Do you think this Sugimori sketch is supposed to be Giovanni as a kid?

[Novia]

Comparison of a sketch made by Sugimori of the original Viridian Gym Leader, who was originally meant to be challenged first, and Giovanni’s sprite in Red and Blue. Am I the only one who thinks that the kid on the left is simply Giovanni as a kid? I mean, their eyes and poses are exactly the same, and they both bear some kind of logo/patch on their shirts.

Source:
View: https://twitter.com/super_32x/status/611129653110026241?s=21

 

[WyndonCalling]

I'm not sure it's meant to be him, but given that this youngster character was likely intended to be the Viridian Gym Leader, it seems very probable that the concept was shifted into Giovanni at some point in development. I'm not sure if this was ever confirmed or if it was just sensible, widespread speculation, but I think the idea was that you would face the youngster in the 'normal' Gym order, i.e. first.

 

[prog rocker]

IIRC, wasn't his type specialty Bug? Which would make sense considering he was going to be the first leader.

Also, I can't remember if him and Giovanni existed together at one point, but my memory of the asset leak is kinda fuzzy right now.

 

[imaperson]

maybe it’s an unused trainer

 

[Novia]

maybe it’s an unused trainer

He was supposed to be the original Gym Leader of the Viridian Gym, which was meant to be challenged first.

 

[KaylaBaraonda]

Yes it is not the exact same character as Giovanni, but Giovanni possibly takes some traits from this unused character. Likely originally Giovanni was meant to only be a villain not a gym leader.

It could be Bugsy, with a different design.

 

[prog rocker]

It could be Bugsy, with a different design.

Don't think so, considering beta Bugsy was... completely different. Looked like a showman or something and his gym was full of girls.

EDIT: Or maybe you're right on the money and they did the same thing Zelda and FF do and recycle beta elements for future use.

 

[Frozen Fennec]

Looks like a delinquent youngster style class to me, might have had youngsters fighting alongside them in their gym. Given the in-game files show no sign of this character at all, it's highly likely they were salvaged and turned into Giovanni instead.

 

[pokemonmaster871]

this does look very similar maybe they wanted to put a backstory to how Giovanni joined team rocket but scrapped it due to maybe memory reasons .

 

[Daenerys]

I assumed that it was a beta gym leader who was scrapped when Giovanni was designed.