Nintendo Seeks to Unmask Pokémon Leaker Through Discord Subpoena

In an effort to uncover the identity of the individual responsible for the high-profile Pokémon leak in October 2024, Nintendo of America has filed a request for a subpoena against the online platform Discord. According to documents obtained by Polygon, this move is part of Nintendo's broader strategy to identify the source of the leak, which involved confidential materials from the Pokémon franchise being shared on a Discord server named FreakLeak by a user known as GameFreakOUT. The subpoena, filed under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act on April 18, 2025, in the San Francisco district court, aims to compel Discord to reveal the personal details of GameFreakOUT, including their name, address, phone number, and email address. This development follows an incident in August 2024 where Game Freak, the developer of the Pokémon series, suffered a significant data breach affecting over 2,000 current and former employees, which was soon followed by the widespread leakage of Pokémon-related assets and information on social media. The leaked content, dubbed the 'teraleak', encompassed a vast array of details about past, present, and future Pokémon games, including the source code for Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver. Nintendo's legal team argues that the leaked content infringes upon their copyright rights, particularly in relation to the Pokémon franchise's protected artwork, characters, and other materials. The request includes a redacted screenshot from Discord, showcasing messages from the user in question, as part of the evidence supporting Nintendo's claim.