Nintendo Probes Pokemon "TeraLeak" Via Discord

Nintendo is seeking a court order from California to compel Discord to disclose personal details about the individual responsible for last year's massive Pokémon data breach, referred to as either "FreakLeak" or "TeraLeak."

Polygon's review of court filings reveals Nintendo aims to obtain the legal name, physical address, contact number, and email associated with the Discord user "GameFreakOUT." This user allegedly shared copyrighted Pokémon assets—including character artwork, source code, and proprietary materials—via the "FreakLeak" Discord server last October, leading to widespread online distribution.

While unverified, the leaked content likely originated from Game Freak's August data breach, which the developer acknowledged that October. The breach reportedly exposed names of 2,606 current, former, and contracted employees. Curiously, files surfaced online on October 12, followed by Game Freak's statement the next day—post-dated to October 10—which made no mention of compromised company assets beyond personnel data.

The breach revealed multiple unannounced projects, scrapped content, developmental builds, and internal documentation for upcoming Pokémon titles. Most notably, it prematurely exposed "Pokémon Champions," a battle-centric game later officially announced in February, alongside accurate details about "Pokémon Legends: Z-A" and unconfirmed leaks about future generations. The trove also included DS-era source code, internal meeting notes, and discarded narrative elements from "Pokémon Legends: Arceus."

Though Nintendo hasn't yet initiated legal action, the subpoea suggests intentions to identify perpetrators for potential litigation. Given Nintendo's established zero-tolerance approach to intellectual property violations, legal proceedings may follow if the court approves the information request.