AI is proving an existential threat to video games. AI-generated slop is hitting marketplaces, knock-offs are being generated at the drop of a hat, like ones for Silent Hill f and Schedule 1, and development studios are turning to the technology, often at the cost of developer jobs.
It seems nothing is safe from generative AI, either, as just days after the release of Pokemon Pokopia and FireRed and LeafGreen, opportunists have begun to flood Amazon with frankly terrible strategy guides for the two games.
AI-Generated Strategy Guides For Pokemon Games Are Taking Over Amazon
Maybe I’m just old, but strategy guides used to be cool. I still have a range from my childhood, including ones for the Game Boy’s Pokemon Trading Card Game, The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, Animal Crossing: Wild World, and Pokemon Stadium. They look great on a shelf, have unique artwork often not seen in the games, and, ultimately, helped young me when I got stuck. Those days seem long gone now, though.
In the wake of the release of two big Pokemon games, Pokopia and FireRed and LeafGreen, Amazon is being inundated with shoddy AI-Generated strategy guides that aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on.
Example A is the “POKÉMON POKOPIA NEW 2026 OFFICIAL ULTIMATE GUIDE: Complete List of Pokémon by Specialties, How Long to Beat Pokopia, Habitat Dex, Crafting System, Advanced Strategies, Expert Tips and Tricks guidebook”, available on Amazon right now for the low price of £11.93. You can check out the cover art below.
It’s one of those things where the more you look, the worse it gets. For some reason, Eevee is walking along on two legs. Snorlax appears to have something in its eye, or is giving a saucy wink to the camera. I’m concerned about the Pikachu and its weird limbs, and I don’t know what’s going on with the Lapras, but it is an abomination. The Charizard in the bottom right isn’t much better.
It’s a common theme in the cover art of these guides: Pokemon look completely wrong, or the AI just straight up creates new creatures.
There are dozens of these guides available for both Pokemon games, and it seems that, unfortunately, people are being duped. The three best-selling strategy guides on Amazon are for Pokemon, all three created by AI.
Those unfortunate souls who have been tricked into buying the guides have, ultimately, been left disappointed.
“Is AI slop and also false advertising. No maps included, no pokedex, no secrets, just scripts from what the AI imputed. Book constantly repeats itself with multiple sections just about the gym leaders stating the same thing again,” said one review on Amazon, with a second adding, “Very disappointed. No actual maps, just descriptions. Does not list each pokemon and when they learn moves/evolve. Not at all what I was expecting.”
One image shared by a reviewer paints a bleak picture of what’s inside.
Resident Evil Requiem, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, And Stardew Valley Aren’t Safe, Either
While Pokemon takes up the top three spots in Amazon’s best-selling strategy guide charts, it appears no game is safe. The charts are dominated by terrible AI guides for existing games like Resident Evil Requiem, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Stardew Valley, Fallout 4, World of Warcraft, and Marathon. Somehow, the AI has even managed to create guides for games that aren’t out yet, like Crimson Desert.
These guides, which almost universally have one-star reviews, bear all the hallmarks of generative AI: dodgy pictures, fake names, and titles and descriptions straight out of ChatGPT.
The guides likely use information created by actual writers, which AI has syndicated into these books, and with Amazon offering a “print on-demand” service, where the books are only printed when an order is placed, these chancers have an easy ride. With a world as dour as this, there is no better time to support your favorite websites and their hard-working guides teams, like ours here at TheGamer.
- Released
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March 5, 2026
- ESRB
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Everyone / Users Interact, In-Game Purchases
- Publisher(s)
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Nintendo, The Pokemon Company
