Featured: Pokémon Switch: Thoughts, leaks, rumors and hopes.

predictions for future games?

ive seen a lot of speculation on instagram and stuff, including "leaked" starters. i personally think we'll get a new game in november 2019, and maybe the year after will finally be the diamond and pearl remakes, since theyre next in line and due for a reboot.

With Pokémon Switch being announced by developers at a conference last year, the Pokémon community has been rife with leaks, rumors, speculations, hopes and thoughts for the upcoming game.

"Will it be a 2018 or 2019 release?", "Will it still be Generation VII?", "Will it be Generation VIII?", "Will it be the Diamond and Pearl remakes?" are just some of the questions people are asking.

There have been "leaks", most of which have been debunked, but there are some "leaks" that are still being analyzed, some people believe them, others don't.

There are rumors of a Pokémon Direct coming up ("patterns" are "evidence", apparently Directs being deleted from the archive mean that a new one is on the horizon).

Some of Junichi Masuda's tweets have raised a few questions, he tweeted a picture of a keyboard recently, he did the same a few weeks prior to the announcement of Pokémon Sun and Moon. Some of the things he's tweeted have caused people to over analyze it.

And then, there are the realists, the people who believe that Gen VII coming out this year is impossible, these people have looked back and said that a Generation usually last at least three or more years, the anime doesn't look anywhere near being finished, there have been delays in the past (G/S and D/P) and the development of the game is another reason why the realists believe that the game(s) aren't coming out this year.

In my opinion, both sides have credibility, but, it's up to Game Freak to release the game.

So, what are your thoughts?

I'm most curious to know more about the overhauled battle system we're having (similar style to Pokkén, rumors say).

If they want to keep a metagame anything similar to what we have now, they can't really change the battle system from being turn based.

Maybe they truly want to refresh the whole experience of playing a pokémon game though; can't say that'd necessarily be a bad thing.

adventure said:

If they want to keep a metagame anything similar to what we have now, they can't really change the battle system from being turn based.

Maybe they truly want to refresh the whole experience of playing a pokémon game though; can't say that'd necessarily be a bad thing.

Click to expand...

I don't think GF is concerned with the metagame that much, considering most pokemon players play casually.

2019 is the earliest I can see, usually good console games take longer to make, and if it came out just a year after USUM, the disappointing third version sold as two separate games, than the game would turn out awful.

I'm thinking there might be a new or overhauled battle system which I'm not sure how'd I feel about.

Alright, here's my two cents on the matter (I posted this to Serebii forums, in a similar discussion).

Why we could be seeing Generation VIII in 2018.

Announcement/reveal dates, first news dates and release dates

1. Generation V was announced on April 9th, 2010 and were released on September 18th, 2010, with the games being revealed in January of 2010.

2. Game Freak could be putting the announcement on hold, maybe later this month or sometime in April as they could be reviewing past announcement dates and the time between the dates of the announcement and the day we get our first batch of news. Remember the almost three month wait between Su/Mo's announcement and the first batch of news (February 27, 2016 - May 10, 2016)? Masuda apologized to fans for the lack of news between that time period, so that could mean that they'll announce the games on a later date and keep the release as a holiday release.

"Patterns" and speculation

1. The previous Pokémon Direct (the one announcing Pokémon US/UM) has been deleted from Nintendo's archives and this happened before Pokémon Sun and Moon and Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon were announced, this is one of the "signs" and "patterns" fans have been talking about.

2. A few weeks prior to the announcement of Pokémon Sun and Moon, Masuda tweeted a picture of himself composing music, he did that again a few weeks ago (while this might mean nothing, people are talking about this).

Is the end near?

1. According to Pokéshopper, the UB line of merch is ending in April and there is some merch that is yet to be revealed, relating to Eevee, Lugia and possibly Zeraora. And that will give us a pretty big gap between merch and new merch if the game is a 2019 release, maybe they'll release figures/plushies of the main human cast of the games, that'd be good.

2. The Sun and Moon arc is over in the anime and it's now the Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon arc, maybe there'll be some more arcs like Team Rainbow Rocket or URS for example, or maybe an entirely new arc (New Gen VII game?). Surely, they can't have filler between arcs.

Wishful thinking

1. Maybe the Switch game could be the anticipated "Pokémon Stars" a Gen VII game, but it's certainly not a new thing for Game Freak to put a game from the same Generation on the next console up.

Why Generation VIII may be unlikely in 2018

Reality

1. We are still in Generation VII and Generations usually last for three or four years.

2. Like I said, the anime could have more arcs as filler between Gen VII and Gen VIII.

3. Just because the current line of merch is ending, doesn't mean a new line isn't coming.

Game Freak and their curve balls

1. Remember how Pokémon Gold and Silver were both released "for" the Game Boy color, but worked on the original Game Boy? And how Pokémon Crystal was released exclusively on the Game Boy Color? Maybe the Switch game (if it comes out in 2018) could be another Generation VII title (Pokémon Star(s)), it's definitely not a new thing for Game Freak to release games on the next console up.

At this point I'm thinking it's more likely we'll see a 2019 release, I mean it would partially explain why they hinted at it from the very beginning. Between that, Masuda only just now composing the music, and Smash Bros being the big release this year, they can afford to push it back to next year which would be good if it means the game isn't rushed.

Blue said:

At this point I'm thinking it's more likely we'll see a 2019 release, I mean it would partially explain why they hinted at it from the very beginning. Between that, Masuda only just now composing the music, and Smash Bros being the big release this year, they can afford to push it back to next year which would be good if it means the game isn't rushed.

Click to expand...

Makes sense.

There's a lot of evidence via merchandise leaks, job listings, etc that points towards gamefreak at least intending a late 2018 release, but potential for the game to slip into early 2019

The thing is while things are pointing towards a release this winter/fall, there isn't a lot that seems to lead towards gen 8 beginning soon so i personally think the next titles will be weird in a good way. While I do want the next games to be the first set of gen 8 games, I'm predicting that they'll be kanto revisits but using characters from gen 7. Acting as sequels to sun/moon's story while also showing how Kanto has changed since R/B/G. I mainly think this, because of the last movie featuring kanto, and now the upcoming one featuring Johto.

The only thing that leads me to think that maybe gen 7 will be cut short, is gamefreak saying that due to people always wanting something new, and losing interest in things quickly, they wanted to make generations shorter, which is why gens 5 and 6 only lasted 3 years compared to gens 3 and 4

On the topic of smash release, I'm guessing that'll be the title that launches with switch's online service in september, which would still leave november/december open for another major release. Since nintendo wants to sell 20 mil switches this year, they're going to need another major release because smash alone wont do it

The idea of a Diamond and Pearl remake seems to be the most desirable among the community. Especially since we're entering the new base console of the Pokemon RPG games which we can't play the DPPt games on. Though I hope we see something fresh, I think I'm ready for a new generation so it may be 2019 that we wait for that, and it's okay considering we have a supposed wealth of the anime to get through and the Alolan Pokemon still feel so new. I want Gen 7 to have a chance now to soak in to the norm in the canon. A gap year in the release schedule would help that. I also think that the patterns and such are something to look for as well as something to take with a grain of salt. Leaks that aren't directly datamined with solid and backed up proof of being datamined by the actual game shouldn't be taken at all seriously. Just don't get your hopes up farther than your expectations and the next entry should be an enjoyable pre-release.

i will eat my hat if they don't give an option to change the ball the mon was caught in sooner or later