Speculation Future Pokemon Game Speculation Thread

[Mr. MoonStone]

I'm genuinely so excited for this game Kalos is one of my favorite regions and I've missed mega evolutions, so I'm really looking forward to Legends Z:A!

I'm also guessing there's going to be a heavy emphasis on base crafting and building the structures of Lumiose City since the trailer teased the game from the perspective of an urban development planning team. That could end up being something really cool for the franchise, if implemented well.

 

[Nodqfan]

I do think we'll get BW remakes after this game.

 

[Bolt Strike]

Well that was an unexpected announcement. The Pokemon Presents itself was a lot shorter than I expected too. I thought that we'd maybe get a Legends game, but I thought it would be set in Unova instead. I was pretty confident that whatever announcement they'd make would be B/W remakes. Although, all of the Unown during the Presents made me think that we were going to get Let's Go Johto games for a minute. I liked X/Y and they knew exactly what they were doing with calling it Z-A too. I think I'm most surprised that they didn't announce any new games for this year. Not that is a bad thing. Giving Game Freak more time to develop new titles is obviously good, but I just wouldn't have expected them to wait until 2025 to release another main series title when last year was all about the Scarlet/Violet DLC. I suppose it's still possible for them to announce another game to release later this year, but it's hard to say how likely that is.

Assuming that this is going to be the main series release for 2025, it makes me wonder if this means they are going to save generation ten for 2026 to tie in with the franchise's 30th anniversary. I think that would be for the best partly because it would make the generation nine last longer and releasing new game for a huge franchise milestone like that seems too good to pass up on. It is too bad that we couldn't get game footage or at least see which starters are going to be available, assuming it will be like Legends Arceus with different starter for people to choose from, but with the game not being available for another year, I'm sure that they aren't ready to showcase any gameplay footage just yet.

All reasonable guesses, but I think there's one factor you may not be considering in why this is a 2025 game. It's just a teaser trailer so I may be reading into things too much, but those graphics do look pretty advanced. And there are rumors of a Switch successor that was expected to come this year but was internally delayed into 2025. I suspect this is a Switch 2 title and it was forced to be delayed because the new hardware was delayed. I could be wrong, but there's a lot of pieces here that feel like they're falling into place.

I do think we'll get BW remakes after this game.

Well probably not directly after this game. If Z-A is 2025, this is probably the last game in Gen 9 and the Gen 10 games are next. Maybe in 2027/2028 depending on when Gen 10 debuts.

 

[Norzan]

but those graphics do look pretty advanced.

I wouldn't look too deep into the graphics in a teaser trailer because trailers in general are infamous for showing graphics that get downgraded in the final release.

 

[nickdt]

So my take from the teaser based on the website

Its not the entire Kalos region, its only Lumiose City
It will be a futuristic setting
Zygarde and a new Pokemon starting with an A will be the main focus of the game
Legends Starters - Snivy, Piplup, Litten
New Futuristic forms for some Pokemon

 

[Poke Dragon]

Also, this kind of means they are going to do Legends games out of order, so it will be next to impossible to predict which one we will get after this one.

Also, note to self and others, if there's a specific group of Pokemon that are the only ones missing from that category, then the remake/Legends game will be set in the region of the generation in which those Pokemon originated, that is 100% fact now.

 

[Thegameandwatch]

Will this be a title for the Switch 2 or another Ultra Sun and Moon and BW2 situation?

 

[FelipePR]

I do think we'll get BW remakes after this game.

Only after the 10th generation, I believe.

Well that was an unexpected announcement. The Pokemon Presents itself was a lot shorter than I expected too. I thought that we'd maybe get a Legends game, but I thought it would be set in Unova instead. I was pretty confident that whatever announcement they'd make would be B/W remakes. Although, all of the Unown during the Presents made me think that we were going to get Let's Go Johto games for a minute. I liked X/Y and they knew exactly what they were doing with calling it Z-A too.

This was really unexpected , I didn't imagine they would release something relating to the 6th generation right now.

When I saw the Unowns and that the new game would refer to them, I thought it would be a legends' Johto, which had already been speculated for a long time, but no, they just fooled me .

As cool as it is that we have the sixth generation back, part of me can't help but be sad. Since, right now, it doesn't seem likely to me that, in the future, we will have anything dedicated to Johto.

 

[Kallyle]

This was not what I was expecting when I predicted a Legends game. I genuinely thought they were going to try to get more mileage out of Area Zero and reuse assets to buy time. Never did I expect that Game Freak would finally revisit Kalos and take a break year on top of that. I’m impressed!

 

[Lapidot Matoi]

Something I noticed is that when legends was revealed, the release date was in early 2022. Legends Z-A is just plainly in 2025, meaning it's reveal to release may be longer (it may even be the November 2025 release too). This bodes very well for the future
Also I like the Z-A backwards is A-Z. That's neat

 

[Hidden Mew]

Due to precedent with Legends Arceus and SV, there's a possibility that we get both Legends ZA (as essentially a launch title for the Switch 2) and Gen 10 in 2025.

That is a possibility. I kind of hope it doesn't happen in a way. I guess releasing Legends Z-A in January 2025 and generation ten in the fall of the same year wouldn't be repeating the same issue I had with releasing Legends Arceus. That was just too close right after BD/SP and Legends Z-A would get plenty of promotion before a new generation is announced.

All reasonable guesses, but I think there's one factor you may not be considering in why this is a 2025 game. It's just a teaser trailer so I may be reading into things too much, but those graphics do look pretty advanced. And there are rumors of a Switch successor that was expected to come this year but was internally delayed into 2025. I suspect this is a Switch 2 title and it was forced to be delayed because the new hardware was delayed. I could be wrong, but there's a lot of pieces here that feel like they're falling into place.

I though that it was more of a CGI trailer that doesn't necessarily reflect the graphics of the game. I suppose that is possible given how unusual it is for Game Freak to skip a year for a game release like this. They still have the Nintendo Switch logo in the trailer, but I guess that wouldn't necessarily prove that it couldn't be a Switch 2 title. They obviously couldn't officially announce a new system through this teaser trailer and they could just later confirm that it is for the Switch 2 instead. I could still see Game Freak having one more proper Switch Pokemon game, but the idea of having something like a Pokemon Legends game available near the launch of a new Nintendo console system sounds plausible at least.

 

[nickdt]

Like, the Switch 2 was supposed to come out this year, but is delayed until next year.

I have a feeling its the same with Legends ZA due to the Switch 2 release.

That would be another interesting situation, considering we got cross gen platform for Gen 7 as well (SM and USUM on the 3ds and then LGPE as entry Switch games for Pokemon).

 

[guzmania]

Also RIP Unova stans. Gen 5 fans must be very upset that they skipped to Kalos. Although we might get a Unova remake a few years later.

i'm a unova stan and i'm not upset at all, current bw/b2w2 are still very playable to me and kalos honestly needed more content imo (i love it, but unfortunately it is the most incomplete region). i think this is a terrific opportunity to flesh it out further. plus it's legends-style <3
gosh i really love this LOL, super pleasant surprise

 

[Hidden Mew]

This was really unexpected , I didn't imagine they would release something relating to the 6th generation right now.

When I saw the Unowns and that the new game would refer to them, I thought it would be a legends' Johtho, which had already been speculated for a long time, but no, they just fooled me .

As cool as it is that we have the sixth generation back, part of me can't help but be sad. Since, right now, it doesn't seem likely to me that, in the future, we will have anything dedicated to Johto.

A Legends Johto game would be amazing. Silver was my first Pokemon game, so Johto is near and dear to my heart. Considering that they went from ancient Sinnoh to possibly future Kalos, it possible that we could get a Legends Johto game at some point. There doesn't seem to be a set order for what region Legends could cover. I haven't really noticed much attention to the Kalos region lately compared to Unova too.

 

[FelipePR]

Something I noticed is that when legends was revealed, the release date was in early 2022. Legends Z-A is just plainly in 2025, meaning it's reveal to release may be longer (it may even be the November 2025 release too). This bodes very well for the future
Also I like the Z-A backwards is A-Z. That's neat

I always doubted that there would be a Legends game based on Kalos, because I never believed that Game Freak would have the audacity and courage to address the great humanity tradegy, which is war, in a direct and frontal way.

Well, now we just have to wait until 2025 to see and witness it, Lol.

 

[PageEmperor]

I suspect this might be a Switch 2 title that was intended to release this year but was forced to be delayed because (according to rumors) Nintendo delayed the Switch 2 in 2025. That would explain so much. I'm not mad.

I ultimately got the same impression. And unfortunately that also gave me the impression that this year might actually end up being a bad year for gaming if so.

Dang, now I wanna play X and Y again!

I… literally had recently started a playthrough of X. Not knowing about what this next game is gonna be.

Also RIP Unova stans. Gen 5 fans must be very upset that they skipped to Kalos. Although we might get a Unova remake a few years later.

I’m a massive fan of that generation and I’m VERY VERY glad that we can wait before we see whether it really does get the ‘faithful remake’ treatment or not. (AND HOPEFULLY NOT)

it makes me wonder if this means they are going to save generation ten for 2026 to tie in with the franchise's 30th anniversary

At this rate this actually has a chance of happening. But I think it also depends on what’s gonna be this new game’s release date.

After BDSP i think Unova stans are more happy that Gamefreak is not remaking Generation 5 or another company is being sent to remake Generation 5.

Absolutely correct there. Always had stood by that if BW got a faithful remake, that would be very much worse than when DP got such because at least BW still has aged well and I can still play them in this age and feel like it still aged well.

 

[Handium]

I was not expecting kalos, i was thinking gen 2
Also furfrou is finally on switch, should be the same with the monkeys
i only realized it was kalos because of the furfrou in the trailer matron trim if i remember correctly

 

[Kanjouhi]

kalos...
honestly i'm really happy seeing this, my first ever 3ds game was y and i've always felt the kalos region wasn't given the attention it deserved compared to, like, every other region (i vaguely remember the nyon-game material being pretty quick to shift to hoenn after oras, though i'm nyot sure if that was the case? and we all know what happened with the games lol) syo this really feels like they're giving kalos the redemption it deserves

 

[FelipePR]

A Legends Johto game would be amazing. Silver was my first Pokemon game, so Johto is near and dear to my heart. Considering that they went from ancient Sinnoh to possibly future Kalos, it possible that we could get a Legends Johto game at some point. There doesn't seem to be a set order for what region Legends could cover. I haven't really noticed much attention to the Kalos region lately compared to Unova too.

So the game will be based in the future? I was expecting an approach to the great war, the times of AZ and the creation of the ultimate weapon.

What have you noticed regarding the attention given to kalos? Personally, I didn't notice anything.

 

[RileyXY1]

Like, the Switch 2 was supposed to come out this year, but is delayed until next year.

I have a feeling its the same with Legends ZA due to the Switch 2 release.

That would be another interesting situation, considering we got cross gen platform for Gen 7 as well (SM and USUM on the 3ds and then LGPE as entry Switch games for Pokemon).

I think that is indeed the case and that Legends ZA was meant to be a launch title for the Switch 2 and as simultaneous release for both the original Switch and the Switch 2, and that it was delayed from a planned fall 2024 release to an early 2025 release so that it would remain a Switch 2 launch title. I think that there is also a possibility that we get Gen 10 later on in 2025, meaning that we might have two separate main series games within the Switch 2's first year on the market.