Pokemon Trademarks Tease New Legendary Pokemon, Possible Return of Spinoff Franchise

A recent trademark filing by Nintendo and the Pokemon Company may have revealed a new Legendary Pokemon and the return of the PokePark spinoff franchise. Yesterday, several Japanese trademark filings made by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures Inc. went public, all of which involve the Pokemon franchise. Most of the trademarks were updates of existing Pokemon or catchphrases, but there were a few filings that generated a bit of buzz on the Internet.

The first was a trademark filing for "Budrex," which could be an evolved form of Calyrex, a Legendary Pokemon set to be introduced in the Crown Tundra DLC for Pokemon Sword and Shield later this year. Calyrex is a reference to the calyx, a part of the Pokemon that protects a plant's bud, so it would make sense that Budrex is the Pokemon's final form.

Another trademark filing was for "PokePark," a reference to the PokePark spinoff series. Players could control Pikachu and other Pokemon in the series, leading them through adventures in a PokePark filled with both friendly and hostile Pokemon. The game also contained several mini-games, in which Pokemon completed quizzes or participated in races. Creatures Inc. developed the PokePark series for the Wii back in 2009 and 2011, but we haven't gotten a new game in almost a decade.

The revitalization of the PokePark franchise could be a big deal, especially if released on the Nintendo Switch. Since Game Freak seems to be switching to DLC content over releasing "enhanced" versions of Pokemon games, other parts of the Pokemon franchise might release new games to help keep interest in the franchise high. Also, there does seem to be some interest in bringing back Pokemon spinoff games, as shown by the recent re-release of Pokemon Mystery Dungeon.

Of course, trademarks don't mean much on their own. Companies file trademarks all the time and they often don't turn into anything. We'll have to wait and see if these new trademarks lead to anything in the future, or if it's just another case of the Pokemon Company protecting its existing trademarks.