The 10th Generation of the Pokémon series begins with Pokémon Winds and Waves, the highly anticipated Switch 2 titles that are likely to bring big changes to the franchise. Players have been expecting a variety of tweaks to the traditional systems of Pokémon, in the same way that other mechanics have defined other mainline games. However, recent comments by Winds and Waves‘ developers hint that the changes coming to Gen 10 are far more impactful than players could have expected.
There have been plenty of leaks surrounding Winds and Waves regarding its content, including some of the new Pokemon being added to the series and story details players could experience. That being said, plenty of official comments have also been made regarding the latest Pokemon titles, including some on a YouTube video from developer Game Freak. Translations of the video have revealed some surprising details, including some notes about how the series’ traditions could be adjusted heading into the Gen 10 games.
Part of Game Freak’s video directly takes quotes from Pokémon Champions director Kazumasa Iwao, where he says that “The Pokémon series has always used a turn-based battle system, but there is a possibility that this rule could change little by little.” This comes after the battle formula for the series has been changed somewhat within Pokémon Legends: Arceus and Pokémon Legends: Z-A, which both had unique approaches to Pokémon’s combat. Despite this, the core turn-based systems have remained even in those games, and have existed ever since the franchise’s inception with Pokémon Red and Blue.
Iwao goes on to state that “There are people who have battled for decades since Pokémon Red/Green or Pokémon Gold/Silver, so we didn’t want to say like ‘it’s changed now, so please buy and play the new games.’” This implies that the turn-based approach will likely still be felt in some way, but it doesn’t deny that Pokémon Winds and Waves may be the first mainline title outside a spin-off that takes battles in a new direction. According to Iwao, “at Game Freak we always want to challenge ourselves by doing new things with the series, but we don’t want to throw away the battle system that we’ve built until now.”
Although this message seems hopeful for the preservation of turn-based battles, it also shows that Game Freak seems to desire moving away from the usual Pokémon formula. It may not take place in Winds and Waves fully, but a Gen 11 or Gen 12 game may not have turn-based battle at all, instead taking a more action RPG approach, similar to how Final Fantasy 7 Remake differs from the original game. The Gen 10 games are likely to take the first steps at moving away from turn-based combat, possibly using the same techniques the Pokémon Legends games did 1:1.
Part of the reason why Pokémon Winds and Waves might mark Game Freak moving on from turn-based battles is the success of Pokémon Champions. Champions provides a space for the classic battle formula, albeit with a limited number of Pokémon compared to some titles in the series. The single and double battles of Pokémon Champions has quickly grown since the spin-off’s release, and likely will receive support in the coming months even after Winds and Waves‘ launch. With this logic, Game Freak might isolate the turn-based system in Champions alone.
Part of the reason this could occur comes from how competitive and nuanced the turn-based battles of Pokémon can get, turning PvP matches into chess matches between players. The way Pokémon abilities, moves, types, and other mechanics interact have evolved turn-based battles far beyond its original intention with players, to the point where players create squads of pocket monsters optimized down to decimal stat numbers. Perhaps Game Freak wants to adjust combat to make it more accessible, after multiple Generations has added more and more changes to battles over time.
Pokémon Champions could slowly become the only place Pokémon fans can go to for past series traditions, from Mega Evolutions to the turn-based system as a whole. As of this time of writing, there is little idea how this could manifest in mainline games, or if the slow removal of turn-based combat takes away other traditional features too. Although many veteran players might not agree with Game Freak moving on from turn-based battles with Pokémon Winds and Waves, there seems to still be a commitment to tradition through Champions‘ continued support.
