Horrifying Pokemon LeafGreen Remake Footage Surfaces Online

Somebody Remade Pokemon LeafGreen’s Opening With AI, And It's The Worst Thing I've Ever Seen Published Aug 5, 2026, 6:49 AM EDT Sam Woods is TheGamer’s Senior Reporter. He’s been in games journalism since 2020 and has undertaken a variety of roles in that time. These have included roles such as SEO Editor, Managing Editor at DualShockers, and Global Head of Gaming, and he's also been seen on the BBC. He was promoted to the Senior Reporter position in 2025 following a series of high-quality reports and exclusives for TheGamer. Since 2020, Sam has written over 2,500 articles and specializes in telling the stories of the people behind the games. He’s interviewed the biggest game directors, some of the industry’s top talents, told the stories of how indie games came to be, and spoken to players about what really makes them tick. He’s also interviewed some of the world’s biggest musical artists to find out how the medium has inspired their work, and TV and Film actors about their roles in video game adaptations. He even hosted a PAX panel in 2021 and made a documentary in 2024 surrounding the creation of a Disney game. Alongside this, Sam focuses on breaking news. He got the scoop on Perfect Dark’s cancellation, got context around some AI drama, and revealed how Lady Dimitrescu’s actress would love to step back into the character’s giant shoes. These articles have been picked up by the biggest gaming sites, including IGN, GameSpot, and PC Gamer. He also loves to dive into the numbers behind the games. Sam’s journey in games journalism has taken him all over the world. He’s covered Gamescom in Germany, Summer Game Fest in Los Angeles, and Tokyo Game Show in Japan, each on more than one occasion. He’s been learning Japanese since 2024 with the intention of identifying and translating Japanese-language news and bringing it to English-language audiences first, something he’s done countless times. Sam’s first review was 2020’s Battletoads reboot, and he’s since reviewed games in The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario, and Pokemon franchises. There aren't many games more iconic than Pokemon Red and Blue. Those games were the beginnings of what has, over the last 30 years, evolved into the highest-grossing media franchise of all time. We've seen various remakes and re-releases of the pair over time, starting with FireRed and LeafGreen, released in 2004, and most recently Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee; they have to be some of the most re-released games in history. One fan, however, felt that the two games needed an overhaul, so they used AI (boooo) to recreate the opening sections of FireRed and LeafGreen, and the results were dire. Pokemon FireRed And LeafGreen's Openings Have Been Remade By Claude AI, And They're A Disgrace Generative AI is a very contentious issue in video games at the moment. As some developers and publishers come out in favor of it, including Rockstar CEO Strauss Zelnick, fans push back, making their voices heard. We've seen it with games like Crazy Taxi, Larian's next title, Divinity, and Fortnite. Thankfully, while Steam is full of AI slop, mod hosting site Nexus Mods is taking a stand against it. This Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen remake has done nothing to make me, or any other AI haters out there, believe that the technology is any good, either. Posted on Twitter by user Paulisus is an AI-generated remake of the opening moments of the first Pokemon games, and there is so much wrong with it. We'll ignore the fact that there is a beach behind Professor Oak's Laboratory, and merely focus on what it has done to the game's three starters. As you can see from the video embedded above, Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle are nothing more than monstrosities. While the basic shapes of the three creatures are just about right, everything else to do with them is wrong. Bulbasaur has terrifying red eyes, Charmander looks like Barney the Dinosaur, and Squirtle. Yes. They were described as "sleep paralysis demons" in the comments of the video, and I think that's the most succinct way to sum it up. I'm a massive Pokemon fan, and will never say no to more Pokemon games, but you can keep this one. Systems Released September 7, 2004 ESRB Everyone 10+ / Mild Fantasy Violence, Simulated Gambling Developer(s) Game Freak Publisher(s) The Pokemon Company, Nintendo Multiplayer Online Multiplayer