5 reveals we want to see during Pokémon Presents on Pokémon Day 2024
Plus one thing we hope is held back
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We’re fast approaching 2024’s Pokémon Day, the 28th anniversary of the release ofPokémon RedandGreenin Japan. As has become tradition in recent years, as well as a celebration, fans are now used to preparing for aPokémon Presents stream on the day, which often promises a string of announcements about upcomingPokémonprojects.
To be exact, the next Pokémon Presents stream will take place on February 27, at 9am ET / 6am PT / 2pm GMT (which is 1am AEDT on February 28). Now that all ofPokémon ScarletandViolet’sHidden Treasure of Area ZeroDLC has been released, we’re at a point where we don’t actually have any confirmedPokémongames on the way toNintendo Switch, which makes this year’s upcoming presentation particularly intriguing.
There’s plenty that could happen, but what would make for the best reveals? Here’s a roundup of the top things I’d love to see revealed at Pokémon Presents - as well as the one thing I hope isn’t shown. This isn’t a prediction list, mind you, and I certainly won’t be disappointed if the presentation doesn’t tick off every single one of these things, but I can live in hope, right?
What we want to see from the Pokémon Day 2024 stream
Return of Mystery Dungeon
Despite the number ofPokémonspinoff games that have been released in the past, there’s actually a surprising lack of them available on Nintendo Switch. Most notably, the belovedPokémon Mystery Dungeonfranchise, which lets players become a Pokémon themselves, explore randomized dungeons, and experience some of the bestPokémonstories of all time, has gone without love for some time now.
Although the remake gamePokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DXwas released in 2020, it’s now almost nine years since the last all-new iteration,Super Mystery Dungeon, was launched on 3DS. Honestly, at this point, I’d even take a remake ofPokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky(the best one, if you ask me), but an all-new story would be a dream, especially if it’s able to utilize the cute art style ofRescue Team DX.I’m so ready to get emotionally destroyed by a bunch of talking Pokémon again.
Pokémon Conquest sequel
PerhapsPokémon’s most unique spinoff,Pokémon Conquestis easily one of the most interesting games in the entire franchise. However, nothing has been done with it since the standalone game was released onNintendo DSback in 2012.
For the uninitiated,Conquestserves as a crossover betweenPokémonand theNobunaga’s Ambitionseries and offers engaging turn-based, tactical strategy combat. It also boasts a story about warring nations, putting players into the shoes of a ‘Warlord’ rather than a Trainer, who must invade and conquer surrounding areas.
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Conquesthad some committed fans, but ultimately, it was lost in the wind since it was released on Nintendo DS after the3DShad already launched. It’s a pity since it did so much to spice up the usual tone, setting, and combat systems that the mainPokémongames use. However, a new Switch release - be it a remake or even a sequel - would give it the chance it deserves to find more of an audience.
Pokémon Legends: Unova
Back in 2021,Pokémon Legends: ArceustookPokémonfans by storm by being the first game in the series that allowed you to wander around open zones, chuck Pokéballs at unsuspecting creatures, and even get attacked directly by wild Pokémon.In that sense, it’s the sort of ‘realistic’Pokémongame fans had been begging for for years.
Since then, fans have been theorizing what future games could follow a similar format, and in my mind, there’s no doubt that the best version would see players travel back in time to a historic version ofPokémon BlackandWhite’s Unova region. I’vealready detailed exactly why I think this would work before, but the TL;DR is that the Unova games always alluded to a mysterious Legendary Dragon-type Pokémon that’s never been shown. In the series’ lore, it’s said to be the Pokémon that split to form the main Unova Legendaries, Reshiram, Zekrom, and Kyurem.
Seeing this unknown Pokémon and the events that led to it splitting into three would make for a compelling story and one that could only be told in a prequel format, much likeLegends: Arceusprovided for the Sinnoh region games.
Classic mainline games on Nintendo Switch Online
It’s got to happen eventually, right? In case you were unfamiliar, those who subscribe toNintendo Switch Online(to get access to online play in their games) are also able to delve into an ever-growing bank of classic Nintendo games. If you have a standard subscription, you can stream select games originally released on the likes of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), Game Boy, and Game Boy Color, while those who upgrade to the ‘Expansion Pack’ subscription are also able to play Nintendo 64, Game Boy Advance, and Sega Genesis games.
We’ve already seen a number of olderPokémongames land on this service, such asPokémon Stadium,Pokémon Snap, and thePokémon Trading Card Game, but in all this time, we’ve never been given any of the main games, such asRed, Blue, Gold, Silver, RubyorSapphire. In the case of the Generation 1 and 2 games, this is particularly surprising given that ‘Virtual Console’ ports were available to buy and play on Nintendo 3DS. However, following the shutdown of the 3DS and Wii U eShop last March, these are now impossible to purchase for those who missed out.
Now feels like a perfect time to add these older games to the service for fans to play. Generation 3 (Ruby,Sapphire, Emerald, FireRed, and LeafGreen) never got Virtual Console ports, so those in particular are certainly in need of some love, and there’s no doubt that their inclusion would be well-received.
An HD-2D remake
Realistically, it’s probably too soon to start thinking about the nextPokémonremake, given thatBrilliant DiamondandShining Pearlwere only released in late 2021. However, if onedoesget revealed, I sincerely hope that it’s created in an HD-2D art style, similar to the likes of Square Enix’sOctopath TravelerandTriangle Strategygames.
I’m not someone who disliked thePokémonseries’ change to 3D visuals, but there’s no doubt that when revisiting the older games, there’s something incredibly charming about the pixel art that’s just not present with 3D models. However, recent HD-2D games prove that it’d definitely be possible to revamp and remake aPokémongame using the same style.
Let’s Go PikachuandEeveeandBrilliant DiamondandShining Pearlsufficiently proved that The Pokémon Company isn’t afraid to take risks with the visual style of its remakes, so it doesn’t seem out of the question that we could get an HD-2D game.
Chronologically, given that the lastPokémonremakes were for the fourth generation, we can probably expect the next remake to be for the fifth generation games, which includedPokémon Black, Whiteand their sequels. This was alsoPokémon’s last generation to use 2D graphics. As such, the games could - in theory - translate into the HD-2D art style well, but again, it’s worth noting that the possibility of a remake being revealed this year seems unlikely since there’s historically been four to five years betweenPokémonremake releases.
What we don’t want to see
Generation 10
Let’s face it, although the prospect of meeting brand new Pokémon and exploring a fresh region is always exciting, it just feels too soon for the 10th generation to be shown off, as it’s only been two years since the last one launched. This is especially the case given the criticism that the ninth generation games,ScarletandViolet, continue to face for their performance, with frame-rate drops, lag, and visual glitches proving to be persistent problems even after multiple updates.
Even though there’ve been plenty of fun moments forPokémonon Switch, at this point, it does feel as though the games are struggling a bit on the hardware. With that in mind, I don’t personally want to see Generation 10 announced until the next Nintendo console has been revealed. The 10th-generation games should feel monumental, and they’d be the perfect titles to ring in the next generation of Nintendo consoles, too.
To be fair, we’re not really ‘due’ the next generation of games yet, anyway. Without fail, every new generation in the series since its inception has been spaced at least three years apart - often more. Given thatScarletandVioletlaunched in November 2022, it’s probably at least a year until we can expect to hear any news of the next generation being in the works. I for one hope the developers take as much time as they need.
Looking for some new games to play? Be sure to check out our roundup of thebest Pokémon gamesfor our ranking of every generation to date, as well as thebest Nintendo Switch gamesfor the best titles to play on Nintendo’s current console.
Catherine is a News Writer for TechRadar Gaming. Armed with a journalism degree from The University of Sheffield, she was sucked into the games media industry after spending far too much time on her university newspaper writing about Pokémon and cool indie games, and realising that was a very cool job, actually. She previously spent 19 months working at GAMINGbible as a full-time journalist. She loves all things Nintendo, and will never stop talking about Xenoblade Chronicles.
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