The #GameFreakLied hashtag went viral in late 2019 leading up to the release of Pokémon Sword and Shield. The movement began when fans discovered that character models in the new Nintendo Switch titles appeared to be identical wireframes to those used in the older 3DS games, contradicting developer statements that they were rebuilding assets from scratch. This discovery fueled the 'Dexit' controversy, where players were already upset about the removal of the National Pokédex. Today, the meme is used to express skepticism toward developer promises and to highlight the perceived technical stagnation of the Pokémon series compared to other modern RPGs.