A court case involving two individuals on trial for leaking information about Pokemon Sword and Shield has been settled with each of them having to pay the Pokemon Company $150,000.

This was a court case regarding a string of Sword and Shield leaks that came out back in 2019. The Pokemon Company responded to these leaks by hiring “outside forensic experts” and tracking down the leakers’ Discord user IDs. 

The investigation revealed that the leakers were two men. One of them was employed at one of the companies hired to print the Strategy Guides for the then upcoming and highly anticipated game. The other was his friend who helped disseminate the images online.

At the time of the leak, the fans reacted wildly to the information, especially due to the perceived lack of a National Dex. They also posted under the hashtag, #GameFreakLied for a while.

Now, both of the leakers owe the Pokemon Company $150,000 each, along with their legal fees.

This story has created some discussion online about the crime and the punishment. Some believe that companies should fiercely protect their intellectual property, while others argue that the punishment is disproportionate to the crime and these individuals may not be able to repay the amount.

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