• Leaked Nintendo source code points to an unreleased Pokemon MMO.
• The game would have been on PC and played via a GBA controller.
• Other studios have beaten Pokemon to the MMO landscape.

Nintendo source code  leaked this weekend via 4chan, revealing old Mario prototypes, code for various games, and the group’s entire ROM database, among many other things.

A notable find is that of a canceled Pokemon MMO based on the FireRed and LeafGreen Game Boy Advance (GBA) remakes.

What Could Have Been

Not only this, but the MMO would be played with a GBA hooked up to your computer, and connected to an offline world as well. That offline world would only provide 30 Pokemon to catch, but connecting online would offer the entire Pokedex.

There were plans to have players battle one another, trade Pokemon, and even participate in tournaments. While current games Sword and Shield allow this to some degree, it’s not in an MMO capacity, which players have wanted for years.

Popular Spanish website Centro Pokemon uncovered some slides related to the project. These noted the MMO would have a story similar to the regular games, a changing weather option, new egg hatching methods, and an enhanced Pokemon Center, among a slew of other additions.

The project was in development not by Game Freak, but by iQue back in 2004. iQue used to build and release Nintendo hardware until 2018. It’s unclear why we never saw the game, but the potential was there.

Pokemon and a Lack of MMO Play

Strangely, the closest thing we have to an official MMO is Pokemon Go. This mobile app tries to replicate the gaming experience but is overall a shallow version of what’s offered via cartridge.

Of course, there’s the Temtem collectathon, which is essentially a Pokemon MMO without the branding. Since its launch last year, gamers have praised the title for being everything a massively multiplayer online Pokemon game should have been.