A leaker has claimed they know what real world location the next mainline Pokémon games will be based on, and it involves a lot of sailing.
Pokémon is bringing back the Paris-inspired Lumiose City from Pokémon X/Y in upcoming game Pokémon Legends: Z-A, but rumours suggest the next set of mainline games will head in an entirely different direction.
Following 2022’s Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, which added the likes of Quaxly and Sprigatito, we’re officially heading into the tenth generation of Pokémon games, aka Gen 10. The games have not been officially announced, but they’re expected to be released on the Switch 2 at some point relatively soon – with many fans expecting a 2026 launch.
Now, according to a leaker, Nintendo is planning to launch Scarlet and Violet’s successor on the Switch 2 next year, and the game’s setting will apparently also be inspired by European geography and fauna.
As posted by Centro Leaks on X, the next Pokémon games, codenamed Gaia, are said to ‘take place in the Cyclades’ – a cluster of Greek islands in the Aegean sea.
‘Get ready for an oceanic adventure,’ they added in the post, with a screenshot of a map of the actual Cyclades.
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet took inspiration from Spain and Portugal for the Paldea region, while Sword and Shield’s Galar region was based on the UK – so it’s certainly possible that Greece could be next on the list.
The problem with the rumour is that Centro Leaks isn’t considered particularly reliable in fan circles, but existing evidence also points towards a potential island setting.
In files pulled from last year’s ‘teraleak’ at developer Game Freak, an alleged exchange was highlighted between several employees, including the studio’s director Shigeru Ohmori, where they said the next game after Scarlet and Violet would have ‘an island theme’.
The exchange, which is about concerns of overlapping ideas between projects, also suggests the next game will feature ‘one of many islands’ – hinting at some kind of sea traversal.
A painting in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet also led to some speculation that the next region could be inspired by Italy or Greece, based on the image’s architecture.
Game Freak has been known to hide small references to the next game before, with Redditors having retroactively found hints to Gen 9 in Sword and Shield.
If the island setting is true, this wouldn’t be the first time Pokémon has adopted the theme, with Pokémon Sun and Moon’s Alola region being inspired by Hawaii. A Greek take could be interesting though, especially with all the nation’s mythology to mine.
It also makes sense that the next mainline games will launch next year, as there’s usually a three-year gap between core titles.
If it does come out in 2026, that will be four years after Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, but the existence of Pokémon Legends: Arceus and its upcoming sequel Legends: Z-A has perhaps caused a slight schedule shift. That and complaints that Game Freak’s tech is still behind the curve of other first party Nintendo games.
Beyond Pokémon Legends Z-A, a new battle-focused spin-off called Pokémon Champions is also in development for Switch and mobile. A release date has yet to be announced.
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