Caught 'Em All? More Pokémon Found in Hacked 'Pokémon X and Y'

Diancie, a Rock-Fairy type found in the 'Pok&eacute;mon X and Y' code, credit Kotaku — Diancie, a Rock-Fairy type found in the 'Pokémon X and Y' code, credit Kotaku

The Nintendo 3DS video game "Pokémon X and Y" introduced 69 more of the creatures known as Pokémon when it was released three weeks ago, bringing the total number of Pokémon up to a staggering 718.

Still willing to catch 'em all? Well, it just got even harder: Hackers have discovered hidden files for three more Pokémon buried in the game's code. These "secret" Pokémon, called Diancie, Volcanion and Hoopa, appear to be "event" Pokémon, meaning Nintendo probably meant to debut them in special promotions.

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After the discovery of those three, several more images of supposedly secret Pokémon have surfaced on message boards and websites. However, without confirmation from Nintendo, it's impossible to tell if these images are legit — and Nintendo isn't talking.

The Pokémon's files were discovered after two people managed to hack into the source code for "Pokémon X and Y," download the game's files and decrypt them.

Serious fans can check out the Project Pokémon Wiki for an in-depth analysis of what the hacked files reveal.

More generally, the successful hack and the discovery of the secret Pokémon are just one more exchange in the long-running battle between the popular series' players and its publisher, Nintendo.

While many other video game companies have found it advantageous, and even profitable, to allow "modding" (players modifying a game to add their own assets and storylines), Nintendo is often quick to crack down on any signs of Pokémon hacks and mods that it can find.

The "Pokémon" games have been notoriously hard to crack, despite enormous demand for knowledge of the highly mathematical game's inner workings. Fans want to know how Pokémon stats grow and change, which helps players train and breed more powerful Pokémon for use in competitions.

Email jscharr@techmedianetwork.com or follow her @JillScharr and Google+. Follow us @TomsGuide, on Facebook and on Google+.

Jill Scharr is a creative writer and narrative designer in the videogame industry. She's currently Project Lead Writer at the games studio Harebrained Schemes, and has also worked at Bungie. Prior to that she worked as a Staff Writer for Tom's Guide, covering video games, online security, 3D printing and tech innovation among many subjects.

6 Comments Comment from the forums

The_Trutherizer

Most likely these hackers were just trying to "catch em all" without having to do anything.

Can't say there's actually anything wrong with it, except that it is a bit of a party pooper.
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JD88

What happened to 150? They sure are milking this.
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eklipz330

whatever happened to 150? how long have you been under a rock? 13 years?

718 is STAGGERING... it's also my area code.
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Narcissistic_Martyr

I wonder how many hours it'd take to actually catch them all if you started from scratch.
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lpedraja2002

Wow I feel old I stopped following Pokemon when they were just 151! Loved the early games though.
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Mahomes

I don't really think it's fully possible to actually catch them all. At least in a reasonable amount of time. The only way I can think of is if you literally had every single game of pokemon (as well as the systems required) and just transfered from each generation to the next up until black/white then use the poke bank for x and y. That's just so excessive and unnecessary though. I really wish they would just include all of the previous pokemon in each generation to save the trouble of having to go through each previous game just to actually "catch em' all." Even if it meant holding off on another game for an extra year I just feel like if they incorporated everything there wouldn't even be a need to hack or cheat because it would all be there, accessible to the player.
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