Topic: Pokémon Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee!

@Octane I usually don't trust Pokéjungle when it comes to "leaks". I wouldn't be surprised if he just came up with the rumour to generate more clicks. The fact that he doesn't want to reveal the image is one thing, but what makes me even more suspicious is this line of text in particular:

"One more thing… the route looked suspiciously like one we’ve traveled before in a previous game. Hmm…"

I see no reason for him to not explicitly state what route the supposed leak looks like except to generate hype and speculation, and thus even more clicks in the future. Pokéjungle has, as long as I've been aware of the site, thrived on pre-game "theories", rumours, and "leaks", and I wouldn't be surprised if most people only check it out during pre-game periods where rumours are bountiful.

Of course he has been providing proper leaks previously, but for a guy who is willing to post even the most ridiculous of rumours, providing proper leaks is bound to happen from time to time.

That being said, I personally wouldn't mind a return to Kanto in 3D. Preferably with a brand new story and new characters, an expanded Pokédex, hopefully with Kantonian forms of other regions Pokémon and the return of the Sevii Islands. Although I would be very surprised if the first Pokémon games for the Switch wasn't a brand new region with brand new Pokémon.

As always I don't trust any "theory", rumour or "leak" until Joe Merrick confirms them.

@AlliMeadow We shall see. I also said that he's planning to post the images in about two to three weeks, regardless if they're legitimate or not. Sure, it's a bit fishy, but Nintendo is also very quick with handing out cease and desist letters to any big site that leaks upcoming Pokemon news. So it makes sense he wouldn't reveal the image.

Anyway, the Chinese leaker that ''leaked'' the entire Sun & Moon pokedex through the use of cryptic images has reportedly posted an image of Rebootmon a few weeks ago. I haven't checked the Chinese forums myself, because I have no idea how to navigate them, but if this is true, it could indeed mean that the new games will be a reboot. Whether that's a re-imagining of the first generation, or a generation 3 type of deal (basically a cut-off when it comes to transferring Pokemon to the newer games) remains to be seen, provided it is true at all. I believe Serebii was also saying that he's heard that the new games will be coming this year, but he also said that he never said that it was generation 8 that was coming this year. Along with various other reports on how 'this game will change how we think of 'Pokemon generations''.

Anyway, I expect some official news from Nintendo soon. Sometime between now and E3 if the game is coming this year (and reportedly they were pushing GameFreak to release the game this year).

As for the ''leaks'' themselves, I'm not sure what to believe. I just post them here if I find them interesting enough. I don't really believe any of them until I see definitive proof.

@AlliMeadow Just in case you're wondering. The rumour comes from tieba.baidu, you can find it here.

@Octane thanks for the link! I'm not outright dismissing the "leak" as false, I'm just considering them as such until further evidence is provided, and I just wanted to throw out my thoughts about Pokéjungle and how I perceive it to be a site thriving on pre-game periods where rumours are bountiful and capitalizing on those rumours.

@AlliMeadow That's very true, and I don't disagree at all. Serebii doesn't really post rumours, and they capitalise on that. Pokejungle is the place to go for rumours during the months before a new generation and/or game.

Why does everyone like Pokemon (a.k.a Pokeman) so much???

@Snagrio @AlliMeadow @Octane I agree, if it's coming out this year we will see something at or before E3 - I highly doubt they will reveal at E3 but you never know. April or May would seem more likely. Remember, the first real info we got on Sun and Moon was in May so they could have the announcement in May and continue the same schedule of information release as they did with Sun and Moon.

Of course, the biggest problem with the whole 2018 rumor stuff is that Pokemon gens have been every 3 years since 2007. 2007 was D/P, 2010 was B/W, 2013 was X/Y, 2016 was Sun and Moon. So by that logic, 2019 would make more sense.

@shadow-wolf I don't think there's any logic to it. They will release the games when they see fit, if they're finished, or if they think they need a game on their system (although I assume Nintendo has less control over when GameFreak finishes a game, since they kinda operate independently). I mean, we used to get remakes every generation, until generation 5, and again with generation 7.

I generally don't believe that companies adhere to the weird patterns we find in game releases.

Any patterns you find are usually just coincidence. Mario Kart has been under the same three year pattern since DS in 2005, but if Nintendo wanted a new game to release in 2022 as the Switch was winding down, that'd leave all these poeple believing in patterns waiting for an entire year between 2019-2020 for any news at all.
People like to say this series has a pattern, but I'm really not seeing it. The longest generation was the third, between 2002-2006. Other gens have been four, with it only being reduced to three starting with gen 5. And now it looks like we might be getting a two year generation if the Switch game does get released this year.

@Octane @DarkRula They can ride out the wave of Gen 7 for a bit longer, instead of rendering Gen 7 obsolete with Gen 8. As for the remake pattern, the remakes are only done once a console - FR/LG for GB Advance, HG/SS for DS, OR/AS for 3DS. They also follow a definite pattern.

That being said, it certainly can be voided if GameFreak desires to sell the game this year. Although I could also see them resting on their laurels, seeing as people are still purchasing and playing the Gen 7 games.

@shadow-wolf The problem with Gamefreak resting on their laurels is that Nintendo are pushing to increase the Switch's momentum & need another big release this year. I dislike pointing to unconfirmed rumours, but the same sources that @Octane has been discussing have pointed to Gamefreak being one of the first developers to receive early devkits for the Switch back in 2014... meaning Nintendo are WELL aware of what Pokémon can do for hardware sales.

It also makes sense considering earlier rumours of another game being developed alongside Sun & Moon.

@Sniper_Doritoman That's a big topic to cover! Pokémon is the perfect balance between abusing addictive tendancies in human nature (the collecting aspect), completing with others (the battling aspect) and just having a relaxing, fun time (the RPG aspect).

Plus some people just pick it up every gen to see how many of the new Pokémon are peadophiles according to the Pokédex (answer is a lot of them).

@shadow-wolf I feel like trying to find patterns at this point isn't helpful. GameFreak has thrown away all of the patterns we took as the gospel truth in the last few generations. Like everyone expected Pokemon Grey, but we got Pokemon Black 2/White 2 instead. Everyone expected Pokemon Z, but nothing came (much to my dismay because I loved X and would have liked to have played through Kalos again).

The pattern of one remake per console just seems like an arbitrary pattern, if you ask me. I think back before no remakes turned up in Generation V, we all thought that it was one remake per generation.

The only pattern we have so far is each generation starts with a pair of new games, and all remakes are a pair like the originals. Even those patterns could be broken, but I'm not saying that's going to happen. It just seems to be the only non-arbitrary patterns that haven't been broken.

I feel like the transition to the Switch has to be a new generation. The switch from the handheld to the console realm is just too big for GameFreak to put another version of Sun/Moon on it. So many people were disappointed that Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon were 3DS titles instead of Switch titles, but it makes complete sense.

There's always the third option: Start the generation with a remake (probably a Kanto one.) At this point, it would be pretty much a completely new game with how different Kanto would be, and would likely feature an entirely new story. Then have the new original region release as the next pair of games. With the improvements in patching and DLC, we might just see far more Pokemon added as the generation goes on than ever before. Plus, this would fulfill the 'reboot' and 'familiar location' rumors we keep hearing about, while spacing the next new region and set of Pokemon out to the normal three years.

@link3701 @Harmonie There is the fourth option that we're getting multiple maps in one game much like Gold/Silver. The "pattern" that people are talking about is based around the development time it takes to make the games... that changes with such a huge shift in platform.

I genuinely don't think we can look too far into old patterns, if old patterns held up then Nintendo would have botched the Switch launch, not supported it well & dropped the price by now. Nintendo and Gamefreak are likely changing things up this time around.

Starting with a new generation isn't the only option, but it is by far the best and most profitable. The new generation games are consistently the highest selling games of their generation without fail and are optimal for marketing new hardware because they're a blank slate built around the new hardware and they have completely new content. A remake, third version, sequel, or other kind of updated version of a previous region wouldn't draw the same attention and sales, a new generation stands the best chance of drawing in an audience.

And no, dual regions wouldn't be a good idea either. As we saw with GSCHGSS, two regions doesn't necessarily mean double the content, they needed to nerf both regions in order to fit them in under the normal development constraints. They're better off just making one fully fleshed out region instead of two shallow and mediocre ones.

So no, starting off with a new generation is one pattern I can't see them breaking. Ever.

@Bolt_Strike : I would attribute the underwhelming inclusion of Kanto to the limitations of Game Boy Color cartridges at the time. Internal layouts were being recycled right left and centre and entire buildings, routes and other areas were minimised if not excluded completely in order to squeeze in as much content as possible without exceeding the limitations of the cartridge. We're talking, what, 2MB cartridges back then? (I believe the Japanese cartridge was only 1MB)

The annoying thing about HG/SS is that the stripped-back Kanto was carried over to the remakes even though the same memory constraints no longer applied. We could have had Silph Co. in all its glory and Pokémon Centres that stayed true to the original Kanto layout etc.

With the GB era Pokémon games, and perhaps even the generations that followed, the house and Pokémon Centre/Mart internal layouts were only stored ONCE in the game's data, with the NPC placements being the only thing that differentiated them from one another (which makes sense considering that they only had 1 or 2MB of legroom).

Game Freak can now include multiple fleshed out regions if they wanted to, but I would attribute their absence due to the lengthening of the development time, which they would rather spend on making a new game that they can sell at full price the following year instead. But there's no reason why they couldn't just as easily include the previous generation's region with relative ease, so long as the latter generation is produced for the same hardware (and using the same engine) as the game that preceded it. That rules Alola out for Pokémon Switch (assuming that they will be curating a new engine), but they could toss in Gen 8's region into the Gen 9 postgame, assuming that Gen 9 is released during the lifespan of the Switch as well.

@DanteSolablood GameFreak certainly doesn't NEED to support the Switch - why would they care? They took 2 years to get onto the GBA, 2 years to get onto the 3DS and 3 years to get onto the DS - they usually take their time. And Switch is a big jump as their first console.

That being said, you and other posters such as @Octane and @Harmonie made some good points - patterns aren't designed to last and can easily be broken. My only worry is, GameFreak will choose to break the pattern and release Pokemon Switch in 2018 in an unfinished state, allowing them to release in 2018 and make money. The other option is GameFreak working on the game for a while, which is possible as well. Regardless, we will know SOMETHING about Pokemon Switch by the time E3 is over - whether it's coming out this year or next, and the nature of the game (if it's coming out this year).

@shadow-wolf They DO care. Pokemon sells 10+ million, but the franchise is owned by Nintendo, GameFreak and Creatures. So it's in their interest to make Pokemon games for Nintendo's newest hardware. Sure, they function like any other third party, and they can make as much sequels to Tembo the Peanut Elephant as they want, but those games won't sell anywhere near the amount a Pokemon game would. And since Pokemon is co-owned by Nintendo, it's in their interest that Nintendo's hardware sells well.

Of course it's a matter of development time. New generations take about 3 years to develop, if they wanted 2 it'd probably take them 4-5. It'd take them extra time and money to work on it and they probably won't get many more sales to justify the extra expenses, so it wouldn't be profitable.

@shadow-wolf Gamefreak kind of DO need to support the Switch, both Gamefreak & The Pokémon Company are part owned by Nintendo - it's in their best interest to further Nintendo's success. You could argue they could make as much money making their next game on the 3DS... but helping maximise the Switch's success helps their own.

As for rushing out an incomplete game... again I would say that Gamefreak would have been one of the earliest studios to receive a devkit & may have been working on it alongside Sun & Moon (hence rumours of exactly that). Unlike Trump, I don't think there's any rushin' involved!!

Please ignore that last pun.