Summary
With one DLC part to go, the 9th Generation ofPokemonis winding down.Pokemon ScarletandViolethave been polarizing, with responses either seeing them as the true open-worldPokemongames thatPokemon SwordandShieldwere trying to be, or a mess of bugs and empty fields. Regardless, if rumors are to be believed then players won’t need to wait long to see what’s next, and those enjoyingPokemon ScarletandVioletcan have one last hurrah when The Indigo Disk releases in Winter 2023.
AsPokemonbegins closing the book on its current generation, the Nintendo Switch is likely doing the same. It’s been strange thatNintendo hasn’t acknowledged rumors of a new consoleyet, but it may be intent on giving the Switch one final holiday season to itself. Fans are sure that a new Nintendo console is on its way thanks to countless leaks, not to mention the Switch having been around for the length of an average console generation. On top of all the other evidence, a trend involvingPokemongenerations points yet another finger at a Nintendo Switch 2 coming sometime in 2024.
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For Most Of Pokemon’s Life, Its Generations Have Followed A Pattern
Pokemonis a fast-moving franchise, with frequent releases enabled by a consistent design formula and the humble handheld scope of its mainline titles. The series typically dwells in a given generation, marked by amainlinePokemontitle introducing a new region, for three or four years before moving on. This has been happening since the mid-90s with the Game Boy’sPokemon Red,Blue,Yellow, andGreenestablishing Generation 1, then moving on to Generation 2 withGold,Silver, andCrystal. It’s only then that the series jumped to Generation 3’sRuby,Sapphire, andEmeraldon the Game Boy Advance.
Generation 3 marked the first hardware generation leap in the franchise, and also introduced remakes of older titles instead of moving directly to a new generation. Since the GBA’s Generation 3 gave way to Generation 4 on Nintendo DS,Pokemonhas stuck to two new generations per Nintendo handheld. This meantPokemon’s Generations 4 and 5 were on the DS, Generations 6 and 7 debuted on 3DS, and Generations 8 and 9 arrived with the Nintendo Switch. Following that logic, there shouldn’t be any morePokemongenerations on the Switch.
Pokemon’s Generations Are Another Point In The Switch 2’s Favor
If this pattern holds true, then it lines up with the suspected launch window of the Nintendo Switch 2. SincePokemon’s main release in 2023 wasScarletandViolet’s DLC acting as their third version, the only otherPokemontitle expected on the current Switch is a generational half-step. Leaks haven’t pinned down whether that will beBlackandWhiteremakes or anotherPokemon Legends, but whatever it is will fillPokemon’s yearly release quota for 2024. That would leave 2025, three years afterScarletandViolet’s release, which should already have the next Nintendo console out, free to roll out the tenth generation ofPokemon.
Rumors of a Switch 2 have been circulating for several years and kicked into overdrive during 2023. There are reports of the console being demonstrated, developer kits going out to third-party teams, and a patent surfacing that might suggest what the Switch 2 looks like. Nintendo’s plans for transitioning to the next console generation were even teased by Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser in a recent interview. AddingPokemon’s release trends to all of that supports thenew Nintendo console arriving later in 2024, and a newPokemongeneration starting in 2025. Since somePokemonfans have been hoping that stronger backward-compatible hardware can help stabilize current and future titles, they should expect some good news soon.
