As gaming industry journalists, our ears are always open for rumours and speculations that could lead to exciting new announcements. It’s our job to look into all of them and to discuss whether they are credible or not and what they could mean for all of you guys out there, the gamers who will hopefully benefit if the rumours prove to be fruitful. And judging by the new Pokémon leak showing 3 new projects, I think there will be a lot of happy Pokémaniacs out there.
A new leak that we’ve discovered through Centro LEAKS points to three new Pokémon titles heading to the Nintendo Switch’s successor, a console that we now know is going to be announced before the end of the Japanese financial year.
I’ve already heard many rumours about the fact that the Switch is going to have magnetic controllers, new charging systems, and a whole host of other specs that have basically come from developers touching it in a box and not actually seeing the console. I’m giving my thoughts on all of these rumours in a later article, but the main thing that I’ve been speculating on is ‘what games and retro series are we going to see on the new console?’
What New Pokémon Titles Could We Be Seeing?
It’s worth saying now that Centro LEAKS didn’t give any information as to what the games could be. Still, we already know one of them after the last Pokémon Presents event, and we can make some educated guesses as to what the other ones might be.
We already know that Pokémon Legends: ZA is the next Pokémon game scheduled, with ‘Urban Development Plan: Lumiouse City’ appearing at the bottom of the screen towards the end of the video, which also showed Pokémon and humans living in harmony in a kind of Tron-esque aesthetic. We’re still a little unsure as to what is coming with this game – will it be like Arceus but in a futuristic environment, or are we having a kind of Sim City meets Pokémon type of affair?
But what about the other two? Well, while I would love to see a remake of Pokémon Gold and Silver, I think we’re more likely to see updated versions of Gen 5 titles Black and White. We’ve already had Diamond and Pearl remastered and delivered as BrilliantDiamond and ShiningPearl, so it makes sense to either go chronologically or at least keep going forward along the chain and go for possibly Pokémon X and Y. Now that would make me excited!
Then, of course, we need to think about launch titles for the Nintendo Switch 2. With TotK already out and Mario having had some recent releases in Super Mario Bros. Wonder and the remaster of The Thousand-Year Door, then Ninty might well be looking to Pokémon (and hopefully Metroid Prime 4) to lead the charge with the new console. A sequel to Pokémon Scarlet & Violet in the ‘standard Pokémon format’ would definitely be of interest to people buying the console.
What I really want to see, however, is a new Pokémon Stadium game. I loved that game on the N64 and it had so much more depth than Pokken Tournament for me. Still, I think it’s highly unlikely that I’ll get that wish, but there’s no reason why we couldn’t see another title in the Mystery Dungeon series heading to Switch, or perhaps a Detective Pikachu adventure.
Obviously, all of this is speculation at this stage and we have no official word from Nintendo as to what is coming next or when the games or the Switch 2 might release. One thing you can be sure of is that you’ll find out all the news here as and when it drops, so stay tuned for more information as and when we get it!
