It’s common for older Pokémon to receive new evolutions in newer games. With the upcoming release of Winds and Waves, fans are eager to find out if it will include new forms of existing Pokémon or completely new evolutions. Although we don’t have official details yet about the Pokémon in Winds and Waves, a brand-new evolution of a popular Fire-type Pokémon has already been revealed.
This isn’t a simple redesign of an old Pokémon; it’s a completely new evolutionary line for Chimchar, the Pokémon first seen in the Diamond and Pearl games. While fans are excited to see Chimchar get new evolutions, the reveal has sparked a lot of discussion – and not everyone is happy with the new designs.
A recent discovery has revealed previously unseen evolutions for Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. A documentary about the development of the Generation 4 games, posted on the lewtwo website, showcased entirely new Pokémon designs and concepts. Among these findings, fans have been particularly excited by what’s being called a “Beta Chimchar.”
Here are some early sketches of Chimchar and its evolved forms, and they’re quite different from the final designs! Infernape, in particular, looks almost like a completely separate Pokémon – it doesn’t resemble the powerful and fierce creature we all know. It’s really interesting to see how Pokémon designs develop over time and what possibilities were considered. However, these original designs haven’t been universally loved by fans; some have expressed criticism of Chimchar’s early appearance.
The recent post on Centro Leaks (on X) revealing early Pokémon designs has sparked a lot of criticism from fans, particularly regarding a previous version of Infernape. One user, Dre, jokingly said they would have abandoned their Chimchar if that design had been the final evolution. Another, jason xxi, simply asked what the alternate evolution even was. This suggests Game Freak made the right decision to go with the current Infernape design, though not everyone dislikes the beta designs entirely.
Okay, so I’ve been looking at some old Pokémon concept art, and it’s wild! Apparently, Infernape was originally designed to be way more muscular and taller, and honestly, a lot of fans seem to agree it looked way better. One user, James Perrott, said as much, pretty much saying the original design was a huge improvement. Another person, The_Littz, was on the fence, liking both versions. It seems like Game Freak probably chickened out on the original design because it was a little too…intense, especially for younger players. While it might not have hurt Pokémon Diamond and Pearl to use those Chimchar evolutions, maybe it’s a good thing we got the Infernape we know and love.
2026-07-26 18:58