Pokemon thoughts: The rumour mill + New solo runs

Since I've been playing US&M lately, I couldn't help but pay attention to the most recent Pokemon news; and oh boy, is there a lot of hype and excitement indeed on that front. Many a Pokefan is yearning for a Pokemon-related announcement at the upcoming E3, or a soon-to-come Pokemon Direct that would unveil the much-expected first Switch Pokemon instalment; and while such high hopes seem to be mostly wishful thinking, there are a couple of interesting rumours floating around.

The first one, and probably the most reliable yet vague of the bunch, was ignited by Junichi Masuda encouraging Pokefans to get their paws on a Switch at a recent Pokemon fan event. This seems to be confirmation, straight from the horse's mouth, that the series is indeed coming to the Switch. However, it's just that: confirmation that a Pokemon entry will be released on the Switch at some point, and that the series is indeed making the jump to Nintendo's newest piece of kit. And while it's nice to see Masuda confirm that Pokemon is indeed headed to the Switch, it's not really a groundbreaking piece of information. At that point, with the Switch being a viable handheld and a successful console, it would actually have been more surprising to see Masuda imply that the series was going to continue on the 3DS. Having said that, one cannot help but wonder why Masuda coyly dropped that comment in front of a horde of Pokefans. Is there really a Pokemon entry coming out in the next months, or is GameFreak trying to single-handedly increase the Switch install base so that the next Pokemon core game will fly off shelves as soon as it's released? Or is it just, indeed, a playful confirmation that Generation 8 will make its debut on the Switch? Well, I guess only time will tell.

Then we have Nintendo insider Emily Rogers "believing" that a Pokemon game will come to the Switch in 2018, and that this game will be an RPG and boast two versions. She also later stated that she didn't specify whether said RPG would be "a core game, a spinoff series, a remake of an older game or a Gen 8 game." In other words, this new pair of Pokemon games could be any of the aforementioned things. My guess is that if those games indeed exist and are in the pipeline, they will either be entries in a spin-off series or Gen 4 remakes. The spin-off series in question is most likely to be Pokemon Rangers or Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, if we assume that Roguelikes can be widely classified as RPG. The first two instalments of the latter came out in two versions, so there's definitely a precedent here. As for remakes of Diamond and Pearl, they've been hyped and demanded for such a long time that I can very well imagine GameFreak tackling them to try their hand at developing for the Switch, while at the same time giving fans what they want and not risking messing up and blotching a core game. Three birds with one stone! Of course, that mysterious new pair of games could also be brand-new spin-offs. Or it could also simply not exist, just like the western version of Mother 3 teased by the same Emily Rogers. Once again, only time will tell.

Then we have the most egregious rumour of them all, namely the Italian tranlastor 'leak' on 4Chan: a de facto announcement that a Pokemon core game is indeed coming to the Switch very soon, replete with story elements, new mechanics and artwork. Now this is nothing but a complete hoax, methinks. Making a living in the translation business is quite hard, and I cannot believe for a second that a translator who scored a gig with Nintendo would ruin their chances of ever working for them again, as well as their reputation in the translation business, by dumping crucial information about such an important game while simultaneously making themselves so easy to track down and identify. And talking about leaks and 4Chan, we also have the Starter 'leak', which features very cute and convincing Starter designs, but definitely wouldn't be the first occurrence of fake Starters gracing the internet. Then again, there were also genuine Starter leaks in the past years, so... Yeah. Once again, only time will tell if there's any semblance of truth in those flashy Gen 8 leaks.

Let's now move on to a favourite subject of mine, dear fellow gamers: Pokemon solo runs! A whole new avenue suddenly opened on that front, as I managed to successfully trade 'Mons between my copies of Ultra Moon and Ultra Sun. Combined to Ditto-based Breeding, this means that I can technically run solo with any Alolan 'Mon that can breed, including late-gamers that were not an option until then. On the other hand, things are not so straightforward, because the obedience issue must be factored in in solo runs starring traded 'Mons. I would have to monitor my lone ranger's levels carefully, which could be all at once a challenge and a hindrance: what if I hit a typing roadblock that requires leveling-up just as I'm about to reach the current obedience cap? Would Battle Items be enough to take care of matters, or would I have to risk desobedience for the sake of added power and pray Arceus that my 'Mon heed my orders in battle? Mind you, this wouldn't matter so much if S&M and US&M weren't the hardest entries in the series when it comes to all things battling; but being the tough nut to crack they are, I genuinely fear being completely stuck mid-run with a traded 'Mon. Well, I guess I won't know until I try the deed, now will I? Bring on that Ninetales Solo Run I've been fantasizing about for years! And with that said, dear fellow gamers, my Pokemon thoughts of the moment end here. As usual, thanks for reading, and be my guest anytime!