What appears to be evidence of a long-lost Pokémon Pink version has appeared online.

Fans think Pokémon Pink was originally planned for launch on Game Boy alongside the Pikachu-fronted Pokémon Yellow, itself a follow-up to the series' original set of games.

Evidence of its existence was leaked via 4chan over the weekend, and subsequently analysed by respected Pokémon historian Dr. Lava. Somewhat surprisingly, all evidence points to this being legit.

Mention of Pokémon Pink can be found in ancient source code for Pokémon Yellow, which also includes apparent test audio for more anime voices to be implemented (in the end, only Pikachu's voice was included).

How has this all turned up now? Well, this data apparently comes from a major hack of Nintendo's servers - the same breach which previously exposed early versions of other Pokémon games, such as the beta version of Pokémon Gold and Silver with numerous creatures which never saw light of day.

The hacker, a 24-year-old Brit named Zammis Clark, received a 15-month suspended prison sentence for accessing private Nintendo and Microsoft servers in early 2018.

But, years later, data obtained in the hack is still trickling into the public domain after Clark shared it with others - some via an online intermediary named ganix, who was interviewed here by Dr. Lava on their role in it all. It's understood that more details are out there, passed around privately, though the threat of legal action for making it public looms.

Speaking to Dr. Lava for this article, I was told this new reference to Pokémon Pink does indeed come from the same source - though what Pokémon Pink might have looked like is less certain.

There is strong evidence to suggest it would have starred Clefairy - once intended as a series mascot before Pikachu muscled in. But its development in response to the success of the series' anime suggests fellow pink Pokémon Jigglypuff might have starred instead.

Perhaps further leaks may shed more light on this - or other cancelled Pokémon games.

Image credit: ResetEra.