A Japanese manga detailing the origins of Pokemon has revealed some previously unseen monsters from the first generation, Red and Blue. The book, centered on the life of Pokemon creator Satoshi Tajiri, showed off four unused designs.

The manga was shared on Twitter by Game Freak's James Turner, who has designed plenty of Pokemon himself. In a grid of Pokemon we can see four unfamiliar designs: a deer, a crocodile, a cactus, and a swordfish or shark. Presumably, to get access to designs like this the manga would have had to collaborate with Game Freak itself.

The unused designs are surrounded by Gen 1 mainstays like Blastoise and Voltorb, so these were very early ones that were cut. They're unlikely to make a return, especially since many of the animals and plants they're based on have since been used for newer Pokemon. Still, it's an interesting look at the design process.

Right now all eyes are on E3, where Pokemon fans hope Nintendo will outline what it has in the works for a Switch game. We outlined some of our own hopes and dreams ourselves. In the meantime, if you have a catching-'em-all itch that needs scratching, Nintendo is giving away free Legendary Pokemon all year in Pokemon Ultra Sun and Moon.