Pokémon Winds & Waves Leaked Starter Evolutions Feature Some Wild Designs

Published Oct 5, 2026, 7:30 AM EDT

James is a gaming writer from London who has spent thousands of hours exploring titles from every genre. Though he has a particular affinity for multiplayer titles like World of Warcraft, Destiny 2 and League of Legends, he has also put thousands of hours into single-player experiences, from deep RPGs to epic PC strategies. When he's not playing or writing, he can usually be found supporting his beloved Brentford FC.

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2026 really does seem to be the year of major anniversaries in the world of video games and beyond, and Pokémon is arguably the biggest of those (alongside Legend of Zelda). The beloved creature capture franchise is celebrating 30 years since it first debuted, and there have been a raft of exciting announcements to mark the special occasion.

The new, special set in the TCG is probably the most prominent of those, but those of you who prefer to get involved in the video games weren't left out of the proverbial party either. The big news in that regard was confirmation of Winds and Waves, the first releases of the upcoming tenth generation, set across a stunning new archipelago based on the islands of South-East Asia.

With Game Freak remaining quiet on further details for the time being, more potential information is starting to emerge in the form of leaks, and there's some very interesting tidbits to keep fans going while they wait.

As first reported by Polygon, 4Chan has become the latest source of leaks for Pokémon Winds and Waves, and trusted leakers in the industry have been confirming their veracity. As part of that, the original source posted a custom image that purports to be a riddle for the second and third evolutions of the Starters (whose original stages we have already seen from the official reveal).

The images themselves are very unusual and include things like a Turkey with fries on its head for Browt and a zepellin for the final stage of Pombon's evolutionary line. The latter would at least mean we're likely avoiding the humanoid final stage for a 'mon that starts off looking like a dog, which would undoubtedly come as a relief to many fans out there.

Excitingly, the image comes from the same source who previously leaked an image of the game's UI, which does give it some credence beyond it just being a random post on a forum. Given that they clearly have some kind of access to internal documents, as many do after Game Freak's infamous "Teraleak," it wouldn't be a surprise if they had a window into the developer's plans for the evolutions.

It does feel as though the video game portion of the Pokémon franchise is in need of a bit of a shot in the arm after several releases did little more than tread water. Happily, Winds and Waves presents the perfect opportunity for Game Freak to do that, particularly as the first game of the tenth generation, and what we have seen so far does at least look like it will be very different from the last run of titles, if only because of the game world.