Speculation Gen 9 Predictions (Development predictions, New Regions, Version names)

[swiftgallade46]

Masuda went on record saying there will be no DLC, and he used Pokemon that were locked out of the original games to sell their DLC. And don't get me started on Pokemon Home's absurd pricing. I don't think this is a Gamefreak thing, but the Pokemon Company have been largely anti-consumer lately. Numerous journalists have called them out on it and will continue to do so until they fix their practices.

Ehh you can still get the Pokémon without the DLC or Home, though. The DLC, to me, is still preferable to a full-price third version and I hope they continue the trend of replacing it into gen 9. I do see a lot of complaints about Home but there just really is no need to pay to unlock the premium version for most people anyway. As for journalists, while there is some truth to the expensive business practices of TPCi lately, I’m sure most of these articles are quick to put down GF for a snappy headline.

Anyway, my point is basically that I think once people start to try and predict GF’s next move based on how they can harm their consumers the most, it really shows that they are being dramatic over the whole Dexit thing.

 

[RileyXY1]

I believe that the Gen 9 games will make far more use of the Wild Area concept. I think that these games will completely abandon the traditional route system in favor of a more open game world.

 

[Sheep40]

I believe that the Gen 9 games will make far more use of the Wild Area concept. I think that these games will completely abandon the traditional route system in favor of a more open game world.

We'd probably see that in the DP remakes.

 

[RileyXY1]

We'd probably see that in the DP remakes.

I don't think so because they really don't do massive gameplay modifications in the middle of a gen, and because it would make Sinnoh completely unrecognizable.

 

[Sheep40]

Not really. It'd just be the wild area's camera angle on preexisting sinnoh maps (let's face it there will never be a breath-of-the-wild style pokemon).

 

[Bolt Strike]

I think predicting GameFreak to do things based on how “scummy” they are is disingenuous. It makes it seem like they are out to get us. The concept of DLC in Pokémon games wasn’t only met with the criticism that “they should have been in the base games”. Many people also felt that they were a good and less costly substitute to third version games.

Eh, they won't think about it in those terms, but they kind of are. Game Freak wants to decrease time and effort and increase the price to make money, which on the consumer side of things usually leads to low quality cash grabs. Now DLC in particular was definitely a more consumer friendly move and I'm a bit surprised they went for it since it seems like they would make more money just continuing to sell third versions (IDK, maybe they found that the work saved having to rebuild the game is worth more than the $30 they lose by not charging for a full game, we'll never really know). But in general, they do tend to go for the scummier choices.

 

[RileyXY1]

Not really. It'd just be the wild area's camera angle on preexisting sinnoh maps (let's face it there will never be a breath-of-the-wild style pokemon).

That wasn't my suggestion. My suggestion was for a massive map and the complete abandonment of traditional routes. Such massive changes are typically only reserved for new gens.

 

[swiftgallade46]

Eh, they won't think about it in those terms, but they kind of are. Game Freak wants to decrease time and effort and increase the price to make money, which on the consumer side of things usually leads to low quality cash grabs. Now DLC in particular was definitely a more consumer friendly move and I'm a bit surprised they went for it since it seems like they would make more money just continuing to sell third versions (IDK, maybe they found that the work saved having to rebuild the game is worth more than the $30 they lose by not charging for a full game, we'll never really know). But in general, they do tend to go for the scummier choices.

Well I mean you kind of just proved my point right here. You were basing your prediction on what they would do next based on what would be the “scummiest” move, and it didn’t turn out that way. I don’t think you’re in a position to state definitively what drives GF’s choices just because you didn’t like them. None of us are.

 

[Bolt Strike]

Well I mean you kind of just proved my point right here. You were basing your prediction on what they would do next based on what would be the “scummiest” move, and it didn’t turn out that way. I don’t think you’re in a position to state definitively what drives GF’s choices just because you didn’t like them. None of us are.

Well I never said we did definitively know, we just know most of the time. The main factor we don't entirely know as far as GF's choices is how much time and manpower it takes to develop certain content and features. We have a pretty good idea of which ones might take more time than others, but we don't know the full picture.

 

[RileyXY1]

I don't even expect Sinnoh remakes this year because of the anniversary. I instead think that we're getting something much larger in scope. Something on par with Power Rangers' Shattered Grid.

 

[Esserise]

Just some outlandish food for thought...

The new 25th anniversary marketing campaign is going to feature a retrospective look on each of the major regions, beginning with Galar in March. So that gives us:

April - Alola
May - Kalos
June - Unova
July - Sinnoh
August - Hoenn
September - Johto
October - Kanto

And I'm just sayin', if they were planning on introducing a new region, a November release would fall right in line with that... and it would remind me of how, in the run up to the 2019 Pokémon Direct that announced Sword and Shield, TPC went through a daily "countdown" of each major region on their YouTube and Twitter channels, with each one getting a tourist-y "Visit the _____ region!" promotional video.

Now - I know, I know. This insinuation goes against all common and rational knowledge about how they typically sequence their releases. And I even agree that I think it seems waaay too soon for Gen 9... but hey, they've upended our expectations before. (Although honestly, if we're considering the possibility of pattern-breaking, who's to say that they couldn't make a new Gen 8 game that nevertheless takes place in a new region? It'd definitely be a new twist.)

 

[RileyXY1]

Just some outlandish food for thought...

The new 25th anniversary marketing campaign is going to feature a retrospective look on each of the major regions, beginning with Galar in March. So that gives us:

April - Alola
May - Kalos
June - Unova
July - Sinnoh
August - Hoenn
September - Johto
October - Kanto

And I'm just sayin', if they were planning on introducing a new region, a November release would fall right in line with that... and it would remind me of how, in the run up to the 2019 Pokémon Direct that announced Sword and Shield, TPC went through a daily "countdown" of each major region on their YouTube and Twitter channels, with each one getting a tourist-y "Visit the _____ region!" promotional video.

Now - I know, I know. This insinuation goes against all common and rational knowledge about how they typically sequence their releases. And I even agree that I think it seems waaay too soon for Gen 9... but hey, they've upended our expectations before. (Although honestly, if we're considering the possibility of pattern-breaking, who's to say that they couldn't make a new Gen 8 game that nevertheless takes place in a new region? It'd definitely be a new twist.)

This does get me convinced about Gen 9 coming this year, especially if there's a Pokemon Direct on Pokemon Day, as so far only new gens were announced on that day, and that one of the other big attractions, New Pokemon Snap, already had a presentation today.

 

[nickdt]

Ehh you can still get the Pokémon without the DLC or Home, though. The DLC, to me, is still preferable to a full-price third version and I hope they continue the trend of replacing it into gen 9. I do see a lot of complaints about Home but there just really is no need to pay to unlock the premium version for most people anyway. As for journalists, while there is some truth to the expensive business practices of TPCi lately, I’m sure most of these articles are quick to put down GF for a snappy headline.

Anyway, my point is basically that I think once people start to try and predict GF’s next move based on how they can harm their consumers the most, it really shows that they are being dramatic over the whole Dexit thing.

Well.. yes and no, since someone still needs to buy home or the DLC to trade the available Pokemon to others.

 

[swiftgallade46]

Well.. yes and no, since someone still needs to buy home or the DLC to trade the available Pokemon to others.

Not true. You could easily transfer them in from Home. You don’t even need the premium version to do so.

But regardless, all it takes is one person with online access out of literal millions to buy the DLC and put Pokémon up for trade. This isn’t really a solid argument.

 

[RileyXY1]

Well.. yes and no, since someone still needs to buy home or the DLC to trade the available Pokemon to others.

You can also get the Pokemon by joining Max Raids.

 

[Phosphene]

Not true. You could easily transfer them in from Home. You don’t even need the premium version to do so.

I think they were referring to the fact that you must purchase premium HOME to transfer Pokémon from the previous gens.

That being said, I agree with your post. One person having to purchase DLC, whose content is more than just some extra Pokémon, so that everyone else can get the extra Pokémon doesn't change the fact that you can still obtain those Pokémon without paying a single cent.

 

[nickdt]

I think they were referring to the fact that you must purchase premium HOME to transfer Pokémon from the previous gens.

That being said, I agree with your post. One person having to purchase DLC, whose content is more than just some extra Pokémon, so that everyone else can get the extra Pokémon doesn't change the fact that you can still obtain those Pokémon without paying a single cent.

Which means someone still needs to purchase for the DLC, so that you can get the Pokemon in the game for free is a false statement, since someone needs to pay (Even if its a complete stranger).

 

[swiftgallade46]

Which means someone still needs to purchase for the DLC, so that you can get the Pokemon in the game for free is a false statement, since someone needs to pay (Even if its a complete stranger).

No it isn’t, because that’s not how economics works. Someone else spending $30 does not mean that it wasn’t free for me. To say nothing of the fact that, as stated above, theoretically 0 people could buy it and still get the Pokémon through Max Raids and Home.

 

[RileyXY1]

My dream 25th anniversary game will allow you to play as a variety of characters from throughout the series' history as you visit several major locations from all 8 regions as you defeat the biggest and baddest villains the series has ever seen.

 

[Sheep40]

A more lucid description of my predicted region, crossposted from reddit:
Name: Illystrius (After Illyria+Illustrious). Based off the entire former Yugoslavia, so it's really multiple regions in one (9 to be exact).

Themes: Hopes, dreams, letting go of the past, embracing your inner darkness, acceptance of death and change, celebration of the pokemon community. Illystrius has a troubled, tumultous history and compared to the other regions on the continent it's quite poor. It could be said the entire region is divided in two, one half looking forwards and the other looking backwards, let alone the love-hate relationships the inhabitants of the region's subdivisions have. It's ancient history is largely unknown, and it's spent most of it's time being a colony to the empires of larger regions. Illystrius is a region that at once both rejects and embraces change. It's both a place of great growth and advancement and a black hole where hopes and dreams go to die. It is rather beautiful though, and the people are proud and strong, with resolve as a big part of the region's culture.

• Numerous ethnic groups in Illystrius were and still are traditionally pokemon trainers, so the practice is embedded in the region's culture to a degree unseen in other regions. Illystrius hotlines training and training culture into it's veins. Most trainers in illystrius are transhumance, meaning they nomadically shift between different lodgings dependent on the situation and time of year. It's a vibrant place, which interacts strangely with the region's darkness both figuratively and frighteningly literally.
• Mechanically Illystrius is divided into 9 crown-tundra/armor-isle style subdivisions, with a hidden 10th. These correspond to: Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzengovia, Republika Srpska, Kosovo, the Vardar River basin, actual north Macedonia, and the pagan slavic underworld.

Villainous teams: Illystrius has 4 villainous teams.

• The first two are haters of the current pokemon league. Team Brave and Team Reaper. Based of the Studs and Gravediggers futbol fanclubs in Serbia with elements of rap-fans and metalheads respectively, they hate the corruption in the pokemon league and have delcared a temporary truce in order to teach the league a lesson. By targeting trainers who don't rebel against it.
• The corrupt pokemon league itself. Whilst the gym leaders, elite four, and champion have their hands largely clean, the pencil pushers and businessmen and politicians associated with the league have been using it as a money pot for years and they sure as heck aren't going to let it stop now.
• The Starini, a secretive cabal of trainers who hate the region's pokemon league with a beyond unhealthy passion, led by an even more secretive inner circle who despise the current state of the pokemon world as a whole. They lurk in the shadows, using corrupted esoteric powers derived from that last subdivision and from some of the region's legendaries and mythicals to sow chaos within the pokemon league. Their actual leader is the player's rival and best friend, Matija, who simply wishes to relive the glory days of pokemon forever and ever alongside the other Starini. And ideally you, too.

Version legendaries:

• Primary Version (Zero) legendary is a dark-gray humanoid western-european knight, embodying the endless void of darkness. There's a karma meter in the game that can determine the forms of the legendaries, and the two versions have different colors for neutral (good is blue, evil is red). Zero's is green. The typing are ghost/poison (neutral), Ghost/steel (good), and ghost/dark (evil)
• Secondary version (infinity) is a light gray humanoid russian knight/turkish spahi that embodies the raging storm of darkness. Infinity's neutral color is yellow. Typings are ghost/electric (neutral), ghost/psychic (good) and ghost/fighting (evil).