Pokemon Scarlet And Violet Spoilers Are Out There Thanks To Leaked Retail Copies
This is (one of the many reasons) why we can't have nice things. First the "God of War Ragnarok" spoilers started making the rounds on Twitter thanks to a few unscrupulous folks happily posting plot-sensitive images ahead of its November 9, 2022 release; now it's "Pokemon Scarlet" and "Pokemon Violet" that are dealing with leakers.
Despite the November 18, 2022 street date, at least one player is already sharing screenshots of the game on Twitter (via Eurogamer), many of which spoil the surprise of some of the new Pokemon evolutions. That may not necessarily be as irritating as the "God of War" story spoilers fans have been trying to dodge, but they are still a problem. Lots of "Pokemon" players look forward to discovering the evolutions of newly-added Pokemon — and sometimes newly-added variants to pre-existing Pokemon — on their own, and these leaks have the potential to take that enjoyment away from them.
As with any of the game leaks that have been happening as of late, the best way to protect yourself from spoilers is to filter what you see. Mute words, phrases, and hashtags on social media that could show you things you don't want to see yet. Another more extreme — but also more effective — approach would be to stay off of social media entirely, until you're no longer worried about having anything ruined for you ahead of time.
So what happened this time?
Much like the spoiler problems surrounding "God of War Ragnarok," what happened with "Pokemon Scarlet" and "Pokemon Violet" looks to be the result of someone getting ahold of a physical copy of the game well before the street date. In this case, it appears as though a Spanish language release of "Violet" was acquired from an unknown retailer.
It was unconfirmed — but seemed likely — that the "Ragnarok" leak was caused by early sales, however that may not be the case this time. Without verifiable confirmation from the leaker or the retailer, we can only speculate, but if it is only one player who received the game ahead of time, that may be an indication that the store the copy came from didn't intend to sell it in the first place.
Regardless of the reason, if you'd rather keep as much of the upcoming "Pokemon" sequel a surprise as you can, you'll want to take a few precautions for the next two weeks.