Pokemon Switch Game Will Allegedly Feature a New Pokemon Battle System

Some big changes could be on the way for the Pokemon franchise.

Over the weekend, a notorious source of Pokemon rumors posted the first details for the planned Pokemon Switch game, which Nintendo announced was in development earlier this year. The info dump noted some big changes to the Pokemon battle system, along with some basic storyline information and the alleged location where the next games will take place.

While rumors about upcoming Pokemon games seem to spring up every few months and are often complete fiction or fantasy (who could forget last year's Pokemon Stars debacle), this source (per PokeJungle, which first reported the rumors) correctly noted the return of Giovanni and the Rainbow Rocket storyline in Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon months before Nintendo or the Pokemon Company even hinted at the classic villain's return. We're more inclined to believe these rumors than most that pop up on the internet, but keep in mind that these are unconfirmed rumors and should be taken with a major grain of salt.

The biggest change allegedly coming to the Nintendo Switch involves the Pokemon battle system. Supposedly, the next Pokemon game will feature more simplified battling not dissimilar to the Digimon World games. Digimon World uses a battling system in which players give general commands like "Attack" or "Dodge." Later Digimon World games switched from a turn-based system to real time action in which Digimon automatically attacked, moved, or blocked based on their trainers' commands.

While the new Pokemon Switch game won't feature any new Mega Evolutions, rumors state that Z-Moves will be making a comeback. Players can actually use the motion controls on a Joy-Con to trigger a Z-Move, probably by making players do the Z-Move motions in coordination with their player characters.

Supposedly, the new game will be set in a region modelled after Spain or Italy and will focus on finding the balance between innovation and tradition. Players have speculated that the next game could be set in a Spanish setting, as Game Freak director Junichi Masuda has made several trips to the country. Additionally, the upcoming Pokemon movie features Ash wearing a jacket with a style of collar popular in Spain.

Finally, the Pokemon game is still aiming for either a holiday 2018 or early 2019 release date. That's not exactly a surprise, but the rumors suggest that the game won't be out for at least another 12 months.

Rumors are rumors and we won't get any confirmed information until either Nintendo or the Pokemon Company officially release the game. If these are rumors are true, we could be in for the most divisive and franchise-altering games yet!