There’s a lot of effort that goes into the Pokemon franchise behind the scenes, including early design work that fans usually don’t get to see. During the process, a lot of those designs end up on the cutting room floor. As a result of the recent Game Freak links, fans were recently shown an early look at Mega Gengar, and now we have a look at Mega Jynx, as well. While Mega Gengar was slightly tweaked prior to Pokemon X and Y‘s release, Mega Jynx never made it into the game, and we can probably see why it wasn’t selected.
A leaked image of Mega Jynx was shared by Bluesky user Bruno Gato, and can be found embedded below.
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In the concept art, we can see how the designers were building off the existing design for Jynx. Mega Jynx has much bigger hair this time, which seems significantly fluffier. It also has a much different body, abandoning the traditional red “dress” for a gown that reflects its Ice-type. The design has drawn a lot of comparisons to Elsa from Frozen, but it’s worth noting that Pokemon X and Y was released about a month prior to the Disney film. Given that, any resemblance between the two characters is likely coincidental.
Keeping in mind that this is a very early piece of concept art, we know that the design would have continued to evolve prior to release. To be frank, it’s not a great look, and that probably played some role in The Pokemon Company’s decision to abandon it. Another reason is the developers probably wanted to avoid any potential controversy surrounding the Pokemon. While Jynx continues to appear in Pokemon games and media, the Ice/Psychic-type was at the center of a major controversy decades ago. Following accusations that Jynx’s design incorporated racist stereotypes, a decision was made to change the Pokemon’s skin tone from black to purple. Mega Jynx clearly kept that change intact, but the game’s developers may have wanted to avoid resurrecting the topic altogether.
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The design for Mega Jynx was revealed as part of a larger leak of material from The Pokemon Company. Over the last few weeks, social media has been inundated with material that has never been made public. This has included cancelled games, planned Pokemon, and more. For obvious reasons, The Pokemon Company has not discussed these leaks beyond an initial acknowledgement, so fans are left to speculate about context. A lot of scrapped Pokemon designs have been tweaked and made it into later games, so it’s possible we could see Mega Jynx appear in Pokemon Legends: Z-A. For now though, fans will have to settle for a look at what might have been!
What do you think of this concept art for Mega Jynx? Do you think this Mega Evolution will appear in a future game? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!
