Prerelease:Pokémon X and Y
This page details pre-release information and/or media for Pokémon X and Y.
 | To do: Backlog:
|
Pokemon X & Y had a rather long development period, beginning before the Nintendo 3DS was released until its initial revelation in 2013. Even so, the games were still being worked on throughout 2013, made evident by several minor changes made between the builds seen in early footage and screenshots and the final release.
It became a massive success upon launch, becoming one of the best-selling games for the Nintendo 3DS.
Contents
Development Timeline
2010
- Around May - Development for the game starts, around the late development of Black and White.[1]
2013
- Jan 8 - The games were fully unveiled.
2013
January
Pokémon Direct January 2013 announcement
This teaser trailer was first shown in a special Nintendo Direct announcement on January 8th 2013.
General differences include:
- The male protagonist's room is not as blue as the final game.
- Several places have different textures and some of the camera angles are different. Most notably, Route 3 isn't in a face-down view and Lumiose City is textured differently.
- The target Pokémon spins around more when being hit by Aerial Ace.
- There is a different NPC standing next to the statues in Anistar City's Gym.
- Malva is not present in the Blazing Chamber. This was likely done to prevent spoilers.
- At around 0:20 a minor glitch occurs where the player's sunglasses remain static in place while the player is swinging.
May
Early Menu Screen
On May 14th 2013, several screenshots were released, several of which depicting an earlier version of the Pokémon menu screen. Differences include:
- Froakie appears to be twice as tall as it is in the final version. The same is seen to be true for the other starters in other screenshots, so it's likely that Pokémon appeared to be a fixed height in the menu rather than scaled to display their height.
- The Pokémon is holding a "???" item. No such item appears in the final, so this could be early "No Item" text.
- The "A" in the type icons is more square than it is in the final.
June
E3 2013
Fairy Wind Gardevoir
During the E3 trailer shown at E3 2013, a Gardevoir was shown using the move Fairy Wind. In the final game, neither Gardevoir nor its pre-evolutions can learn this move by any means.
Incorrect Colors
Some pieces of footage at the E3 Developer Roundtable at E3 2013 is greatly miscolored[2]. Coincidentally, Skrelp and Gogoat resemble their shiny counterparts, but Skrelp doesn't show the shiny animation as it enters the battle. The Sludge Bomb animation and the Battlefield are also noticeably blue in this footage.
| Incorrect color | Shiny Gogoat |
|---|---|
 |
 |
| Incorrect color | Shiny Skrelp |
|---|---|
 |
 |
| Incorrect color | Final |
|---|---|
 |
400px |
August
Another piece of gameplay footage is shown with incorrect colors, this time of a night sky battle[3][4]. Haunter has a yellow-greeny tongue and the animation for Night Shade is purpler.
| Incorrect color | Final |
|---|---|
 |
 |
September
Early Move Animations
Oblivion Wing
In an early screenshot shown on the official Pokémon X and Y website, Oblivion Wing is shown to be lacking the background color change and detailing to the beam seen in the final release.
| Early Version | Final Version |
|---|---|
 |
 |
Focus Blast
| To do: Find captures of the final versions for comparison. |
In a trailer showcasing Mega Mewtwo Y, the Pokémon uses Focus Blast. The background appears red, while in the final game, the background is blue.
