The Official Future Speculation Thread

[Joshawott]

Hello Everynyan!

We've certainly found ourselves in an exciting time haven't we? In October 2015, The Pokémon Company officially unveiled an array of new formes for the legendary Zygarde; the third in a trio alongside X/Y mascots Xerneas and Yveltal alongside the peculiar Ash-Greninja; kicking off speculation that a Pokémon Z might be just around the corner.
Things escalated further in February 2016, when the unveiling of the Mythical Pokémon Magearna raised questions about the direction GameFreak were taking the series, as unlike the recently revealed Volcanion, no internal data has been found in existing games tipping us off to its existence. Could Magearna be a late addition to the franchise's sixth generation, or the first sign of a seventh?

Speculation is rife with many interpretations flying around, so the Video Game section staff have decided to create a single place for people to analyse, critique and debate their theories before we're finally put out of our collective misery with an official announcement! Of course, many people will undoubtedly be passionate about their own opinions, so we ask that users abide by the following three golden rules:

1. Discussion must be civil. As outlined in the forum rules, flaming and baiting will not be tolerated.
2. Critique of ideas must either be constructive or explained in detail. Simple posts like "No, your idea sucks" are not acceptable; regardless of how ridiculous an idea may seem (yes, Z won't be a Vita-exclusive indie 8-bit dating sim, but explain why).
3. All other forum rules apply. If you feel that a user may be breaking any of these, do not confront or call them out - simply report the post and our moderation team will act if they deem it necessary.

Anyone deemed to be in breach of the above rules risk being banned from replying in this thread until they can prove a change in attitude on other parts of the forum, or further disciplinary action.

With that out of the way, go nuts!

 

[Mitchman]

New thread smell. Yum.

Okay, so Masuda being at E3 is interesting to say the least. Its not going to be Go, as I doubt Nintendo would offer showfloor space to a Mobile Venture not part of their own, and I doubt TPC or Nintendo would let Niantic have a corner for it, if they have a booth. Meanwhile, gen 7 onn 3DS being showcased alongside demo booths for everything NX? That's going to be an interedting discussin if it happens.

 

[ArvAl]

If Masuda will go on to E3, there could be few possibilities:

1. He will announce a new main series game.
2. He will announce a spinoff game (Pokemon Go is a good one).
3. He's only just stand by and do nuthin'.

I do hope he'll pick two above although chances are much slim to be quite assuring here.

 

[zoroarctic]

As I said in my final post in the other thread, I'm inclined to think Gen VII is coming next. XY's emphasis on the new mechanics and features over the story/content has me thinking Game Freak did not intend to do much with Kalos.

 

[TouyaShiro]

Mobile gaming seems to be growing in presence, so I don't see why Masuda shouldn't go into The Pokémon Company's mobile efforts even in E3.

I don't know anything else I could mention in this topic that hasn't already been mentioned in the past topic, but I'll note once again that our definition of a "Generation" may have to change depending on the reveal.

 

[Lufenium]

Masuda was last at E3 to promote X/Y if I recall, so I think he'll be there to promote the next main series titles as well as Go.

If he's there, then I think there's a chance that a new gen will be on its way.

 

[Joshawott]

New thread smell. Yum.

Okay, so Masuda being at E3 is interesting to say the least. Its not going to be Go, as I doubt Nintendo would offer showfloor space to a Mobile Venture not part of their own, and I doubt TPC or Nintendo would let Niantic have a corner for it, if they have a booth. Meanwhile, gen 7 onn 3DS being showcased alongside demo booths for everything NX? That's going to be an interedting discussin if it happens.

I wouldn't be surprised if The Pokémon Compamy will largely be there for Pokémon GO; especially given the hype it's received since reveal, or an overall 20th anniversary commemoration. I can't see Masuda attending purely for something as small as the end-game of a generation. If a Z or equivalent is showcased at E3, I doubt it will be the headliner.

While I would love for GameFreak to launch the next main series game as an NX launch or launch-window title, I don't think the Pokémon franchise transitioning to newer hardware mid-generation is likely given past precedent.

 

[ArvAl]

Based on what I see, there two groupies separated between. One that supports gen 6.5 and the other chose gen 7.

I didn't side with these guys very much since I only scout for news. But I can tell the generation of 3DS won't die just yet even if NX is confirmed.

The good chances for Niantics and TPCi to go onwards was to putting Pokemon Go on the run with confirmed dates. I heard they were doing closed beta test but still it remains unknown. Perhaps Spring would be our best bet to release it.

 

[Cainhxrst]

I've taken a rather pessimistic approach when it comes to viewing when things will get revealed mainly due to the past year (vcg worlds mainly lol) but now I'm under t.e impression that

> new main series game get's announced within the next few weeks (aka close to obe 27th, if not on the 27th
>we get details on it at e3 in June (Masuda appearance)
>Launch in October/November

I feel there's little to zero chance of it releasing on NX, and I 100% believe it'll be a 3DS game. On the topic of gen 6/6.5 or gen 7, I really don't know what to think.

I'm over with gen 6 at this point. I liked it (although I do feel X/Y were a bit too easy/fast) but with the amount of time they're taking to reveal/release "Z", I'd rather just move on at this point. Had they announced it back in October when the Zygarde forms were revealed, I'd feel differently. That being said, it doesn't make sense for them to promote these forms, Volcanion, and announce a new mythical pokemon that has relations to Volcanion if they were just going to move on to the next gen. I initially felt that perhaps they were using the anime to conclude gen 6 and would just move on to 7th gen, but I'm honestly thinking the next main series game they announce is going to be unlike anything they've put out before.

That may be just wishful thinking, but I refuse to believe they've taken so long to announce what normally would just be X/Y repackaged with a few new towns/gym leaders and added features.

All of this leads me to believe than a gen 6.5 could be possible, but at the same time, wouldn't that mess up/completely change their release patterns for future installments? If we were to get 70 new Pokemon and a southern kalos mini-region or whatever, then there's no way they'd release gen 7 a year later. Even two years later could be too soon.

So it'd look something like > gen 6.5 : 2016
> gen 7 : 2018 or 2019

I feel like it'd be a terrible decision to make the fanbase wait two years for a new game, release it, then make them wait another two years immediately afterwards. Unless they were to release D/P remakes in between but I don't see gen 6 getting two-sets of remakes.

Another far-fetched theory I feel has a slight, slight chance of happening, is GF blurring what "defines a generation". Gen 7 could be like what gen 2 was to Kanto.

Ugh this whole situation is complicated and confusing q.q

 

[Mitchman]

In

I wouldn't be surised if The Pokémon Compamy will largely be there for Pokémon GO; especially given the hype it's received since reveal, or an overall 20th anniversary commemoration. I can't see Masuda attending purely for something as small as the end-game of a generation. If a Z or equivalent is showcased at E3, I doubt it will be the headliner.

While I would love for GameFreak to launch the next main series game as an NX launch or launch-window title, I don't think the Pokémon franchise transitioning to newer hardware mid-generation is likely given past precedent.

If he is going to be there, then its definitely gen 7 happening. Again, unless TPC has their own booth, Nintendo will not give them showfloor space for Go, not when their own venture are not getting a focus at E3. The reason why I say if, is because apparently GoNintendo mistranslated the tweet.

Hello. I tried to adjust with The Pokémon company international, not likely to go to nearby E3. Please give my best regards to the relationship bidder of Desukon . I'm sorry to great teaser thankfully .

If anyone wants to translate it properly to actually make sense of things:

View: https://mobile.twitter.com/Junichi_Masuda/status/698658447139581952


If Masuda ISN'T going to be at E3, then either gen 7 is going ton3DS, or gen 6 ain't over. Magearna just makes this all not make sense.

 

[Johtohfiller]

I hope this isn't off topic - there were some speculations about an alternate forme or Mega for Volcanion in the previous thread, and I was thinking about what that might look like. What if he goes bipedal? Those yellow things on Volcanion's chest look almost like eyes, it could give that torso-face look some super robots go for. Then there's the ears, which look almost like Getter One.

Zygarde 100% looks like a super robot too, they could be going for a theme.

 

[Esserise]

Haaaaaaah, I always love a good reboot. Makes everything feel so fresh.

And on that subject I have found myself wondering. I remember, back in the old "Gen VII aiming for simplicity" thread (something along those lines), that they said they probably wouldn't ever do a full-on reboot of the franchise. However... you don't have to reboot the entire thing in order to give your approach a complete overhaul. And so, I'm thinking, when (if ever) is it going to be time to do away with the current "formula" of the main series games? You know, the traditional "Start from a small town, travel the region, turn-based battles, beat Gym Leaders and bad guys, fill up the PokéDex, move on to competitive" format that we have had since the beginning?

Is that all just too quintessential to remove? Because we've had two soft reboots now in the form of B/W and X/Y, and those games both focused on streamlining a lot of the mechanics. And with Game Freak's new aim of simultaneously catering to casual fans while encouraging the competitive scene, it begs to me the question, has the traditional "formula" gone as far as it can go? X/Y's post-game was virtually nonexistent. OR/AS's was better, but it turned the introvert-friendly Battle Frontier into Prep-For-VGCs Island. I think it is clear that they have undergone *some* kind of paradigm shift regarding the ultimate goal of these games. Could that be taken to an extreme where the "core" nature of the core series is rebuilt from the ground-up to accommodate that shift?

*If* Gen VI is over, then maybe we could see that "rebirth" with the new generation. Or would it be better to wait until the next console? Or maybe nothing like this is going to happen at all, and we will just continue to see cookie-cutter Pokémon games. Which I wouldn't necessarily have a problem with either; I do *like* the format that we have always had.


On another note, I don't see why the E3 appearance couldn't be about *both* Go and the new main series game. It's the 20th anniversary. Go big. Especially if Go is compatible with the new games.

 

[ArvAl]

I hope this isn't off topic - there were some speculations about an alternate forme or Mega for Volcanion in the previous thread, and I was thinking about what that might look like. What if he goes bipedal? Those yellow things on Volcanion's chest look almost like eyes, it could give that torso-face look some super robots go for. Then there's the ears, which look almost like Getter One.

Zygarde 100% looks like a super robot too, they could be going for a theme.

If that's true, then our beloved franchise has turned to Ultraman crossovers wars.

 

[Joshawott]

@Mitchman - At this stage I'm personally betting on Magearna being a late addition to Generation 6 that will only be available in the next main-series game. I think a main-stage is still on the cards for Zygarde; which will fit more naturally into a game continuing the generation rather than starting a new one.

@Endolise - I agree that a complete rethink of the current formula would be absolutely great in a future game; even if it only affected the narrative.

 

[Mitchman]

Look above, there isn't going to be an E3 appearance apparently. Until a game gets announced, we have no idea what's going to happen.

 

[Johtohfiller]

If that's true, then our beloved franchise has turned to Ultraman crossovers wars.

IIRC there were "capsule monsters" in Ultraman. The rabbit hole goes deep.

 

[Mitchman]

@Mitchman - At this stage I'm personally betting on Magearna being a late addition to Generation 6 that will only be available in the next main-series game. I think a main-stage is still on the cards for Zygarde; which will fit more naturally into a game continuing the generation rather than starting a new one.

@Endolise - I agree that a complete rethink of the current formula would be absolutely great in a future game; even if it only affected the narrative.

Magearna being gen 6 is the one thing I have been inclined to from the start. In this situation its much like Mew, which is they finally said fuck it when it comes to compatibility and have a 100% new mythical, by keeping it secret till the very end of the generation, as the last big parallel to gen 1.

 

[Proxima Centauri B]

I have to wonder if Magearna is a one off addition of a new Pokemon into the third Gen VI game or if there may be other new Pokemon added as well, if this is a third Gen VI game, if they're going to add one, its possible they could also add more.

 

[ArvAl]

Magearna being gen 6 is the one thing I have been inclined to from the start. In this situation its much like Mew, which is they finally said fuck it when it comes to compatibility and have a 100% new mythical, by keeping it secret till the very end of the generation, as the last big parallel to gen 1.

Alternative Reason : They just freakin tired after their games being hacked and spoiled to everyone before 3 years has even reached. Hence, they wanted to save this for the last as a response.

 

[Silktree]

In this situation its much like Mew, which is they finally said fuck it when it comes to compatibility and have a 100% new mythical, by keeping it secret till the very end of the generation, as the last big parallel to gen 1.

Mew was revealed two months after the release of Red and Green. There is no comparison.