Major Pokemon Leaker Shut Down After Taunting Nintendo

A major source of Pokemon leaks was shut down earlier this week on Twitter due to sharing numerous images of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet early. Centro Leaks, the "leaks account" for the Latin American site Centro Pokemon, was pulled off Twitter earlier this week after it had shared leaked images from Pokemon Scarlet, which was obtained prior to the game's release. Centro shared images ranging from various unrevealed Pokemon to details about new moves and abilities, as well the "final bosses" for several storylines in the game. It's noted that Centro's suspension came after the account dared Nintendo in several tweets to take action, at one point telling the video game giant with a significant legal staff to "Let's play." 

https://mobile.twitter.com/acedoespixels/status/1592716828367007748

Centro Leaks is a controversial source of information within the community, as it rarely was a first-hand source of leaks. Instead, Centro shared leaks from various sources, often declining to provide credit as to where they had found it. After a copy of Pokemon Scarlet was datamined by various parties on the Internet, several graphics were posted on Twitter and elsewhere with a warning for Centro not to steal them posted as a watermark. Centro did have at least one primary source, as it shared a press release distributed by The Pokemon Company regarding a Pokemon Home update early, which seemed to suggest it had a source within a localization team. 

Centro also notably had a long-running feud with "Riddler Khu," who had access to a leaker tied to an early Chinese translation of the game, likely as Khu or their source was a member of the Chinese localization team. Almost all of Riddler Khu's leaks about Pokemon Scarlet and Violet were accurate, although some had some discrepancies due to translation difficulties. After Centro posted information leaked by Khu on their account, Khu shared a number of images that simultaneously teased various hints about Pokemon Scarlet and Violet while also insulting Centro. 

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet launches on Nintendo Switch on November 18th. You can read our full review of the game here.