Pokemon Direct and E3 Conference Confirmed

Yesterday, The Pokemon Company announced that there will be two Pokemon themed streaming events in the near future. The first will be today at 9 PM EST. We should expect new information on Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield and, hopefully, this will include a look at the new region of Galar based off of Great Britain. The Direct is also expected to show off the previously teased Pokemon game in development alongside Sword and Shield.

I have a feeling that we will only get a glimpse of Sword and Shield; due to us getting an E3 Direct that purely focuses on Pokemon Sword and Shield and that they will focus more on the what this mystery game will be. I personally hope that we see a port of Pokemon Sun and Moon, though the more realistic reveal would be a new Mystery Dungeon game. Although I’d love to see either a Pokemon Ranger Trilogy or a new game in the Pokemon Ranger series.

The second Pokemon themed streaming event will be around E3 on June 5th at the same time, but this one will be 15 minutes, and solely focused on the new mainline games. Sword and Shield will introduce the eighth generation of Pokemon and will be the first mainline game in the franchise to appear on a home console instead of the traditional portable device.

Throughout the franchise’s history, Pokemon has introduced new systems and replaced old fan favorite ones. There a few systems I’d love to see make a return in this new generation of games. The first would have to be Following Pokemon. In Heart Gold and Soul Silver, the first Pokemon in your party comes out of it’s Pokeball and follows your character around in the world. This was a great way to bond with your partner Pokemon. Another feature I’d love to see return isn’t exactly a feature, but more of a story structure.

In Pokemon Sun and Moon, The Pokemon Company got rid of the usual eight-gym structure and replaced it with something new and fresh, island challenges. Challenges would task the player with a new way to become a Pokemon master.