What Does Magiana Mean for the Future of Pokemon?

by Harry Sheridan and Brandon Sultana

February 10, 2016

 

So out of the blue, CoroCoro leaked a new Pokemon. Not a new form, or a new mega evolution, just a straight up new Pokemon. With there still being no announcement regarding the next mainline entry to the series, this got us thinking what this new Pokemon means for the future of the series.

 

Gen 6 One-off

Bran: Personally, I’d say this is the most likely scenario. In my opinion, it’s too early for them to introduce a brand new generation, and the concept of Gen 6.5, while awesome, doesn’t seem very likely. Magiana definitely looks like it is related to Diancie in some way, and I could see it being either an event or standard legendary in the very probable Pokemon Z game. Seeing as it's a man-made Pokemon in the vein of Mewtwo, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was some attempt to replicate Diancie. Either way, I think adding One-offs to generations would be great moving forward, so that fans don’t get even legends spoiled by data miners. It would probably be a little underwhelming to see it end up as a one-off, but seeing as many of us didn't even expect to see any new Pokemon at all in Pokemon Z, it's not a big deal.

Harry: While I really hope this isn’t what happens (it’s easily the outcome I want the least), I would be fairly happy if this is how they introduce event legendaries going forward. I so tired of knowing about event legendaries such as Diancie, Hoopa, and Volcanion so far ahead of their official announcement just because their data was already in the game. I hope that, going forward, Game Freak realizes that it’d probably be a better idea to just introduce the legendaries via updates or downloads so as to preserve the surprise that should come with their announcement.

 

Gen 6.5

Harry: This is the one that I want the most. Don’t get me wrong, I loved X and Y, but compared to past Pokemon games, they felt like they were really lacking. Introducing only about half the amount of new Pokemon as previous generations and having practically no post-game content, X and Y left a ton of room for improvements. I’m hoping that the likely Pokemon Z allows them to finally expand upon the base Gen 6 by adding new areas/towns, story elements and, of course, new Pokemon to make up for the seeming lack of them in X and Y. Hopefully, Magiana is just the beginning of a potential slew of new Pokemon that may show up in the Gen 6 remaster/sequel. Personally, I think that this would this help revitalize the series (because, c’mon, even a fan as big as I am has to admit that the series is beginning to stagnate a bit), as it would provide Pokemon with a fresh, new formula going forward that could help each new entry really feel like it’s worth playing.

Bran: Let’s be honest, Generation 6’s Pokedex was pretty lacking. While Mega Evolutions did boost the numbers, the number of brand new, original Pokemon was far less than I would have hoped. Magiana presents an excellent opportunity for them to fill out the Kalos dex. I’d love to see the Kalos region become larger with new areas to explore, potentially adding an addition 40-50 Pokemon. It’d really shake up the traditional 3rd version, making it far more than just a remaster. Black and White 2 were an excellent step in the right direction by adding Pokemon to the regional dex, adding brand new Pokemon in the middle of a generation would spark a lot of hype and speculation, and invigorate the series again.

 

Gen 7

Bran: I’d say say this is the most unlikely scenario, but it is still a potential possibility. As we know the NX is around the corner, with a heavily speculated handheld component. Perhaps the reason the new games haven’t been announced yet is because the NX itself hasn’t been announced. Magiana could end up being the first Pokemon revealed for an entirely new generation. As I said however, I think this scenario is incredibly unlikely. With how many loose ends still exist in Generation 6 in terms of story, I don’t see them beginning a new generation quite yet. Heck they haven’t even released Volcanion yet, so until that happens we definitely won’t be seeing a new game.

Harry: New generations are always exciting and this would be no exception. While I’d certainly prefer to get a Gen 6.5 in order to expand upon the groundwork set in X and Y (because, c’mon, that game really needs it), I definitely wouldn’t say no to a brand new Generation of Pokemon. Honestly, regardless of what it ends up being, I’m incredibly excited. I’m an absolutely huge fan of Pokemon (Pokemon Red was the first game I ever played) and big series news like this always gets me crazy hyped. So, honestly, I’ll likely be happy with whatever we get, as long as it means tons of fun speculation, hype, and more Pokemon.