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Official Pre-Pokémon Sword & Pokémon Shield Speculation & Leaks thread

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There is a problem I have with Plus & Minus, and that is its age. The leak dates back to January of 2014. This means that the Switch game started development in 2013, and that is impossible because they had just made it onto the 3DS and many of the Switch's exclusive titles (most notably Odyssey) weren't even in development at that point.

I've pointed this out before, but they had started work on Odyssey and were using the Wii U. The reason the switch has motion controls is because the odyssey team felt like it needed it and Nintendo obliged. I would not be surprised if Nintendo worked with Game Freak for switch development, especially as the rumor notes a massive back and forth between the companies. Pokemon lapped everything on the 3DS. It wouldn't be odd to decide to focus on getting input and ensuring this was a true portable device. And Masuda hasn't directed a game since 2013. That's very suspicious.
 
Why is everyone sneezing at the 7 million units sold? USUM probably took a fraction of the resources and man power to produce so I doubt GameFreak regrets releasing them.
Because, compared to previous third versions, the changes to the story don't flow together as well as they did previously, and it shows in various instances. Basically, the new additions in USUM directly interfere with an otherwise unchanged storyline. I think USUM would have been better if the whole Aether family plotline was completely changed since the current iteration of Lusamine's character just doesn't make sense when Game Freak kept Lillie and Gladion's roles the same (and diminished in Lillie's case). Game Freak should have either overhauled the story completely, not shoehorn in a connection between the URS and Lusamine, or make Lusamine look less like an ass by removing the frozen Pokémon from her lab. Heck, I would have vastly preferred Necrozma invading Lusamine's mind. There's also the fact that Zygarde, whom previously had a side-quest that could be started before the Elete Four, got shoved into the post-game completely in favor of stickers while still not giving us any proper exposition on its possible lore beyond what we know from its Pokédex entries.

And none of that's even considering the Rainbow Rocket post-game, which was apparently only thought of at the last minute as opposed to being the intended replacement of the Looker + Anabel story in SM's post game, and the heavily criticized Battle Agency as well. There were some good ideas, but the execution on most of them leave a lot to be desired.
 
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As next week we're getting Zeraora, I do wonder if there's also an Eevee secret along all of these.
Like, at this point I doubt there's a new eevolution but, maybe some gimmick or similar related to Eevee? Or maybe nothing at all...

The information provided by Piuk and Geno both mentioned the introduction of variants within the same species and the former compared this to the different patterns on Spinda. Maybe that's what this is? An Eevee with a slightly different coat to the one we're familiar with, debuting this new element ready for the next games. This wouldn't be as exciting as a new Pokémon but still something for Paul Ryan to raise an eyebrow at.
 
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This was the last recorded sales of USUM in December so we should be getting an update soonish and the last recorded sales update for Black 2 White 2 was at 7.97Million.

The last recorded sales for B2W2 was actually 8.52 Million, for some reason that hasn't been updated.

With that said, I wouldn't be surprised if USUM still beat B2W2, it's only 1.5 million off from the mark.
 
Yeah,I think Gen 7 was just a new gen because anniversary,and to fill out.A filler Gen.It's a bit weird how they skipped a year and the games were rushed anyway.

I've said it before, but if Plus and Minus are true, I imagine Sun and Moon are cuts from the game, specifically the island traveling parts. We'll see, though.
 
The information provided by Piuk and Geno both mentioned the introduction of variants within the same species and the former compared this to the different patterns on Spinda. Maybe that's what this is? An Eevee with a slightly different coat to the one we're familiar with, debuting this new element ready for the next games. This wouldn't be as exciting as a new Pokémon but still something for Paul Ryan to raise an eyebrow at.
That actually makes sense,hm
 
I don't really understand why the age of the Plus/Minus leak is considered the deciding factor whether it's fake or not? There's certainly much more in the leak that seems fake, especially this quote:
>Pokemon Bank are actual locations on the Mainland and Handheld areas where people can import past Pokemon, mainly from Pokemon X and Pokemon Y into the new game.”

Whether or not you believe that Game Freak was designing as far ahead as Gen 8 at the time of XY's release, surely you have to admit that an employee that knew about games that far into the future should also know about the six games being released before then, especially considering ORAS was released that very year?
 
I don't really understand why the age of the Plus/Minus leak is considered the deciding factor whether it's fake or not? There's certainly much more in the leak that seems fake, especially this quote:


Whether or not you believe that Game Freak was designing as far ahead as Gen 8 at the time of XY's release, surely you have to admit that an employee that knew about games that far into the future should also know about the six games being released before then, especially considering ORAS was released that very year?
Yep. That line makes it look like it will be the games to follow XY when that was clearly not the case.
 
I don't really understand why the age of the Plus/Minus leak is considered the deciding factor whether it's fake or not? There's certainly much more in the leak that seems fake, especially this quote:


Whether or not you believe that Game Freak was designing as far ahead as Gen 8 at the time of XY's release, surely you have to admit that an employee that knew about games that far into the future should also know about the six games being released before then, especially considering ORAS was released that very year?
That's just one of many things that points to the Plus and Minus rumor being a big old phony. I agree with both you and @RileyXY1 on this. In all likelihood, anything that resembles these leaks are pure coincidence.
 
I don't really understand why the age of the Plus/Minus leak is considered the deciding factor whether it's fake or not? There's certainly much more in the leak that seems fake, especially this quote:


Whether or not you believe that Game Freak was designing as far ahead as Gen 8 at the time of XY's release, surely you have to admit that an employee that knew about games that far into the future should also know about the six games being released before then, especially considering ORAS was released that very year?
Oh but there are a lot more questionable things, like the enphasis on the rival being able to mega evolve Pokémon without a bracelet, when the concept has been dropped almost in the 7th gen.

What i think most people are arguing is that, even so, we shouldnt just outright dismiss it as there is no way to tell if it is completly made up or not. Most of what was described was plans so they could easily been scrapped since but have been real at the time.

And i say this not believing in that leak for what is worth, but i agree that it may be worth to keep it in the back of our heads as.. possible, at best.
 
Why I find suspicious about the +/- leak (other than its age, please let's drop that) is that it's not alligned with anything that happened in Gen 7, outside the Switch and maybe Solgaleo. Of course, maybe they decide the story first and then the mechanics after the software has been tested, but one could expect at least some sharing of information between teams.

Also, I don't believe the "UBs were imported from Gen 8" rumor/theory, because one of Gen VII's sub-themes is invasion and habitat disruption. It's present in the Gumshoos/Rattata and Corsola/Mareanie dynamics and in Aether & Skull having foreign themes. Also, it's a problem that happens with the biology of Hawaii in real-life.

I don't think Ultra Beasts were ever a part of +/-. If the game was developed for console, which is the big takeaway from the rumors, they wouldn't take the concept and put it onto a limited system. I think we have to wait for the new Region to find out, be it this year or two years from now.
 
@Feign; Is is possible? Maybe. But that doesn't mean it should be done, nor would it even be that good of a move for Game Freak to pull. Making Kanto Switch with no new Pokémon most likely won't appeal to anyone other than Kanto fans, especially if they stick to the 151 roster like a few of us would expect them to in order to preserve nostalgia. When Game Freak not to have our expectations too high, this formula just makes Pokémon Switch look like a tech demo and would be the exact opposite of what people wanted for the Switch. I'm not saying Kanto on the Switch couldn't work, but it would definitely have to have either new Pokémon or a bunch of regional variants and/or relevant cross-gen evolutions at the very least to garner any interest from those who don't feel nostalgia for the Kanto region.
 
Because, compared to previous third versions, the changes to the story don't flow together as well as they did previously, and it shows in various instances. Basically, the new additions in USUM directly interfere with an otherwise unchanged storyline. I think USUM would have been better if the whole Aether family plotline was completely changed since the current iteration of Lusamine's character just doesn't make sense when Game Freak kept Lillie and Gladion's roles the same (and diminished in Lillie's case). Game Freak should have either overhauled the story completely, not shoehorn in a connection between the URS and Lusamine, or make Lusamine look less like an ass by removing the frozen Pokémon from her lab. Heck, I would have vastly preferred Necrozma invading Lusamine's mind. There's also the fact that Zygarde, whom previously had a side-quest that could be started before the Elete Four, got shoved into the post-game completely in favor of stickers while still not giving us any proper exposition on its possible lore beyond what we know from its Pokédex entries.

And none of that's even considering the Rainbow Rocket post-game, which was apparently only thought of at the last minute as opposed to being the intended replacement of the Looker + Anabel story in SM's post game, and the heavily criticized Battle Agency as well. There were some good ideas, but the execution on most of them leave a lot to be desired.

I'm speaking strictly from a sales stand point. Sure, there's some criticisms to be had with the game itself but being a business GameFreak cares about sales and profit. USUM didn't sell as much as SuMo, but it didn't need to. They had nearly all the assets already made meaning it was cheaper to produce. The development cost was probably a fraction of SuMo so still most likely made a good profit even though it didn't sell as well as the originals. They'll still be inclined to make 3rd versions/Sequels/Expanded editions because there's still money to be made with them.
 
I'm speaking strictly from a sales stand point. Sure, there's some criticisms to be had with the game itself but being a business GameFreak cares about sales and profit. USUM didn't sell as much as SuMo, but it didn't need to. They had nearly all the assets already made meaning it was cheaper to produce. The development cost was probably a fraction of SuMo so still most likely made a good profit even though it didn't sell as well as the originals. They'll still be inclined to make 3rd versions/Sequels/Expanded editions because there's still money to be made with them.
I understand that much. I was just explaining why people were surprised about how well USUM actually did. Of course they'll be more inclined to do this again. To clarify, I don't have much of an issue with the 'third version' formula, just that they usually have better execution and feel more like a logical progression than what we got this time around. If this is what Game Freak does for third version for now on, then I think it's time to use DLC instead. That's just my opinion, of course.
 
I understand that much. I was just explaining why people were surprised about how well USUM actually did. Of course they'll be more inclined to do this again. To clarify, I don't have much of an issue with the 'third version' formula, just that they usually have better execution and feel more like a logical progression than what we got this time around. If this is what Game Freak does for third version for now on, then I think it's time to use DLC instead. That's just my opinion, of course.

I completely agree with you on all points. DLC is the way to go and it can be a way to satisfy the more hardcore fans without having to release a new game every year.
 
Also to anyone saying Game Freak isn't planning games ahead, here's a quote from bulbapedia since I can't find a screenshot:


While I don't think they will necessarily have solid and fully fleshed out ideas, I think assuming that they don't have a general outline for future games is naive. This example is talking about a mechanic two generations before it premiered. To put that into more perspective, that is an 8 year difference. These rumors are from 4 years ago and specifically mention a game for a fusion handheld home console system, so mentioning a lack of overlap in Gen VII is flawed.
 
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