_translation_of_takeshi_shudos_idea_for_final/ blog entry]], explained his concept of a series finale that may have been related: in this ending, elderly Ash would remember that Pokémon never really existed, and his entire adventure had been AllJustADream; he'd then wake up as a child again, wanting to travel on his own. There has been speculation that the woman that looks like a grown-up Misty ''is'' her and the girl is her daughter in that trailer. However, WordOfGod points out that it isn't a grown-up Misty and the pink haired girl is nothing more than a random character.

** Dean Israelite, Creator/RobertRodriguez, and Tim Miller were offered to direct the movie. Rodriguez declined due to his filming commitments to ''Film/AlitaBattleAngel'', while Miller turned down directorial duties in favor of ''Film/TerminatorDarkFate'' and executive producing ''[[Film/SonicTheHedgehog2020 Sonic the Hedgehog]]'', both of which were being produced at Creator/{{Paramount}}. Other candidates for director included Shane Acker (''WesternAnimation/{{Nine}}''), Chris Wedge of Creator/BlueSkyStudios, and Mark A.Z. Dippé (''Film/{{Spawn|1997}}'').

** Treeko's concept art resembles a more realistic (albeit bipedal) gecko.

** The [[http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4pmwla very first trailer]] for the movie ''[[Anime/PokemonTheFirstMovie Mewtwo Strikes Back!]]'' in Japan is completely made out of scenes that didn't make it to the final product; the supposed grown-up Misty segment, in particular, is a huge source of speculation and discussion within the fandom, specially by taking account the movie would be the GrandFinale for the anime.[[note]]In mid-2019, WordOfGod points out that it isn't a grown-up Misty and the pink haired girl is nothing more than a random character.[[/note]] Creator/TakeshiShudo, in a [[https://www.reddit.com/r/pokemon/comments/5d496d/new_translation_of_takeshi_shudos_idea_for_final/ blog entry]], explained his concept of a series finale that may have been related: in this ending, elderly Ash would remember that Pokémon never really existed, and his entire adventure had been AllJustADream; he'd then wake up as a child again, wanting to travel on his own. There has been speculation that the woman that looks like a grown-up Misty and the girl is her daughter in that trailer. However, WordOfGod points out that it isn't a grown-up Misty and the pink haired girl is nothing more than a random character.

** The [[http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4pmwla very first trailer]] for the movie ''[[Anime/PokemonTheFirstMovie Mewtwo Strikes Back!]]'' in Japan is completely made out of scenes that didn't make it to the final product; the grown-up Misty segment, in particular, is a huge source of speculation and discussion within the fandom, specially by taking account the movie would be the GrandFinale for the anime. Creator/TakeshiShudo, in a [[https://www.reddit.com/r/pokemon/comments/5d496d/new_translation_of_takeshi_shudos_idea_for_final/ blog entry]], explained his concept of a series finale that may have been related: in this ending, elderly Ash would remember that Pokémon never really existed, and his entire adventure had been AllJustADream; he'd then wake up as a child again, wanting to travel on his own. The adult Misty scene from the trailer may have been part of this, with Pikachu only existing in the girl's imagination. It's speculated that the woman and the girl are characters from the CutSong featured in the trailer.

* [[https://twitter.com/Ringo1748607337/status/1532490022112448524 An interview with Tomioka]] revealed two changes from the initial plan of the later ''Journeys'' series, the first being that Paul's return was not originally planned but added in to expand on what was originally a Oak Lab training episode and show off Paul's growth since we last saw him. The second is that originally, non-Ash Master Eight battles were going to be underfocused on to focus more on Ash's unpredictable battle style over their more focused ones, but the producers quickly told Tomioka doing that would be a waste.

* Team Plasma was supposed to make their debut appearances in Castelia City during ''Best Wishes'', but their episodes were indefinitely postponed after the 2011 earthquake/tsunami/nuclear meltdown disaster, as the episodes featured Castelia City being threatened with destruction by nuclear-esque energy. This plus the ''Black 2/White 2'' games utilizing a different incarnation of Team Plasma led to the originally intended arc for Team Plasma in the anime being scrapped altogether. The episode's scripts later surfaced and can be viewed [[https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Gf5pNds4Zx5nKorEbvm7CDkSJDY-MX4k here.]]

* Team Plasma was supposed to make their debut appearances in Castelia City during ''Best Wishes'', but their episodes were indefinitely postponed after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster, as the episodes featured Castelia City being destroyed. This plus the ''Black 2/White 2'' games utilizing a different incarnation of Team Plasma led to the originally intended arc for Team Plasma in the anime being scrapped altogether. The episode's scripts later surfaced and can be viewed [[https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Gf5pNds4Zx5nKorEbvm7CDkSJDY-MX4k here.]]

* Team Plasma was supposed to make their debut appearances in Castelia City during ''Best Wishes'', but their episodes were indefinitely postponed after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster, as the episodes featured Castelia City being destroyed. This plus the ''Black 2/White 2'' games utilizing a different incarnation of Team Plasma led to the originally intended arc for Team Plasma in the anime being scrapped altogether.

** Concept art shows that the Shadow Triad had different designs and more individual designs. They wore slightly different costumes and had different hair cuts. One had medium-length PeekABangs over his right eye and the other two had longer hair in different styles from each other. In the final game, all three are identical and have the same long hair.

* Ash's name was originally "Casey" in the English dub. Ironically, another character — a girl — would later end up with that name in Johto.

* WordOfGod is that the reason ''Anime/PokemonGenesectAndTheLegendAwakened'' used a new Mewtwo was that Shudo owned the rights to the original one. Indeed, the movie feels like it was initially written with the original Mewtwo in mind, with the new one being given an extremely similar backstory (one of the factors that contributed to its status as a ReplacementScrappy), and acting in a manner that would have made more sense for the other Mewtwo at various points. It also explains why this Mewtwo's demeanor toward humans is inconsistent and suffers from some rushed character development.

** ''Spell of the Unown'' was [[http://dogasu.bulbagarden.net/movies/pm_lord_unknown_tower_entei/lord_unknown_tower_entei_mythical_third_movie.html originally set to address the question of "What happened to real-world animals in the Pokémon universe?"]], and instead of Entei and the Unown (''Gold and Silver'' had been delayed at this point of development and they were unsure about doing another movie debut Pokémon), the focal point would be the reanimated fossils of a 'Tyrannosaurus rex''.

* Also, [[http://bulbanews.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Masaaki_Iwane:_Pokémon_anime_originally_slated_for_18-month_run the anime was originally just supposed to last through Kanto]], with an assumed ending of Ash defeating Gary and winning the Pokémon League, before being replaced by a new main character. This idea would finally get revisited 25 years later in [[spoiler:''Journeys'', with the Masters 8 Tournament and Leon replacing the Pokemon League and Gary respectively, with Ash ultimately winning.]]

** A prototype leaked on June 26th, 2020 reveals that some Pokemon had completely different designs from their finished counterparts; Notable changes being that the Gible line was originally supposed to be [[https://assets.vg247.com/current/2020/07/garchomp.png red, with Gible and Gabite standing on four legs]], Togekiss [[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ed25vSrX0AEDsBM?format=png looked more menacing and resembled a jet plane]], Rampardos [[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ed0OaXGXoAEKbFT?format=png had a more feral design with a different color scheme]], and Giratina looking ''nothing'' like its final design apart from having six legs, instead being a [[https://assets.vg247.com/current/2020/07/kimairan.png strange orange creature with a blonde tail and crest, alongside three gems lining its body]], bearing the name of "Kimairan". Additionally, Rotom was originally [[https://assets.vg247.com/current/2020/07/rotom.png a blue, spark-like being]] and Arceus originally had [[https://assets.vg247.com/current/2020/07/arceus-1152x648.png a more amorphous and shadowy design]], though it's possible these were simply placeholder designs.

** N's original design was more intimidating and less androgynous.
** Ghetsis' original design had short black hair. He was older looking, shorter, and more resembled a priest.

** Concept art shows that the Shadow Triad had different designs and more individual designs. They wore slightly different costumes and had different hair cuts. One had medium-length PeekABangs over his right eye and the other two had longer hair in different styles from each other. In the final game, all three are identical and have the same long hair.

* Also, [[http://bulbanews.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Masaaki_Iwane:_Pokémon_anime_originally_slated_for_18-month_run the anime was originally just supposed to last through Kanto]], with an assumed ending of Ash defeating Gary and winning the Pokémon League.