2020 was an interesting year forPokemonfans, with the announcement of asequel to 1999’sPokemon Snap,an upcomingPokemonMOBA, and the release of the series' first ever DLC Expansions in place of a new annual installment, breaking a 4-year trend. Now, as 2021 is officially well under way, fans of the series seem to have one thing on their mind:PokemonDiamondandPearlremakes.
For the past few months, speculation surrounding the next mainlinePokemongames has largely been exclusive to theories and speculation about remakes of the 4th generation games. In addition to this speculation, rumors and supposed leaks have taken center-stage, with a new one seemingly popping up almost every week at this point. And now,Pokemonfans think that an upcoming set of merchandise could hint towards remakes ofPokemon DiamondandPearl,further adding fuel to the fire.
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Upcoming Pokemon Merch
A new merch listing on Japanese online retail website Rakuten seems to point towardsDiamondandPearlremakes with not-so-subtle inclusions of many 4th generation Pokemon. Over on Twitter,establishedPokemonleaker Centro Pokemon LEAKSretweeted an image of the new merch posted by Paul Ryan, webmaster at Pokeshopper.com, a largePokemonmerch database. Both Centro Pokemon and Paul Ryan hinted that fans should keep an eye on the upcomingPokemonmerch. When roughly translated, the new merch seems to be a mini study journal set featuring a variety of Pokemon.
While the set featuresstaple monsters like Pikachu, Eevee,and the 8th generation starter Pokemon, it also includes 4th generation Pokemon like the Sinnoh region’s starters, Riolu and Lucario, Leafeon and Glaceon, Munchlax, and Pachirisu. Paul Ryan also noted that Munchlax and Pachirisu’s frequent appearances inPokemonmerch as of late may point to upcoming anime promotions ofPokemon DiamondandPearlremakes.
It’s worth noting that Munchlax was one of the firstPokemonused to introduced the 4th generation ofPokemonback in 2004, and Pachirisu was heavily marketed during the height ofPokemon DiamondandPearl, so, should this merch point to4th generation remakes,the inclusion of these Pokemon comes as no surprise. Additionally, it seems that otherPokemonlike the 8th generation starters' evolutions or even the ever-popular Kanto starters could have been chosen to appear alongside Scorbunny, Sobble, and Grookey, but Chimchar, Piplup, and Turtwig have appeared instead.
Let’s Go Catching Mechanics Rumor
Just last week, asupposed leak from 4chan resurfaced on Redditdue to correct prediction aboutPokemon SwordandShield. The leak was posted in October of 2019, just about a month beforeSwordandShieldofficially launched. The supposed leak both correctly predicted the existence of a Galarian form for the 1st generation Pokemon Mr. Mime and its Galarian evolution, as well as how the new mix-and-match fossil mechanic would work in the 8th generation games. Aside from this, the leak also stated thatPokemon DiamondandPearlremakes would release in 2020 and featurePokemon Let’s Gocapture mechanics.
This leak initially disappointed some, since many long-timePokemonfans favor traditionalPokemon-catching mechanics as opposed to thePokemon GO-like capture mechanicsintroduced inPokemon Let’s Go, Pikachu!andEevee!,where players had to either imitate throwing a Poke Ball with their Joy-Con controllers or line up a timed button press. And while some defend the leak saying that 4th generationPokemonremakes didn’t release in 2020 due to COVID-19-related complications, Centro Pokemon came out and assured fans that there is no reason to think thatDiamondandPearlremakes will featureLet’s Go-styled catching mechanics. Further, Centro Pokemon claimed that the Isle of Armor and Crown Tundra DLC Expansions were planned to release last year from the start.
February 27 Pokemon Day Reveal
2021 marksPokemon’s 25th anniversary, which specifically falls on February 27, the day the first everPokemongames,RedandGreen, released in Japan. Over the years, February 27 has become known as Pokemon Day, usually coinciding with real-world and in-game events, as well as hosting a plethora of announcements about all thingsPokemon. One more big rumor touches on what is likely the most probable scenario, saying thatPokemon DiamondandPearlremakeswill be revealed in Februaryof this year.
In the past, Pokemon Direct presentations held on Pokemon Day have coincided with big game announcements, such as the announcement ofPokemon SunandMoonin 2016 and the announcement ofPokemon SwordandShieldin 2019. WhileSunandMoon’s Pokemon Day announcement only revealed the game’s logos,SwordandShield’s announcementrevealed gameplay, the games' box-Legendary Pokemon, as well as the Galar region’s starter Pokemon. So, for the time being, most fans have their hearts set on February 27 as when they’ll likely hear aboutPokemon DiamondandPearlremakes.
Pokemon DiamondandPearl Remakesare not confirmed to be in development.
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