Some resourceful netizens who have pieced together clues from various sources seem to think so!

Remember when Pokémon Sun and Moon came out, and fans guessed that the next game would be for the newly released Nintendo Switch? Remember how we all thought it would be called “Pokémon Stars”? We were all really surprised when in fact Nintendo announced that the next installment of the Pokémon RPG series would instead be Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, which would not be available for the Switch.

But our hopes for a new Switch-version Pokémon game would not die, and our fears were allayed when Nintendo announced that Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon would be the last Pokémon RPG to grace the 3DS console. In other words, the next installments of the series will be released on the Switch!

▼ The (unexpected) trailer for Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.

But there have been no further formal announcements about it, so we’ve all been waiting somewhat impatiently for official news. Nevertheless, some resourceful fans, who just couldn’t wait, have come to the conclusion that the long-awaited, next Pokémon RPG for the Nintendo Switch might even be released as early as this year!

Their clues? Recent job listings indicating that the game is in its finishing stages. Japanese netizens presented as evidence last year’s openings at Game Freak for “3DCG designers” and “character modelers” for an “internationally popular RPG game”, whose work would include creating “human characters, monsters, and items”. Considering that Game Freak has only produced a few non-Pokémon games, and none of them could really be considered famous world-wide, fans guessed that the work could only be on a Pokémon game. The job posting states that the work contract would be until May of this year, which may mean that the modeling and game design stage is expected to be over soon.

Netizens also shared recent openings at The Pokémon Company International for editors in French and Italian, which are anticipated to start between April and June. The job listings state that the ability to work in a “compressed schedule” is a must, and they require a six-month contract. What does this indicate? Perhaps that the Japanese version of the game is nearly finished, and that the work of localizing it for the international community has already been underway. Japanese netizens believe that they’re expecting to finish the localization and editing in just six months, to release the new game as soon as fall or winter!

▼ Buzzwole is excited.

It’s uncertain which version of the game it could be; considering the timing, it’s hard to say. It took three years for Sun and Moon to be finished, and this year will mark two years since they were released. While other generations may have only taken two years, the next game could be very different, and it is expected for a whole new console, so it could take a bit longer to come out. 

If it’s not a new generation, what could it be? The most likely candidate is a remake of the Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum versions, which were originally released in 2007 and 2009 for Nintendo DS, and which, if we follow the pattern of previous releases, should be the next one to get a reboot. And what better way to reboot it than on the Nintendo Switch?

▼ The excitement might be getting to us.

Of course, this is all simply speculation, and without an official announcement from Nintendo or The Pokémon Company, no one can really say anything about upcoming releases. But with these speculations and the recent rumors of leaked starter Pokémon for the new generation, it’s hard not to get our hopes up!

Source: Kinisoku
Top Image: YouTube/The Official Pokémon YouTube Channel
Images: Pakutaso (1, 2), YouTube/The Official Pokémon YouTube Channel