Pokemon: First Look at Pikachu's Lost Evolution

Image assets have given Pokemon enthusiasts their first official look at a lost Pikachu evolution that was scrapped before the release of Pokemon Red and Blue.

Last year, news broke that Game Freak originally intended for Pikachu to have a second evolution after Raichu. Gorochu was intended to be a menacing monster, complete with a pair of horns and fangs. However, Game Freak cut Gorochu for balance reasons and it seemed likely that we'd never actually get to see what Pikachu's final evolution was supposed to look like.

However, a group of Pokemon enthusiasts announced earlier this week that they had obtained files from an alleged early beta of Pokemon Red and Green. While the files weren't complete, they did contain back sprites of dozens of Pokemon that were cut from the original Pokemon games, including Gorochu. Here's what Gorochu looks like from behind:

Notably, Gorochu only has one horn instead of two and has a pair of spiky ears. There's also some questions about the white triangles on its back - are they patterns or something else entirely? As Gorochu references the Japanese word for the sound of thunder in the sky, is it possible that these were supposed to be thunderclouds?

While it seems doubtful that Gorochu will ever appear in the Pokemon games, interest in these beta Pokemon have spiked since they first leaked out onto the Internet last year. With new Pokemon games coming out soon, there's always a chance that Gorochu or another beta Pokemon could get a second chance at life in the future.

You can read up on some of the other revelations about the Pokemon beta, including the original plans for Wartortle and Blastoise, elsewhere on our website.