Speculation What if GenVI is being cut short because the Alola region connects to Kalos?!

[Esserise]

If you're implying that gen 5 was a "reboot" to the series, that's wrong. The series have only been "rebooted" once, and that was between the gap between gen 2 and gen 3, and yet i don't see Hoenn and Sinnoh as "twin" sisters like Kanto and Johto were. Just because gen 5 set the series far away from the japanese regions doesn't mean that it was a "reboot" to the series and that gen 6 and 7 are going to be the "proper" gen 1 and 2.

I think you're reading too much into it tbh.

They're implying that Gen V was something of a "soft" reboot, and not even necessarily that in exact terms - just that it has elements of one, which I would agree with them about.

It's not just about Gen V being the first in a non-Japanese region. That certainly emphasizes the feeling (along with the decision to reset the route count and to line the regional Pokédex with niche-imitators of some of the original 151), but on a more technical level, Gen V is when they really began to streamline the existing mechanics of the games as opposed to mostly focusing on building on top of what the previous game introduced. Not to say that they didn't streamline some things before, but Gen V is when it started to become more prominent, and it continued into Gen VI. Additionally, they also changed their storytelling style quite significantly in Gen V, and Gen VI, even for as tepid as the story was, tells its story using a lot of the same conventions as Gen V.

That's not to say that I fully agree with the interpretation of Gen VII as a "reimagined" Gen II, but I think you may be reading their statement too literally.

I still think hinging all this speculation that Alola and Kalos are linked just on Zygarde and the Strange Souvenir is weak at best. And calling Alola the Johto to Kalos just sounds wrong to me. They're not remotely the same at all. Kanto was an afterthought in GSC and was added only because Iwata managed to compress the data which left enough room for them to do so. I've seen nothing that it was planned from the start. And I dunno it just bugs me that so many people are so caught up on Zygarde that they seem to be endlessly trying to tie everything new to Kalos and not just letting it stand on it's own.

I do think that the fandom has a nasty habit of constantly trying to squeeze things into the frame of Gen I and Gen II (or other "traditional" patterns), but overall it's an honest point of speculation. They are obviously trying something new with the formula with Zygarde and the Souvenir, but we can't really say what exactly the endgame is. It's natural and perfectly harmless for people to come up with theories and consider the possibility of a deeper connection.

 

[Peachy]

I do think that the fandom has a nasty habit of constantly trying to squeeze things into the frame of Gen I and Gen II (or other "traditional" patterns), but overall it's an honest point of speculation. They are obviously trying something new with the formula with Zygarde and the Souvenir, but we can't really say what exactly the endgame is. It's natural and perfectly harmless for people to come up with theories and consider the possibility of a deeper connection.

Yeah it is valid speculation. It's really just me being tired of seeing people trying to tie everything back to Kalos. It bugged me that instead of people saying "oh cool Alola is based on Hawaii" we got, "But if Alola is Hawaii how are we going to go back to Kalos? Hawaii is too far away from France." It's not that it's a problem that people are saying these things, but like can we at least give Alola a chance to have it's time in the spotlight without trying to bring Kalos into it? And I'll be honest, a lot of this stems from the fact that Kalos is by far my least favorite region. I was glad when SM were announced because it meant that we were moving past Kalos. So people trying to drag it into Gen VII irks me, I don't like Kalos and I don't want to revisit it. I just want SM and Alola to be a stand-alone story with little references to past events and cameos. That's just my personal view though.

 

[Hidden Mew]

I feel pretty much the same way. While I can totally understand why people want to return to Kalos and I wouldn't be completely against it if the games could make it work, I'm also really tired of seeing that speculation so often. It's not as annoying as the Zygarde speculation, but it does kind of bother me. I'd rather see Alola be fleshed out and given the main focus rather than seeing them trying to do both Alola and Kalos and risking both regions coming off as lackluster as a result.

 

[Mitchman]

If you're implying that gen 5 was a "reboot" to the series, that's wrong. The series have only been "rebooted" once, and that was between the gap between gen 2 and gen 3, and yet i don't see Hoenn and Sinnoh as "twin" sisters like Kanto and Johto were. Just because gen 5 set the series far away from the japanese regions doesn't mean that it was a "reboot" to the series and that gen 6 and 7 are going to be the "proper" gen 1 and 2.

I think you're reading too much into it tbh.

In a way though Hoenn and Sinnoh are a pair, not twins, but definitely a pair. When one looks at gens 3 and 4, you get a feeling that Kabto and Johto are still the main events. Hoenn and Sinnoh along with their games are in no way side stories or gaiden entries, but they definitely existed in a way to complement the other two regions. The presentation style was not on the sake level, and both sets of remakes presented new gameplay and overworld features still being used to thos day, or only in theor respective remakes. Hoenn is a warm temperament while Sinnoh is cool. Its legends and lore is much more terrestrial while the Sinnoh myths are extraterrestrial. Definitely not twins, but more of a pair. Its whu gen 5 could be considered a gen 0 of sorts. No connections to another region, an inspecified place in the timeline and in general belongs to itlef beside the recurring characters, a poitn I'll get back to in a second. When it comes to what I men by proper gen 1 and 2, is simple really. Gen 6 did reboot the universe, no way to spin it about. ORAS basically confirmed this, with Zinnia and her musings. Gen 5 exists in this weird bubble that can exist in both timelines, which gives it a weird little position in the series. What really bothers me is that ORAS broke the dynamic of gens 3 and 4, and in a way gen 5, as it makes it obviou tht they are trying something else with this universe, but that in itself isn't bad thing.

As for Kalos in SM people are underestimating the region and how its built. People have ORAS more recent in their memory, so ita likely they don't remember so clearly that Kalos was far, FAR less blocky in most of the region. They have to only sand out a few rough edges and fix the height for buildings in the overworld, noan entirely rebuilding of the region. Its doable, with Lumiose the only realy challenge.

 

[Bolt Strike]

Yeah it is valid speculation. It's really just me being tired of seeing people trying to tie everything back to Kalos. It bugged me that instead of people saying "oh cool Alola is based on Hawaii" we got, "But if Alola is Hawaii how are we going to go back to Kalos? Hawaii is too far away from France." It's not that it's a problem that people are saying these things, but like can we at least give Alola a chance to have it's time in the spotlight without trying to bring Kalos into it? And I'll be honest, a lot of this stems from the fact that Kalos is by far my least favorite region. I was glad when SM were announced because it meant that we were moving past Kalos. So people trying to drag it into Gen VII irks me, I don't like Kalos and I don't want to revisit it. I just want SM and Alola to be a stand-alone story with little references to past events and cameos. That's just my personal view though.

I'd be more receptive towards Alola's own merits did we not have unfinished business in Kalos with Zygarde and everything else that they haven't fleshed out. Alola could be a good region, but skipping a Kalos revisit to 7th gen raises major question marks. How will we get Z content? What does this mean for the future of third versions? This could affect Alola too, if they're content to leave Kalos as is does that mean Alola will also leave us feeling unsatisfied? It feels too soon for 7th gen with so many loose ends in XY, leading people to wonder how Kalos fits into their plans.

 

[Hellpest]

I think in some way Kalos and Alola are twins in a way that Kanto and Johto are. Its obvious they planned gen 7 from 2013, or even before, with not so subtle hints to the region. Zygarde, the unsolved mystety of infinity energy and natural energy, it just feels like they started a project beyond generational lines, with XY opening possibilities for the beginning of a more encompassing, with SM continuing what it started. Gen 5 in a way was Gen 0, starting a new cycle by introducing farther away regions, a more open plot style and a new world that does recurring characters, where gen 6 and 7 are the proper gens 1 and 2, connected in plot, but also lore and mythology. Or at least I hopr.

Gen 5 was meant to be a 'reboot', but this didn't really show itself out of the anime, and the start of the stream of dank memes they added to the main games.

 

[Peachy]

I'd be more receptive towards Alola's own merits did we not have unfinished business in Kalos with Zygarde and everything else that they haven't fleshed out. Alola could be a good region, but skipping a Kalos revisit to 7th gen raises major question marks. How will we get Z content? What does this mean for the future of third versions? This could affect Alola too, if they're content to leave Kalos as is does that mean Alola will also leave us feeling unsatisfied? It feels too soon for 7th gen with so many loose ends in XY, leading people to wonder how Kalos fits into their plans.

So just because you feel burned by Kalos you're refusing to accept that Alola could be good. Like yeah I thought Kalos was a bad region too, but you have to assume that it was just a misstep on GF's part cause with your attitude you're setting yourself for disappointment no matter what comes. Also what is this "Z content" that you keep talking about? Cause Z never existed so therefore "Z content" doesn't exist. And if you're talking about Zygarde's formes they could totally be in SM. And I don't see how a story that I personally thought was very weak could have so many so called "loose-ends" that people are rejecting new content.

Gen 5 was meant to be a 'reboot', but this didn't really show itself out of the anime, and the start of the stream of dank memes they added to the main games.

Nah, I'd say that Gen IV was the start of "memes" and referential humor, like when you get all the tickets for the poketch they say "A winner is you!".

 

[Hidden Mew]

I'd be more receptive towards Alola's own merits did we not have unfinished business in Kalos with Zygarde and everything else that they haven't fleshed out. Alola could be a good region, but skipping a Kalos revisit to 7th gen raises major question marks. How will we get Z content? What does this mean for the future of third versions? This could affect Alola too, if they're content to leave Kalos as is does that mean Alola will also leave us feeling unsatisfied? It feels too soon for 7th gen with so many loose ends in XY, leading people to wonder how Kalos fits into their plans.

Not everyone was unsatisfied with Kalos. You don't represent the fanbase as a whole. Despite their flaws, X/Y were still enjoyable for me, even without some kind of continuation. The lack of a Z or sequel games doesn't activity make the games more frustrating or disappointing for me. I can understand the concern about Alola not being handled well after Kalos though. It is a valid concern, along with worrying if there won't be any kind of continuations of a generation in the future. But at the same time, it still comes off like jumping the gun and assuming the worst just because how you feel about Kalos. At least wait until Sun/Moon come out to judge them instead of assuming the worst right away. I'd rather hope for the best than think that the region will be unsatisfying before I even play the game.

I can also understand being disappointed about not having a Kalos revisit if you were looking forward to it and wanted to see improvements from X/Y, but rejecting new content or at least being against the decision this much at this point just seems a bit odd to me. We're going to get far more new content in Sun/Moon than we would have with Z. Whether or not the content is handled well remains to be seen, but they'll still offer more than what Z could have done. Considering how fans have treated Z like it's the holy grail of Pokemon and that it would instantly fix every problem people had with X/Y, I doubt that it would have lived up to what people imagined the games would be like either and people would have been complaining about it too knowing how this fanbase gets. I'm sure that there will be issues with Sun/Moon since no game is perfect, but I'd rather focus on a new generation than go through Kalos simply because it will provide more new content. I certainly would have been happy with a return trip to Kalos since I was hoping for some improvements too, but I'm not going to lose sleep over it or be upset that we're getting a new generation instead.

 

[Bolt Strike]

So just because you feel burned by Kalos you're refusing to accept that Alola could be good.

No, what I'm concerned about is that their approach towards Kalos means that Alola won't be good. If they couldn't be bothered to flesh out Kalos, what makes you think they'll flesh out Alola?

Like yeah I thought Kalos was a bad region too, but you have to assume that it was just a misstep on GF's part cause with your attitude you're setting yourself for disappointment no matter what comes.

Leaving it as a misstep is still bad regardless, it calls their entire character and standards of quality into question. If they're content to leave us with a bad region then what does that say about them as developers? I'd rather set myself up for disappointment than settle for mediocrity.

Also what is this "Z content" that you keep talking about? Cause Z never existed so therefore "Z content" doesn't exist.

There's several Pokemon forms that haven't been distributed in the games and areas that haven't been visited. We're not just missing Zygarde's forms, but also Ash Greninja and Eternal Flower Floette. Area wise, the game references a Southern Kalos and in fact, Kalos in XY only covers about half of real life France, so there's plenty of room for new areas. And what about those locked doors in the Power Plant, what's inside of those? What about the train in Couriway Town, where does that lead? There's also room for extra sidequests, which is something that was sorely lacking in XY. They mention Rhyhorn racing in the games, and there's a racetrack on Rt. 22, but we can't participate. In general, there's nothing equivalent to Contests, Secret Bases, Pokeathlon, Pokestar Studios, etc. in terms of depth and length, which is something a Z-like game could easily add.

And if you're talking about Zygarde's formes they could totally be in SM.

They could in theory, but Zygarde is very much tied to the Kalos region, and wrapping up its storyline in a potentially unrelated region would be unfitting.

And I don't see how a story that I personally thought was very weak could have so many so called "loose-ends" that people are rejecting new content.

XY having a weak storyline is even more reason to expand on it, though. There's so many things that aren't explained in the plot or aren't utilized very well that they have more than enough for another plot. For starters, they never explained what role the mascots play in the region and lore, they're just glorified batteries for the Ultimate Weapon in XY. Then of course, there's Zygarde's role in the region and how it relates to Xerneas/Yveltal. There's still a lot we don't know about Eternal Flower Floette either, what kind of flower is that, how did it get it, and why can't we find it elsewhere? Beyond Pokemon lore though, there's the Anistar Sundial which magically upgrades your Mega Rings somehow. Just what IS it and what does it have to do with Mega Stones? Malva could stand to get more of a role in the next game as well, she's the only character to be both Elite 4 and an evil team admin, and there's so much more they could do with that.

We're going to get far more new content in Sun/Moon than we would have with Z. Whether or not the content is handled well remains to be seen, but they'll still offer more than what Z could have done. Considering how fans have treated Z like it's the holy grail of Pokemon and that it would instantly fix every problem people had with X/Y, I doubt that it would have lived up to what people imagined the games would be like either and people would have been complaining about it too knowing how this fanbase gets. I'm sure that there will be issues with Sun/Moon since no game is perfect, but I'd rather focus on a new generation than go through Kalos simply because it will provide more new content. I certainly would have been happy with a return trip to Kalos since I was hoping for some improvements too, but I'm not going to lose sleep over it or be upset that we're getting a new generation instead.

New generations tend to have more new content, but third versions and sequels tend to have more content overall. Reusing an existing region gives them more content to start off with, so they don't have to reinvent the wheel in development and we end up with much more than we get in the initial pair. New Pokemon are nice and all, but IMO nothing beats having a polished game with a wealth of content, and SM will inevitably be inferior to a hypothetical Z version in this respect. Having more new content is nice, but that doesn't mean much if it's not good content.

 

[Boss1708]

In a way though Hoenn and Sinnoh are a pair, not twins, but definitely a pair.

The Sinnoh games copied the Hoenn games in many ways (Secret Bases, Contests, Battle Tower, Battle Frontier, etc). So if this is what you mean, you can call them a pair, kinda.

When one looks at gens 3 and 4, you get a feeling that Kabto and Johto are still the main events.

Not really, nope. Hoenn and Sinnoh are the main events, and FRLG and HGSS feel like a complement to them. The only remake that feels more relevant than the main game that it shares the generation with, is ORAS in Gen VI. Probably because XY didn't receive a "third version game" and ORAS acts like a third version to XY, content wise and plot wise. Which wasn't the case in Gen III or IV.

Hoenn and Sinnoh along with their games are in no way side stories or gaiden entries, but they definitely existed in a way to complement the other two regions.

They existed to continue the franchise, not to continue Kanto or Johto.

As for Kalos in SM people are underestimating the region and how its built. People have ORAS more recent in their memory, so ita likely they don't remember so clearly that Kalos was far, FAR less blocky in most of the region. They have to only sand out a few rough edges and fix the height for buildings in the overworld, noan entirely rebuilding of the region. Its doable, with Lumiose the only realy challenge.

ORAS faithfully recreates the nostalgic blockiness of the originals, which is a very good thing. Though, I don't think XY was much less blocky. Only Lumiose, but the rest isn't much different.

Also, Kalos in SM would definitely be more time consuming than you think. You seem to underestimate the big change between XY and Gen VII. It's a lot more than just upscaling the buildings, they would have to remake the entire Kalos, and besides, we don't need that in SM.

 

[Hidden Mew]

New generations tend to have more new content, but third versions and sequels tend to have more content overall. Reusing an existing region gives them more content to start off with, so they don't have to reinvent the wheel in development and we end up with much more than we get in the initial pair. New Pokemon are nice and all, but IMO nothing beats having a polished game with a wealth of content, and SM will inevitably be inferior to a hypothetical Z version in this respect. Having more new content is nice, but that doesn't mean much if it's not good content.

Are you saying that third versions and sequels have more new content than the first pair of games in a generation? If so, that's a bit odd to me, at least with the third version games. Yes, reusing an existing region helps them out with content since they don't have to start over from scratch, but there aren't too many traditional third version games that I would describe as having more new content compared to the first pair of games. I think that would only really cover maybe Platinum. B2/W2 had more new content too, but they were sequels, so they naturally would have more content and I don't really count them as third version games despite taking the spot of such for the fifth generation. Most of the new content in the traditional third version games tended to be in the middle/end of the game. There is still new content and they usually had more post-storyline stuff than the first pair, but I'm not sure if that's enough to say that have more new content overall compared to the first games of a generation.

I wasn't referring to just new Pokemon when I was talking about new content of a new generation. Yes, we get more new Pokemon, but we also get a brand new story in a brand new region with brand new characters, battling new Gym Leaders/Elite 4 and fighting against a new evil team. That's still more than what we would have gotten with a Z version. If we had gotten sequels instead of Z, then the new content would have been at least closer in terms of the overall amount, but a new generation would have a bit more of an edge due to new Pokemon, mechanics, new region and more new characters as a result.

While I agree that a polished game with a solid amount of content is good and that more new content doesn't matter if it isn't good, I think it's incredibly ridiculous that you're comparing Sun/Moon to a hypothetical Z. You're saying that Sun/Moon, actual games that we're actually going to get, are going to be inferior to a hypothetical Z in regards to being a polished game with a wealth of content. If that's the case, then that really bothers me. Not only is it judging Sun/Moon before we even play them, but you're comparing them to a game that doesn't exist outside of fans' imaginations. This is the kind of holy grail worship of Z that really bothers me and one reason why I'm glad that they didn't release it to be honest. Fans have had such high expectations for it and imagined how it would be for years that it wouldn't have lived up to their expectations and people would most likely still end up complaining about it. And yes, I know that the first pair of games aren't known for being polished and/or having a lot of content after the storyline ends. There is still a possibility that Sun/Moon could be different in that regard. Perhaps not too likely, but I'd consider it a possibility. Acting like a hypothetical Z would have been so much better than Sun/Moon just really annoys me so much.

 

[Bolt Strike]

Are you saying that third versions and sequels have more new content than the first pair of games in a generation? If so, that's a bit odd to me, at least with the third version games. Yes, reusing an existing region helps them out with content since they don't have to start over from scratch, but there aren't too many traditional third version games that I would describe as having more new content compared to the first pair of games. I think that would only really cover maybe Platinum. B2/W2 had more new content too, but they were sequels, so they naturally would have more content and I don't really count them as third version games despite taking the spot of such for the fifth generation. Most of the new content in the traditional third version games tended to be in the middle/end of the game. There is still new content and they usually had more post-storyline stuff than the first pair, but I'm not sure if that's enough to say that have more new content overall compared to the first games of a generation.

Don't underestimate the added extra features, some of the major ones can be very time consuming, and the smaller ones can add up. Beyond that though, there's also more Pokemon to catch, new areas to explore, and new storyline events. Depending on how much of that you're willing to do, that can add 5-10 hours to the game, maybe more if you count grinding for those things.

I wasn't referring to just new Pokemon when I was talking about new content of a new generation. Yes, we get more new Pokemon, but we also get a brand new story in a brand new region with brand new characters, battling new Gym Leaders/Elite 4 and fighting against a new evil team. That's still more than what we would have gotten with a Z version. If we had gotten sequels instead of Z, then the new content would have been at least closer in terms of the overall amount, but a new generation would have a bit more of an edge due to new Pokemon, mechanics, new region and more new characters as a result.

Third versions are separating further and further from their initial versions, so new generations are gradually losing these advantages. BW2 had a new story, new characters, and new gym leaders. They also have new areas, albeit not an entirely new region. The only thing they haven't done is add new Pokemon, and I see no reason why they can't do that next.

While I agree that a polished game with a solid amount of content is good and that more new content doesn't matter if it isn't good, I think it's incredibly ridiculous that you're comparing Sun/Moon to a hypothetical Z. You're saying that Sun/Moon, actual games that we're actually going to get, are going to be inferior to a hypothetical Z in regards to being a polished game with a wealth of content. If that's the case, then that really bothers me. Not only is it judging Sun/Moon before we even play them, but you're comparing them to a game that doesn't exist outside of fans' imaginations. This is the kind of holy grail worship of Z that really bothers me and one reason why I'm glad that they didn't release it to be honest. Fans have had such high expectations for it and imagined how it would be for years that it wouldn't have lived up to their expectations and people would most likely still end up complaining about it. And yes, I know that the first pair of games aren't known for being polished and/or having a lot of content after the storyline ends. There is still a possibility that Sun/Moon could be different in that regard. Perhaps not too likely, but I'd consider it a possibility. Acting like a hypothetical Z would have been so much better than Sun/Moon just really annoys me so much.

It's physically impossible for SM to surpass a hypothetical Z. Because whatever time they spent working on the new region takes away from something else they could add to the game, but since Z already has an established region that something else could easily make the cut, they can provide the same content in Z for less work. It's possible that SM could hold up well in its own right, but it absolutely cannot surpass Z in terms of content, lower content is an inherent opportunity cost in creating a new region.

 

[Hidden Mew]

Yeah, I really don't have anything more to say to this than what I've already said and I really don't feel the need to go around in circles again over this or anything Z related with you. It's just not going to end up well for either one of us in the long run. I do want to emphasize how absolutely ridiculous it is to compare Sun/Moon with a game that doesn't exist and claim that they couldn't surpass a hypothetical Z though. I can understand some of the points you've made, but praising Z as if you knew for a fact what it would be like is just beyond ridiculous and shows why I'm really started to hate how fans are worshiping a game that doesn't even exist. If anything, it just makes me more glad that we aren't getting Z because of how fans would be worshiping it even more and then complaining when it didn't go as they imagined it. Sun/Moon offer a lot more to me than a Z version would and I'm just amazed with how obsessed people can get over Kalos and Zygarde at this point. I just needed to get more of that off my chest, but I have no interest in getting into another circle debate with you.

 

[PurplePopplio]

Guys, what if, and just bear with me here, they finally realize that the first versions of a generation can actually be complete and don't need a third version or sequels?

 

[Silktree]

They could in theory, but Zygarde is very much tied to the Kalos region, and wrapping up its storyline in a potentially unrelated region would be unfitting.

It's almost certainly going to happen, and they may not even be concerned with its (currenly non-existent) storyline when it already has one in the anime. Deal with it.

If they wanted to wrap up the Kalos story next year, they would keep the Zygarde forms a secret until then. Instead, they got them out of the way months before the Sun and Moon announcement. It may be unsatisfying to you, but continued denial about "Z content" being around the corner isn't going to help.

but also Ash Greninja and Eternal Flower Floette.

They never promised that either one of them would be playable. They still might, but it is hardly a big deal either way.

Kalos in XY only covers about half of real life France, so there's plenty of room for new areas.

There are also plenty of unused Japanese areas (at least enough for two regions). Why should the entirety of France be covered in a single generation, if ever? A region has never been synonymous with a whole country.

It's physically impossible for SM to surpass a hypothetical Z.

Please. Game Freak would not have worked on Z for two years; they would have developed a new generation simultaneously. And if the crust of your argument is that Z would have had more content overall due to reusing the XY content, that isn't remotely impressive.

 

[Hellpest]

Nah, I'd say that Gen IV was the start of "memes" and referential humor, like when you get all the tickets for the poketch they say "A winner is you!".

How could I have missed a quote from my favourite character in my favourite game...

 

[Falconwing]

Nah, I'd say that Gen IV was the start of "memes" and referential humor, like when you get all the tickets for the poketch they say "A winner is you!".

That's what happens where your translator frequents SomethingAwful.

 

[PurplePopplio]

I am actually hoping for the more unlikely possibility of Hoenn being the second region and including its Battle Frontier. A man can dream...

 

[Pokémon Spectrum]

I seem to recall a statement from Game Freak saying that they plan on doing something special with Zygarde's story. That means that they are not ignoring the fact that X/Y left some unanswered questions in the story, and quite possibly planned it that way. I don't think we'll get a full revisit to Kalos in Sun and Moon, but I do think that Kalos will at least have some sort of significance. Zygarde's alternate forms have official heights and weights, after all, so it wouldn't make sense not to do anything with them outside the anime.

 

[Bolt Strike]

Guys, what if, and just bear with me here, they finally realize that the first versions of a generation can actually be complete and don't need a third version or sequels?

If XY is the result of that realization, then they have a funny definition of the word "complete".

It's almost certainly going to happen, and they may not even be concerned with its (currenly non-existent) storyline when it already has one in the anime. Deal with it.

The anime is meant to be an alternate interpretation of Pokemon's lore, not a substitute. Saying "oh, the anime already did a story, so there's no need to create lore for it in game" is just lazy and turns fans away from the games.

There are also plenty of unused Japanese areas (at least enough for two regions). Why should the entirety of France be covered in a single generation, if ever? A region has never been synonymous with a whole country.

If they were going to take the same approach with the rest of the world as they did with Japan, it wouldn't even be half of France, it'd be less than that.

Please. Game Freak would not have worked on Z for two years; they would have developed a new generation simultaneously.

Who says they're not? What if SM and Z are being worked on simultaneously?

And if the crust of your argument is that Z would have had more content overall due to reusing the XY content, that isn't remotely impressive.

So says you. I don't care if they reuse assets if it results in a better game than the original, Kalos is in desperate need of that kind of redemption.