New Pokemon Will Appear in Next Pokemon Movie; Pokemon Switch Speculation Intensifies

A merchandise listing has confirmed we will see a new kind of Pokemon in this summer's animated Pokemon movie.

The Pokeshopper fan page, which catalogs new and upcoming Pokemon merchandise, reports that a Takara Tomy sell sheet for an upcoming line of Pokemon figurines has a listing for an unrevealed brand new Pokemon that will appear in Pokemon the Movie: Everyone's Story. Similar sell sheets gave Pokemon fans their first clues about the Dusk Lycanroc and Necrozma forms in Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.

There's two possibilities as to what the new Pokemon species could be. It's either the technically unrevealed Mythical Pokemon Zeraora (which was leaked in a datamine of Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon) or its a new Pokemon that will appear in the upcoming Pokemon Switch games. If it's the latter, it's a strong sign that the Pokemon Switch games will be coming out in late 2018.

If Pokemon the Movie: Everyone's Story does feature a new Pokemon from the upcoming Pokemon Switch games, it would continue a tradition of teasing future games via the movies. Pokemon like Donphan, Lucario, Zoroark, and Sylveon all appeared in Pokemon movies before they were available in Pokemon games. Sylveon's appearance in the "Eevee & Friends" short that accompanied Genesect and the Legend Awakened even aired before Nintendo officially announced the Pokemon X & Y video games.

Of course - the most likely explanation is that the new Pokemon is Zeraora, an Electric-Type Pokemon that resembles a cat standing on two legs. New mythical Pokemon typically make an appearance in Pokemon movies, and Zeraora's presence in Pokemon the Movie: Everyone's Story was expected by a lot of Pokemon fans. However, if The Pokemon Company does announce Zeraora in the spring, it could mean they'll have even bigger Pokemon game announcements to make over the summer.

For reference's sake, The Pokemon Company announced Magearna (the first Mythical Pokemon to appear in Pokemon Sun and Moon) in February 2017 just days before announcing Pokemon Sun and Moon. They also announced Marshadow in April 2017 and then announced Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon in June 2017.

Clearly, some big things are happening and they could be tied to the upcoming Pokemon movie. Stay tuned for more Pokemon clues, rumors, and announcements soon!