It seems likely that one of the most famous new Pokémon introduced in the second generation of games was inspired by unused designs, as Heracross appears to have evolved from unused concepts related to Pinsir. The Bug-type was notoriously weak in Pokémon Red and Blue, but it gained a huge boost in Pokémon Gold and Silver, thanks to the Bug/Fighting-type Heracross.

Heracross quickly became part of the Pokémon anime, as it was one of Ash’s main Pokémon throughout the Johto region. The fact that it had a powerful signature move in the form of Megahorn meant that it could deal a ton of damage, making it popular in the games. Heracross faded into the background for years after the second generation ended before returning with a Mega Evolution in Pokémon X and Y. Mega Heracross had Skill Link, which meant that its multi-hit moves would always hit the maximum number of times. Heracross was initially cut from Pokémon Sword and Shield, before being added to the game as part of The Isle of Armor expansion.

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Heracross was a popular Pokémon in its day, but it could easily have had a different design than the one that fans are familiar with. A lot of information about the development of Pokémon Gold and Silver has been revealed over the past few years, which has included an unused evolution for Pinsir.

Pokémon’s Lost Pinsir Evolution & Heracross Beta Design

The first leaked beta for Pokémon Gold and Silver from the Space World ’97 event featured lots of unused designs that never made their way into the game. According to The Cutting Room Floor, this demo featured an unused evolution for Pinsir, which was called Purakkusu/Plucks. This Pokémon had a horn jutting between its pincers and a face that resembled a mask. Heracross didn’t exist in this early build of the game, so it was speculated that Plucks was reworked into Heracross.  

The theory gained a lot more traction when the second round of Pokémon Gold and Silver betas leaked. According to The Cutting Room Floor, the leaked files included scratchpad images, which were used by artists to draw sprites before they were officially added to the game’s files. These scratchpads include Pokémon designs that were still being developed. One of the most interesting scratchpad designs includes a version of Heracross with a vertical mouth that resembles Pinsir’s mouth.

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It’s clear that there is a link between the two Pokémon. It’s possible that Heracross was originally a reworked version of the Pinsir evolution before it was changed into a new Pokémon. This was a good decision on Game Freak’s part, as Pinsir is a nightmare monster from the abyss while Heracross is adorable with big anime eyes. If that unused design with the Pinsir mouth was used, then Heracross wouldn’t be any near as appealing as it was in the final version of Pokémon Gold and Silver.

Source: The Cutting Room Floor, (2)

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Scott Baird
(2509 Articles Published)

Scott has been writing for Screen Rant since 2016 and regularly contributes to The Gamer. He has previously written articles and video scripts for websites like Cracked, Dorkly, Topless Robot, and TopTenz.
A graduate of Edge Hill University in the UK, Scott started out as a film student before moving into journalism. It turned out that wasting a childhood playing video games, reading comic books, and watching movies could be used for finding employment, regardless of what any career advisor might tell you. Scott specializes in gaming and has loved the medium since the early ‘90s when his first console was a ZX Spectrum that used to take 40 minutes to load a game from a tape cassette player to a black and white TV set. Scott now writes game reviews for Screen Rant and The Gamer, as well as news reports, opinion pieces, and game guides. He can be contacted on LinkedIn.

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