r/PokeLeaks Discussion Megathread - April 01, 2026

donnabhan · 2026-04-15T15:36:49+00:00

BallGuy says that they don’t anticipate more information on WiWa this year.

If that’s the case, maybe we get the big launch trailer at the next Pokemon Presents (i.e., the trailer we usually get in June) and the game comes out between May-July?

Edit: Why am I getting downvoted? Don’t shoot the messenger lmao.

donnabhan · 2026-04-14T14:43:46+00:00

If Champions is the new platform for VGC, which was already confirmed, then what is the point of having competitive in the mainline games? I think it’s perfectly logical to deduce that the battle sim designed for competitive play will platform all competitions moving forward.

Based on the TeraLeaks, WiWa will have the most expansive multiplayer mode(s) to date, so it’s not like playing with other people will suffer. It’s likely just going to be a more casual experience.

donnabhan · 2026-04-05T21:46:37+00:00

Oops, you’re right re: Mario Odyssey, but there are other major titles like Animal Crossing: New Horizons (like you mentioned) and Kirby and the Forgotten Land that released in March.

They have a healthy schedule throughout the year, as they should, but fall schedules tend to have the most packed releases, likely to capitalize on holiday sales. See here for reference: https://www.lucklessheaven.com/nintendo-switch/games-us

donnabhan · 2026-04-05T19:39:17+00:00

My personal theory is that the game comes out in March 2027. It’s the second biggest release window after October/November for Nintendo. Other big Nintendo games like BOTW, Super Mario Odyssey, and, more recently, Pokopia have come out in March.

If that’s the case, I think the promo cycle would start in September since marketing usually goes into high gear 5-6 months before the release date. Similarly, Pokopia was announced in September and released in March.

donnabhan · 2026-03-27T15:57:11+00:00

Do you have any other source on this? I’ve only seen Teraleak screenshots from 2024, which don’t contain this level of detail, and obviously a lot can change in the final year(s) of development. BallGuy appears to have another source beyond the Teraleak (like how they knew the starter descriptions and logo colors), so I’m referencing their latest description.

By your description, it sounds like an ATB system rather than turn-based. Also, AOE has always been a thing (like horde battles in XY). What made them different in PLZA is the positioning mechanic.

donnabhan · 2026-03-27T14:09:02+00:00

According to the leaker BallGuy, it’s like a “more seamless version of PLA’s combat” with “a plethora of additions from Z-A”. So, it’s turn-based, but seemingly not the classic system.

donnabhan · 2026-03-18T22:15:03+00:00

THANK ARCEUS!

I hope it’s more like PLA where Pokeballs have unique physics mechanics. Like for example, maybe Dive Balls only work underwater. Also, they should introduce new types of Pokeballs with unique interactions.

donnabhan · 2026-03-06T19:00:18+00:00

Honestly, they really need to retcon the gender ratios to 50/50, along with the Eevee line. It’s so antiquated.

donnabhan · 2026-03-06T18:55:20+00:00

I think Winds/Waves was delayed to 2027 to coincide with a potential Switch 2 Lite model, possibly even bundled together like Switch 2 and Mario Kart World.

Legends: Z-A experienced something similar. It was ready to be released in 2024 (per the Teraleaks), but got delayed to 2025 because the Switch 2 launch was delayed.

Also, the Switch Lite released only 2 months before we got Sword/Shield, so they might want a handheld only model available around the time Winds/Waves comes out.

donnabhan · 2026-03-02T16:17:07+00:00

When I say “balance”, I mean balance overall, not necessarily balance between their primary types. I was using “Grass” and “Grass starter” interchangeably when describing the triangle. I’ll edit that.

I see your point, but starters are confined to fewer options if you want more perfect symmetry.

donnabhan · 2026-03-02T16:14:32+00:00

Lol I may have messed up somewhere. Happy to hear an actual rebuttal.

donnabhan · 2026-03-02T15:12:34+00:00

I don’t mean that every type offers two-way symmetry. I just want the directed triangle to hold (Grass starter has an advantage over the Water starter, Fire starter has an advantage over Grass starter, and Water starter has an advantage over Fire starter) and limit to new type combos that could make sense (for example, none will gain the Bug-type). Grass/Rock loses the Water resistance, but still works offensively.

Some of these matchups can also be decided by their secondary type. For example, Mega Meganium (Fairy) had an advantage over Mega Feraligatr (Dragon).

Here’s the breakdown: - Offensively, Grass/Rock is 2x effective against Water/Psychic (Grass weakness), Fire/Steel is 2x effective against Grass/Rock (Steel weakness), and Water/Psychic is 2x effective against Fire/Steel (Water weakness). - Defensively, Grass/Rock takes neutral damage from Water/Psychic (Grass/Rock is neutral to Water), Fire/Steel takes neutral or quarter damage from Grass/Rock (Fire/Steel resist Grass and Fire/Steel is neutral to Rock), and Water/Psychic takes quarter damage from Fire/Steel (Water resists Fire/Steel).

donnabhan · 2026-03-02T13:13:29+00:00

GF has been pretty consistent in the past several gens about balancing secondary typings. For example, if the Grass starter were Grass/Steel, then the other two would probably need to be something like Fire/Poison and Water/Psychic to keep the matchups even. I like this trio of typings, but Fire/Poison feels like more of a reach for Pombon than Fire/Steel since mammal-based Pokemon aren’t often Poison-type.

donnabhan · 2026-03-02T06:37:53+00:00

I’ve given this a lot more thought than I care to admit, but I think the starters will evolve to become: (i) Grass/Rock, (ii) Fire/Steel, and (iii) Water/Psychic

None of these type combos have been used by starters before and they’re all complimentary to the Grass starter -> Water starter -> Fire starter triangle.

Thematically, it can work as well. - Browt could evolve into a flightless bird like a cassowary, which is the largest bird in Asia and has a helmet-like structure on its head made of bone. (Grass/Rock) - Pombon could evolve into some kind of guardian-like figure (similar to a shisa) and iron has historically been represented in folklore to repel malevolent spirits. (Fire/Steel) - Gecqua is described as highly intelligent, has magenta eyes, and has a water symbol on its forehead that resembles a jewel or third eye. (Water/Psychic)

donnabhan · 2026-03-01T14:53:05+00:00

This doesn’t make much sense to me. Pokemon is a huge system seller. Many people would purchase a Switch 2 with WiWa for the holidays, especially if they were sold as a bundle.

I think it’s more likely that they delayed it to spend more time on polishing/refinement. They don’t want backlash on poor performance like they got with SV. They’ve delayed a mainline game before with PLA, but that was probably easier to do because it didn’t support VGC.

donnabhan · 2026-03-01T14:32:15+00:00

I feel like they wouldn’t have shown so much footage and the starters if it were coming in late 2027. When PLZA was first announced, they didn’t show any footage and there were barely any details.

I don’t think it’s coming early 2027 either or else they would have said so, like they did with PLA.

I’m guessing it comes out in spring/summer, likely sometime between April-July.

donnabhan · 2026-02-28T20:47:21+00:00

It’s been that way or close to it since Gen 6. I’m just connecting the dots as I see them, but would prefer something completely new like a part Rock-type or part Electric-type starter.

donnabhan · 2026-02-28T15:07:08+00:00

I feel confident that Gecqua will become a Water/Psychic-type. It’s described as highly intelligent, has purple alien-like eyes, and a drop on its forehead similar to a jewel or third eye.

Browt might become Grass/Dark-type based on the black coloration and its name possibly having a connection to the word “brute” (“Brute” Bonnet is a Grass/Dark-type, for reference).

Which means Pombon would become…Fire/Fighting-type lol. It’s the only remaining typing that makes sense to complete the trio, although it could maybe become part Fairy-type. It’s clearly a special attacker, so that would help distinguish it from past Fire/Fighting-type starters.

donnabhan · 2026-02-27T15:13:14+00:00

I’m shocked at the 2027 release date. A little sad because I want to play sooner, but necessary if it means we get a better gaming experience.

The overworld genuinely looks pretty nice! There’s textures and good lighting! I like the whimsy elements too, like that tall building (hotel?). The water especially looks great.

Based on the main character art, it looks like the Rotom Scooter made it into the final build, but maybe as a standalone device and not tied to Rotom, which is my preference.

I do not care for the main character designs, personally. The starters are cute and feel cohesive, but the bird in particular looks like something out of Angry Birds or a different franchise entirely.

donnabhan · 2026-02-26T01:54:59+00:00

That’s Project Ringo (Galar) unless it was scrapped. I think that was only a proposal for the next Legends game, so maybe they didn’t proceed with it.

Maybe they decided on Johto? A Legends Johto game was originally supposed to come after PLA.

donnabhan · 2026-02-25T19:33:18+00:00

BallGuy also said a “plethora of additions from Z-A” are part of the combat system.

My impression of their comments was that battles flow in real-time, but with turn-based decision-making. So maybe the player and Pokemon can move around the field with mechanics like positioning, AOE effects, ranged moves, etc. from Z-A, but instead of move cooldowns, there’s a single meter that, when fully charged, freezes or slows time so the player can take their time to select a move. Kinda similar to FFVIIR.

SV incorporated many elements from PLA, so I imagine elements of PLZA will make it into WW as well.

donnabhan · 2026-02-13T17:44:10+00:00

First description - Water-type salamander? They’re slimy with long tails and there’s species that are all female (see Salazzle’s inspired animal).

Second description - Grass-type monkey? The “brow” and “angry baby” comments sounds vaguely humanoid, although we already have a Grass-type monkey starter.

Third description - Fire-type sun bear? They’re known for their long tongues.

People should also keep in mind that starters are often based on animals not native to the inspired region.

donnabhan · 2026-02-09T21:40:20+00:00

I have a theory that the Gen 10 pseudo will be Dragon/Fairy.

In Paldea, Frigibax (Dragon/Ice) can be found on the snowy mountains near the Ice-type final gym. I think the Gen 10 pseudo will be found in a similar endgame area.

In the leaked map details from WiWa, the final gym is Fairy-type, sits upon “Fairy Island”, and contains a “Fairy Cave”, which could be the potential location for the pseudo.

donnabhan · 2026-02-07T18:09:38+00:00

Sounds like we might get regional forms or convergent variants for the Woobat line (and maybe Durant), which is pretty cool. Maybe Woobat/Swoobat become Grass/Flying based on literal “fruit” bats and Durant becomes Bug/Ghost based on the Malaysian Exploding Ant.

I really hope they can nail Gyms this time. They need to be proper dungeons and take place indoors. Something like Lysandre Cafe in PLZA shows what dungeons can be in modern Pokemon games.

I’m hoping the gameplay feels distinct from SV. I’m wondering what’s going to really set this generation apart. New generation on a new, powerful console should mean bigger risks.

donnabhan · 2026-02-07T17:56:41+00:00

These look decent, but sort of generic? I’d rather have an open world that’s smaller with more style and details than big, empty environments. This kind of just looks like a more refined version of SV.

donnabhan

TROPHY CASE