Pokemon fan finds potential Dipplin tease in three-year-old animated short
The Pokemon CompanyAn eagle-eyed fan spotted what appears to be a Dipplin in a Pokemon short released to promote Sword and Shield’s DLC – which released nearly three years before the new evolution’s announcement.
The first half of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet‘s DLC is releasing soon, and that means new Pokemon to catch and train.
So far, we’ve seen 11 new Pokemon coming to The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero expansion, including the controversial Raging Bolt and adorably dark Poltchageist. One of these is a new evolution for Generation VII’s Applin based on a candy apple that’s appropriately named Dipplin.
Dipplin was revealed during the most recent Pokemon Presents on August 8. However, fans now suspect the new Pokemon was first teased much, much earlier.
Dipplin may have been hinted at in a Pokemon Sword and Shield short
As Twitter user soulsilverart, with the help of CraftyPoke, pointed out, an easy-to-miss moment in Pokemon Twilight Wings includes a candy apple stand with treats that strongly resemble Dipplin.
Twilight Wings is a series of short animated episodes released throughout 2020 to promote Pokemon Sword and Shield. A final bonus episode released in November 2020 with content from The Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra expansions.
That last episode, titled “The Gathering of Stars,” includes a festival scene with the potential Dipplin cameo.
While it’s possible it’s just a candy apple resembling Applin, the resemblance between the treats and Dipplin’s final design is pretty uncanny.
It would also be far from the first time the franchise teased or revealed a new Pokemon years in advance using the anime. Misty famously got her Togepi about a year and a half before Gold and Silver’s Japanese release, and the very first episode included a look a Ho-Oh over a year earlier.
Perhaps years from now, fans will look back at Pokemon’s latest mini-series Path to the Peak and find some hint at a Generation X Pokemon.