Pokemon Gen 10 Leaks Are a Controversy Waiting to Happen

Pokemon Legends: Z-A is slated to launch on October 16, and it will be the only big release for the franchise this year, not counting updates to existing games or the recent Switch 2 upgrade for Gen 9 games, but a lot of fans are eagerly waiting for Pokemon Gen 10 news. Nothing is officially known about Gen 10, but there have been several rumors circling about Greece as a setting made of multiple islands, with a different take on gyms, critters with divine powers, and more. Recently, new Pokemon Gen 10 starter rumors surfaced on 4chan, including more details about the alleged features of the next generation of games, and one of them could be quite controversial if true.

Considering that the leaks about a Greece-inspired region, the divine-powered Pokemon, and the names of the games being based on water and wind all come from the so-called TeraLeak, there’s a fairly high chance that they are true. The new leaks on 4chan are built on the information included in the original documents, which can be seen either as a sign of credibility or that it’s fan fiction. However, several things line up, and there were legitimate Pokemon leaks on 4chan in the past. Regardless, it’s safe to take these leaks with a massive grain of salt, even if one is outraged at the idea of having another Meowth form.

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Pokemon Gen 10 4chan Leaks Could Rekindle an Age-Long Debate

Among the various leaks included in the 4chan post is a worrying line that reads “Electric Meowth” when it comes to the Pokemon that will allegedly be available in the first area of the game. The post includes leaks for Pokemon Gen 10’s starters, too, with a wooden horse for Grass being potentially credible given the infamous Trojan Horse from Greek Mythology. Between the various elements that match the documents from the TeraLeak and some new statements that could seem credible, the possibility of yet another regional form for Meowth looms large.

Pokemon‘s Galarian Meowth and Alolan Meowth are two regional forms for this critter that got released back-to-back, with Gen 8 also featuring GMax Meowth for yet another version of the famous talking cat. However, not all fans were happy with Meowth getting so much love over other critters, and it was quite controversial already when Gen 8 games came out.

As such, the fact that there could be an Electric Meowth in Pokemon Gen 10 games is concerning, at the very least. The existing versions of Meowth are:

Kantonian Meowth (Normal), evolves into Persian (Normal)
Alolan Meowth (Dark), evolves into Alolan Persian (Dark)
Galarian Meowth (Steel), evolves into Perrserker (Steel)
GMax Meowth (Normal), and it’s the only Pokemon to be able to use GMax Gold Rush

It’s worth noting that the alleged leak is vague, and “Electric Meowth” could be a way for the user to say that there’s a Pokemon similar to Meowth or simply a cat Pokemon with the Electric type.

Why Pokemon Gen 10 Leaks on 4Chan May Be Wrong

It’s no secret that Pokemon games play favorites, with Charizard being a clear example given its two Mega Evolutions, a GMax form, and constant representation in all games. Some critters are mascots or simply more popular than others, so it makes sense to give them extra love, such as Pikachu or the various starters, but Meowth is a strange case since it’s not among the most popular critters in the series. It is very recognizable thanks to its status in the anime up until Gen 9, but now that this is not a thing any longer, it does feel strange that it would get a third regional form and a fourth form overall in Gen 10.

A Gen 10 regional form for Meowth would be its third form in four games since regional forms’ debut.

One could argue that a new regional Meowth form in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet would have made perfect sense as a tie-in with Gimmighoul and Gholdengo’s coins, so if it didn’t happen then, it would feel strange to see one in Gen 10. Between some fans being unhappy about the special treatment Meowth got over the past few years, the fact that there is no prominence of cats associated with Zeus in Greek mythology, and the leak including bizarre information like cross-breeding, it seems unlikely that this is true. However, if it ends up being accurate, a third regional variant of Meowth is likely to spark another controversy about favoritism in Pokemon games.