About a week ago, the development team for the forthcoming Pokemon game for the Nintendo Switch posted a job listing for a localization expert to work through the end of the year to bring the title to Western audiences, with some hoping it means that the project will be ready before 2018 is over. Now, it looks as if possible concept art for the release has made its way online that shows off the potential Generation 8 starters for the game.
Feb 25, 2019 Gen 8. Ever since the release of Gen 7, in the form of Pokemon Sun and Moon, questions have been asked about what the 8th generation of Pokemon could entail.
As seen below in the tweet from the YouTuber known as Aero, Pokemon fans can get a look at what are purportedly the Generation 8 starters for the in-development Nintendo Switch title and judge for themselves whether or not the concept artwork is legitimate. If the pieces are indeed real, then it would mean that a Grass-Type Pokemon based on a lemur, a Fire-Type Pokemon based on a rabbit, and a Water-Type Pokemon based on a platypus would be players’ starter choices for the upcoming game.
Here we go again. These are the supposed gen 8 starters for Pokémon Switch. Vote down below for how you feel #Pokemon#Nintendo#NintendoSwitch#PokemonSwitchpic.twitter.com/CvrpKNFWPT
— Aero (@ActualAero) February 20, 2018
For the uninitiated, the lead up to the launch of practically every new generation of Pokemon titles often includes a wave of supposedly leaked creatures from the game in development, with the images above following this trend. As a matter of fact, scuttlebutt in relation to a set of supposedly leaked of starters made the rounds online just a few weeks ago, with potential concept art displaying a fiery pony, a grassy bear, and a watery bunny-like Pocket Monster.
Taking all of this into consideration, there’s no telling whether or not this most recent set of leaked Pokemon are indeed going to be the Generation 8 starters in the Nintendo Switch title, so it’s best to treat these designs as nothing more than hearsay at this point in time. With any luck, though, Game Freak is hopefully making significant headway on the project and will be able to dispel any rumors by releasing images of the official starters soon.
The next Pokemon game is currently in development for the Nintendo Switch.
Source: ActualAero – Twitter
A Pokemon Switch game has been anticipated for a fair while now, and with the Pokemon Stars rumors circulating since last year, anticipation has reached fever pitch. In this Pokemon Switch guide, we'll be going over everything we know and can speculate about the project, including a potential Pokemon Switch release date, the recently trading card patent, as well as the rumors of a return to the Kanto region.
If you need a helping hand on a Pokemon game that's out now however, head over to our Pokemon GO guides hub, where you can find all the information you need on finding and capturing region-specific Pokemon, as well as how to take on Raids with other players.
Pokemon Switch Release Date
We finally knew that a Pokemon Switch project was in development for certain at E3 2017, when Pokemon Company President and CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara appeared briefly in a pre recorded announcement to reveal as much, without going into any further details about the project.
Since then, we've heard precious little about the Pokemon Switch project from Nintendo officially, although details of the game have been reported and speculated about online (more on that further down). Since we've barely heard a word about Pokemon Switch for roughly a year now since it was first announced, it's highly unlikely that the game is targeting a 2018 release, and instead looks far more likely for 2019.
An a later interview with Bloomberg, Ishihara stated that 'With the Switch, we see it as a chance to create Pokemon that goes deeper and with a higher level of expression. As a result, that makes it an extremely important platform. Right now we're using seven to eight inch screens, but on a high-definition TV you can express a whole different world with graphics and sound'.
The Pokemon Switch project targeting a release in 2019 was confirmed on May 29, when the Pokemon Company and Nintendo revealed as much in their Tokyo presentation.
With #PokemonQuest and #PokemonLetsGo, there are so many new ways to explore the world of Pokémon! Trainers can look forward to even more with an all-new core series Pokémon RPG title in development for the second half of 2019! pic.twitter.com/d5uiIpenMI
Pokemon Switch Kanto Region Rumor
So where could this forthcoming Pokemon Switch game take place within the established in-game world of Pokemon? The image below was published in fansite PokeJungle in March 2018, which seemed to point towards Pokemon Switch having something to do with the Kanto region.
Although the image has since been taken down from PokeJungle, it depicts a trainer riding a Lapras through what seems to look like Route 21 that leads to Sevii Islands, if our Pokemon knowledge is up to date.
On may 16, Eurogamer published a report stating that the upcoming Pokemon Switch game would indeed feature the Kanto region, and would star Pikachu and Eevee. In addition, the game would also be a sort-of remake of Pokemon Yellow.
Pokemon Stars Rumor
In late 2016, Eurogamer reported on the Pokemon Stars project being in development for the Nintendo Switch, this was roughly half a year before the Pokemon Switch project was actually revealed by Ishihara at Nintendo's E3 2017 presentation.
The Eurogamer report stated that the Pokemon game eventually coming to the Switch would be a spin-off from Pokemon Sun and Moon that launched earlier in 2016, similar to how Pokemon Yellow was a spin-off game from Pokemon Red and Blue back in the old days of the franchise.
According to the Eurogamer report, the Pokemon Stars project for the Switch will feature the same story and same location as Pokemon Sun and Moon, and that Pokemon would be tradeable between Pokemon Sun, Moon, and Stars, via an app. None of these elements have been confirmed by the Pokemon Company since Eurogamer reported on them, but then again we've heard precious little about the game itself.
Pokemon Switch Trading Card Patent
In a patent filed by Nintendo in 2018, a new and interesting angle was potentially revealed for the Pokemon Switch project. The patent file points to the game having an interactive trading card feature, that actually changes depending on your actions and behavior in the actual game.
The patent also suggests that these trading cards can be used with a smartphone, but also that everything about a single card - including background designs and patterns - can change depending on the way you use your Nintendo Switch. The patent seems to promise a great deal about Pokemon Switch, but also manages to seem like a project far too ambitious to be believed.
Pokemon Switch Gen 8 Pokemon Rumor
According to the tweet just below that translates a feature from the Spanish version of the Official Nintendo Magazine, Gen 8 Pokemon will be featured in the upcoming Pokemon Switch project.
Here is the Nintendo magazine talking about the upcoming Pokémom games pic.twitter.com/TnbJynvQDZ
Ahnabella (@raqueruu) April 14, 2018
This basically translates to Pokemon Switch having a lot of brand new creatures for us to encounter, which would seem to contradict the rumors that Pokemon Stars would be a spin-off of the Pokemon Sun and Moon games with the same location.
These all are the collective rumors and information we have surrounding the Pokemon Switch project right now, but make sure to keep an eye on this guide, as we'll be updating it with all the future information that releases surrounding the game, particularly with E3 2018 on the horizon.