Pokemon Green's iconic starter scene has been remade in 3D with AI, and I really wish it hadn't: "Forever haunted"

The original Pokemon Red and Pokemon Green are some of the most beloved games of all time, and for many millions of people around the world, hold incredibly precious childhood memories. You might want to clutch those memories very tightly as you read this, because an AI-generated version of the games' iconic opening scene has surfaced online, and it's every bit the atrocity you would assume.

Courtesy of Twitter user Paulius, who admits "the starter scene is v disturbing," the AI-generated abomination shows an uncanny 3D recreation of Pallet Town being explored in a first-person perspective, and at first everything looks dreary, soulless, and vaguely nauseating, but when the camera enters Professor Oak's lab, the nightmarish effects of the video escalate dramatically. That's when we see exactly what happens when we allow generative AI to chew up and spit out our treasured, lifelong digital companions. For me, the reveal of AI Bulbasaur, then Charmander, and finally Squirtle, was increasingly traumatic.

They're all horrible, but AI Bulbasaur is probably the least offensive. Its red eyes and featureless expression are deeply unpleasant, but probably won't make you lose sleep. Charmander, my all-time favorite Pokemon, looks like it's been put through a meat grinder and reformed by a toddler with two left hands. And then there's poor Squirtle, who spasms out of his poke ball standing unnaturally and wearing an expression I can only perceive as threatening. I fear I'll never be able to wipe that vicious smile or eyes, which appear as portals to black holes, from my memory. Paulius himself describes his AI Squirtle as "forever haunted," which seems about right.

Viewer beware: disturbing content follows.

In case you're wondering what it is exactly about these AI-generated Pokemon that makes them so distressing, it could be the fact that virtually everything you see is generated by Claude AI, using a prompt from "AI whisperer" Matt Shumer. "Mind blowing part: Claude generated all the pixels. Every single one. Zero custom assets," says Paulius, as if he didn't just unleash 72 seconds of viral depression onto unsuspecting internet goers.

The worst part? "chormandur, balbisour, squart," as one user dubbed the AI-forsaken creatures, could one day become "real," if Paulius gets his way.

Only Nintendo can stop him now.

Palworld TCG cards are already selling for up to $4,000 as Pocketpair's tabletop game follows in Pokemon's footsteps, with resellers dominating the market 1 day after launch