After rumors and speculation regarding an upcoming Pokémon-centric Nintendo Direct before this year’s E3 sprang up, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company announced that there will be an eight-minute online presentation on Tuesday.
Beginning June 6 at 10 a.m. EDT, Pokémon fans will converge on Nintendo’s multiple social media outlets and the official Nintendo Direct website to get a glimpse at the future of the Pokémon franchise. With many of these Nintendo Direct announcements there is news that completely take fans by surprise (Sun and Moon, anyone?)
Fans may not know what exactly will be shown in the eight-minute presentation but there’s plenty of rumors and reports in recent weeks that we can look to as possible talking points. We should say that expectations should always be low with these sort of Nintendo Directs but there’s a lot that excites us, too..
Here’s five announcements we really hope for (and expect) during the Pokémon Nintendo Direct.
5. Pokémon Mobile Games
It’s no secret that Nintendo is keen on mobile games at the moment. The company that had no mobile games heading into 2016 and was sour on GameBoy emulators for your smartphone now has seven mobile apps based on Nintendo IP.
Four of those seven mobile apps are Pokémon-related and there is another on the way based on the Rumble World series. And if the reports that a Pokémon TCG mobile game is on the way, fans will be taking the Pokémon World everywhere they go.
4. Pokémon Spin-Off Title for 3DS/Switch
Pokémon spin-off titles are nothing new for the franchise. It’s a good way to scratch that itch for Pokémon fans while the next mainline game takes up our time.
However, it’s been a year since the last Pokémon spin-off game dropped ( Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon ) and with the Nintendo 3DS on its way out, this would be a great time to give the platform one last hurrah with a new spin-off game.
3. Pokken Tournament Nintendo Switch Port
Speaking of Pokémon spin-off games, Pokken Tournament was a great example of breathing new life into the franchise as players were able to control Pokémon and fight in Tekken-style fights.
However, with the game being on the Nintendo Wii U not many players were able to experience it. It’s no surprise that Nintendo has begun to port over some of its more notable Wii U titles and create sequels to others not long after the original debuted but a new listing for a Japanese arcade stick sorta revealed that Pokken Tournament was coming to the Switch.
Expect news on this front during the presentation, it’s almost guaranteed considering all of the DLC that appeared for the arcade version of the game and not on the Wii U.
2. Pokémon Remakes
If you played Pokémon Sun and Moon then you’ll know that there are a bunch of hints and nods to the past regions of the franchise, most noticeably Kanto and Sinnoh.
While many believe Pokémon Stars is coming to the Nintendo Switch and 3DS (more on that in a sec) there’s a distinct possibility that the next mainline games are remakes. It’s not uncommon for Nintendo and The Pokémon Company to break up a cycle of games with a remake.
If we’re being honest, remakes coming right after Sun and Moon and not too long after the last remakes, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, are not as likely as a third version of a region but we must be prepared for anything.
1. Pokémon Stars
And here we are, the thing most fans want from a big Pokémon announcement. The rumored third version of the Alola Region, Pokémon Stars will reportedly have up to 20 new Pokémon that weren’t in Sun and Moon and more Alola Forms.
There’s a ton of speculation and rumors surrounding this supposed new Pokémon game and with the possibility of the title being on the Nintendo Switch, there’s a lot of expectations that need to be tapered. For one, it’s so close to E3 that it would be odd to announce Pokémon Stars now instead of during Nintendo’s official presentation. Also, there’s only eight minutes for the presentation so there probably won’t be time to show much of anything.
But again, when Sun and Moon was officially revealed there wasn’t much of anything shown just the developers talking about it and revealing that it was Gen 7 complete with concept art and renders.
Will we finally get Pokémon Stars during the Nintendo Direct? We’ll just have to wait and see.
So what do you hope to see during the Pokémon Nintendo Direct? What’s the most likely? Let us know in the comments section below.
