{"id":326345,"date":"2025-08-07T22:47:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-07T22:47:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/326345\/"},"modified":"2025-08-07T22:47:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T22:47:10","slug":"pokemon-fans-think-the-company-is-using-ai-generated-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/326345\/","title":{"rendered":"Pok\u00e9mon Fans Think The Company Is Using AI-Generated Art"},"content":{"rendered":"

It seemed like any other announcement from The Pok\u00e9mon Company<\/a>. The Pikachu corporation announced it would be launching a touring museum exhibit called The Pok\u00e9mon Astronomical Observatory<\/a> in Kanagawa, Japan. The event is set to begin on November 1 and aims to educate visitors on the wonders of the cosmos with the help of Pok\u00e9mon. Four museums across Japan will host the event over the next year, with the Sagamihara City Museum set to kick things off in November. All of that sounds dope as hell, but the announcement was also accompanied by a piece of promotional art which Pok\u00e9mon fans suspect might be at least partially AI-generated.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Serebii Update: A new touring museum exhibition has been announced. The Pok\u00e9mon Astronomical Observatory will begin from November 1st 2025 in Kanagawa, Japan.<\/p>\n

Details @ https:\/\/t.co\/NWlAdn57aQ<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/vJIS2Httjt<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Serebii.net (@SerebiiNet) August 7, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

At a glance, you might not suspect that anything could be amiss. In the foreground, we see Pikachu, dressed up in a snazzy little astronomer getup, looking through a telescope at constellations with Cosmog floating above his head. The character art looks great. it\u2019s when you look at the background that things start to seem a bit off.<\/p>\n

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why is official Pokemon art using AI backgrounds now wtf is this man https:\/\/t.co\/9mOpXnzVpO<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/PiWd0N6fMn<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Lewtwo (@Lewchube) August 7, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

As Pok\u00e9mon YouTuber Lewtwo points out on X (formerly Twitter), there are several abnormalities to the observatory shown in the background of the piece. It has odd, furnace-like lighting to its interior that frankly looks more ominous than the piece calls for; the architectural structure of the building doesn\u2019t make much sense at all; and some of the structure seems to just melt into the rest of it in a way that seems unlike what any human artist would ever draw and submit for use. If it is AI-generated, it\u2019s a real shame because the foreground character art is genuinely stunning. An alternate piece was also released, which showcases Pikachu with several cosmic Pok\u00e9mon, who all have ties to the sun and moon. At least in that one, you can\u2019t see the eyesore of an observatory.<\/p>\n

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Serebii Picture: Alternate special artwork for the Pok\u00e9mon Astronomical Observatory has been released <\/p>\n

Details @ https:\/\/t.co\/NWlAdn57aQ<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/CTwtbMNY6R<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Serebii.net (@SerebiiNet) August 7, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

We\u2019ve reached out to The Pok\u00e9mon Company for comment and will update the story if we hear back.<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t the first time Pok\u00e9mon has been suspected of using AI art. Back in 2023, Niantic used art to promote one of the new seasons for Pok\u00e9mon Go that fans also believed might be AI. In a statement to Kotaku, the studio said it \u201cuses a variety of tools and software to create visual assets,\u201d but said it \u201c[doesn\u2019t] disclose specifics around [its] processes.\u201d<\/p>\n