Nintendo has officially revealed Pokémon Winds & Waves in their Pokémon Presents livestream on Friday, 27th February (Pokémon Day) to celebrate their 30th anniversary.
With this video first look, they showed off a look at the new world, the new graphics, the three new starters and a look at underwater exploration.
Not only will we share with you everything that's been shown, but towards the bottom of this article is a look at possible leaks too, just in case you want to spoil the fun and see what Nintendo could be revealing in the future. But for now, the facts!
TL;DR
- Nintendo Switch 2 Exclusive
- Releases In: "2027"
- Three New Starter Pokémon Revealed: Browt (Grass 🍃), Pombon (Fire 🔥), Gecqua (Water 💧)
- Underwater Exploration
- You play as a girl or a boy.
- Features all generations of Pokémon, including new Gen 10.
Firstly, the Presents video shows off the new graphics, taking full advantage of the fact that this will be a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive.
It's clear there's an emphasis on underwater and likely air exploration, hence the names. The video showcased a lot of wild Pokémon in their habitats.
Such as overpopulated forests, windy mountains, and busy underwater reefs with wild Pokémon everywhere. If I had to guess, we will be able to mount Pokémon to explore these new areas (which lines up with the leaks later in this article).
Three New Starter Pokémon
Browt
Browt is the new grass-type starter Pokémon, and at first, I thought it was some form of Angry Bird, thanks to its adorable chick-like design.
It's clear this is designed after a bird, with its small green beak and thick, chubby wings. This could potentially be a mountable Pokémon used to explore the air.
Pombon
Pombon is the new fire-type starter Pokémon in Winds & Waves, featuring a dog-like design, a big flamey mane and one darn adorable look.
It's unclear whether or not these Pokémon have sub-types; it's too early to tell, but if they are mountable, this could be the starter Pokémon that travels on land exclusively, ain't no way this thing is swimming. But again, that's just me guessing here!
Gecqua
Gecqua has by far the coolest name of the bunch and is the new water-type starter Pokémon for Gen 10.
It features a Gecko-like design, travels on all four limbs (for now), has large eyes with purple tints that could suggest it will learn poison moves and a big Gecko-like tail to help it swim.
If starter Pokémon are mountable, for sure, this is one you'll need if you want to explore underwater. No doubt you'll be able to do it with other Pokémon too.
Storm Pokémon/Event?
Right at the end of the video the screen goes black and what sounds like a storm takes over your speakers. To me this indicates one of two things.
Either a legendary Pokémon is going to be revealed that uses some kind of storm, or lives in a storm for example.
Or secondly, the main storyline is focused around a storm, created by both Wind and Waves and has a big impact in gameplay.
Pokémon Winds & Waves Leaks (Not Confirmed)
The huge Pokémon leak that happened last year revealed a lot about an array of Pokémon products, but according to those who leaked it, they would not reveal more data until Pokémon Legends: Z-A was released.
Well, it's out, which means the Gen 10 leaks are slowly being revealed, and CentroLeaks on X is leading the pack in making that data public.
There's a lot to reveal here, and I want to focus this news post on the next mainline game and generation 10, so I am going to compile this data into a list so that you can quickly digest the new features, instead of diving into all of the fluff, because there's a lot here.
What has been leaked so far?
- The leaked title will likely be Pokémon Wind & Pokémon Waves
- The mainline game will likely take location inspiration from Indonesia & South East Asia, hence the Wind/Waves title.
- You will be able to explore underwater areas in a unique way.
- Aiming for a late 2026 release.
- The games will be directed by Shigeru Ohmori (previously directed Pokémon Sun and Moon, Sword and Shield, and Scarlet and Violet).
- Pikachu is getting a re-design.
- The map will be procedurally generated, creating new islands and areas to explore on the fly.
- The word and theming of the game is "Infinity", likely because of the randomly generated content above.
- Players may start out in a big hotel with MMO features creating multiplayer functionality from the get go.
- Nintendo Switch 2 Exclusive due to performance needs and "enhanced" graphics.
- PokéRide Mechanic will scale your character to the size of the Pokémon. The aim is to have all "large" Pokémon be mountable.
- Added petting mechanic, so you can pet your Pokémon on the go. All "smaller" Pokémon will be petable.
- Charizard, Lumineon and Machamp are getting new models.
- You will be able to beat the game without finishing all the gyms or catching the main legendary.
- The potential to control the weather.
- It has a $20,000,000 build budget.
- A large focus on surviving in the jungle environment.
- A new type of special Pokémon called Seed Pokémon. It's basically a baby Pokémon that starts as a seed species and evolves as you travel the island. It evolves into a Pokémon with infinite variations and colour patterns (this reminds me of hatching Togepi).
- Two legendary Pokémon leaked. One that controls storms and wind, the other waves. Each taking form of an old man and an old woman, both requiring a well raised Seed Pokémon to battle/catch.
That's all that we know so far but as I write this more leaks are being revealed, so i'll update this article every few hours with extra information.
This is going to be an almighty game, one that pushed the Nintendo Switch 2 to its limits and will allow us to explore truly unique areas, with MMO like features and catch a wide range of new and exciting Pokémon.
