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

[RileyXY1]

This isn't true, while it is mostly desert it also has a lot of savanna and tropical areas
Also the regions aren't supposed to be 100% accurate to the real versions, thats why every region has a random sand desert in it even though its not accurate to the irl areas they're based on

We also just had a British region, and I don't want another Commonwealth-inspired region next.

 

[Phosphene]

Mostly for a lack of biome diversity. Australia is pretty much a giant desert, which wouldn't look good from an aesthetic point of view. I expect another Asian region next.

I believe Australia has more biome diversity than the UK, so this point is moot. Besides, GameFreak has shown that they have no qualms about adding biomes that don't fit a region's real-world counterpart. I don't think biome diversity or lack thereof is much of a factor in determining a region.

Spoiler

 

[Fan of Jarrus]

NSW and Victoria have a mountain region.

 

[nickdt]

We also just had a British region, and I don't want another Commonwealth-inspired region next.

Which means in your mindset, Canada is also out. Despite that, Canada and Australia are 2 of the most likely candidates for the gen 9 region though, unless they go to Africa (Which is also not possible taking your other point into consideration - biodiversity).

I doubt we get a California region. I mean, Masuda and co were spotted in Spain before gen 8 was out, so that suggests Spain is before California in the line-up anyways, but i simply cannot see gen 9 being Spain, because we just had an European inspired region.

I also don't think Gamefreak wants to dive in South-America and Brazil in particular now either, with all the controversy surrounding it in regards to the Covid pandemic.

Which automatically leaves Canada and Australia as the 2 prime candidates, since those 2 countries seem to have the pandemic under control more than the rest of the world.

 

[RileyXY1]

Which means in your mindset, Canada is also out. Despite that, Canada and Australia are 2 of the most likely candidates for the gen 9 region though, unless they go to Africa (Which is also not possible taking your other point into consideration - biodiversity).

I doubt we get a California region. I mean, Masuda and co were spotted in Spain before gen 8 was out, so that suggests Spain is before California in the line-up anyways, but i simply cannot see gen 9 being Spain, because we just had an European inspired region.

I also don't think Gamefreak wants to dive in South-America and Brazil in particular now either, with all the controversy surrounding it in regards to the Covid pandemic.

Which automatically leaves Canada and Australia as the 2 prime candidates, since those 2 countries seem to have the pandemic under control more than the rest of the world.

There's also other parts of Asia, particularly China, Korea, SEA, and India.

 

[nickdt]

There's also other parts of Asia, particularly China, Korea, SEA, and India.

China and Korea will most likely never happen though.

 

[Neyo]

Mostly for a lack of biome diversity. Australia is pretty much a giant desert, which wouldn't look good from an aesthetic point of view.

This . . . isn’t entirely accurate. According to the Australian Department of Agriculture, Water, and the Enviroment, there are 8 officially recognized ecoregions within Australia. These are areas that contain geographically distinct flora and fauna that have developed in isolation from other biomes. If you look at the graphic displayed on this page, you can see that Australia does in fact have a pretty diverse climate. There are tropical and temperate forests along the East coast, and shrublands, savannahs, and deserts covering most of the remaining areas. Furthermore, there are also the Blue Mountains and large cities that could be used as source material, and natural landmarks that could be relevant to the plot, and very interesting to explore(referring to Uluru and the Great Barrier Reef).
Additionally the Indonesian Archipelago and New Zealand could be postgame areas. Also, remember that Gamefreak can take liberty with the source material. Last I checked, Hawaii doesn’t have deserts, and neither does the UK, unless climate change is speeding up drastically.

TL;DR I went overboard in explaining how Australia isn’t a barren wasteland and would be a fun, diverse region.

 

[Neyo]

China and Korea will most likely never happen though.

Why not?

 

[SodiumChloride]

I also don't think Gamefreak wants to dive in South-America and Brazil in particular now either, with all the controversy surrounding it in regards to the Covid pandemic.

Which automatically leaves Canada and Australia as the 2 prime candidates, since those 2 countries seem to have the pandemic under control more than the rest of the world.

They probably (hopefully at least) picked the gen 9 region before covid started

 

[swiftgallade46]

We also just had a British region, and I don't want another Commonwealth-inspired region next.

Again, this is a totally valid want but not so much helpful in terms of making an educated prediction. I just don’t think we have any evidence that “two Commonwealth-inspired regions in a row” is against some kind of rule.

 

[RileyXY1]

Again, this is a totally valid want but not so much helpful in terms of making an educated prediction. I just don’t think we have any evidence that “two Commonwealth-inspired regions in a row” is against some kind of rule.

It would just be repetitive. I expect somewhere non British-related next.

 

[swiftgallade46]

It would just be repetitive. I expect somewhere non British-related next.

That’s just your opinion, though. Reducing two completely different countries with different cultures and environments to “they’re both British-related and thus repetitive” isn’t really indicative of how GF would make a decision.

 

[RileyXY1]

I definitely expect the next region to be Asian-inspired.

 

[prog rocker]

This . . . isn’t entirely accurate. According to the Australian Department of Agriculture, Water, and the Enviroment, there are 8 officially recognized ecoregions within Australia. These are areas that contain geographically distinct flora and fauna that have developed in isolation from other biomes. If you look at the graphic displayed on this page, you can see that Australia does in fact have a pretty diverse climate. There are tropical and temperate forests along the East coast, and shrublands, savannahs, and deserts covering most of the remaining areas. Furthermore, there are also the Blue Mountains and large cities that could be used as source material, and natural landmarks that could be relevant to the plot, and very interesting to explore(referring to Uluru and the Great Barrier Reef).
Additionally the Indonesian Archipelago and New Zealand could be postgame areas. Also, remember that Gamefreak can take liberty with the source material. Last I checked, Hawaii doesn’t have deserts, and neither does the UK, unless climate change is speeding up drastically.

TL;DR I went overboard in explaining how Australia isn’t a barren wasteland and would be a fun, diverse region.

Also, another thing: they could use artistic license, which is so far what they have done with pretty much every region.

 

[RuinManiacNero]

Maybe it's an unpopular opinion but I like regions with monoclimate (like Hoenn and Alola) to regions with weird mixes with desert, snow and everything in between like Unova. It's just more believable like that. Snow especially looks out of place in most regions, I think they just should have made ice pokemon catchable in buildings such as Cold Storage or ice cream cafes not to destroy overall aesthetic.

Personally, I want a complete desert next. All warm regions so far have been jungles and I want rocky terrains and sandstorms, no jungles. Instead, there will be mystical temples and caves, (pyramids!) and oases on the routes where you can recharge.

I would prefer Africa, Australia or some dry Latin American country. I also want a return to a more rough/natural aesthetic like in Alola and not like glorified Pokemon Go copy. (But something tells me I am wrong and Pokemon Go's success will make regions even more realistic in the future, basically Go with story.UGH) American desert routes (the closest real life place to pokemon routes in my opinion) with little cafes, etc would be perfect too. I also want a car... i want a road trip game for some reason! A road trip in the desert! Maybe something even a bit 50s styled even.

 

[Sheep40]

I definitely expect the next region to be Asian-inspired.

And I say it's high time they did eastern europe.

 

[GhostLucario]

China and Korea will most likely never happen though.

I disagree about China. China is the biggest video game market in the world and as seen with Unite and other stuff, Nintendo and TPC want to enter the Chinese market. I wouldn't be surprised about a Chinese region in Gen 9 or 10.

Also why is everyone so sure about Australia? I feel like it's less likely to get Australia as a pkmn region than China.

 

[Jimothy]

Yeah, while there's definitely bad history between Japan and China (and Korea), its effect on modern popular media seems overstated. There have been multiple Sentai series going back to the early 90's specifically about Chinese martial arts and iconography (Dairanger and Gekiranger), Twice is a K-pop group with three Japanese members and they often release Japanese versions of their songs. There's a Korean-specific sequel to the Sentai Kyoryuger because it was so popular there.

I always thought it was pretty telling that when they made the Unova starters and they said that each had been designed to appeal to a different part of the world, they separated them as Japanese (Samurott), Chinese (Emboar), and "the west" (Serperior). Communicates a lot about how the folks at GameFreak see their audience. I also suspect they've been saving the four holy beasts for a China region.

All this to say that I think a Chinese region is very likely in the next few gens, it's more a matter of when. I also don't think we should discount Australia if only for how iconic the Sydney Opera House is. A Pokemon version of that a la Lumiose/Eiffel feels inevitable. And while the nods to South Asia in Galar were definitely more about the real-world influence of British colonialism, I think a South Asian region is also just a matter of time.

Personally I'm rooting for a South American region that delves into Mew lore and I'm going to be hoping for it every gen until it happens.

 

[Neyo]

I’m not sure if anyone has mentioned this, bu an Indian region is also possible.

 

[SodiumChloride]

If gamefreak had a sense of humor they would make all 3 of australian regions starters half poison
Grass/Poison moth
Fire/Poison snake
Water/Poison platypus