Pokemonfans have a lot to look forward to in the next six months, with theBrilliant DiamondandShining Pearlrelease dates coming in November andPokemon Legends: Arceuslaunching in January. However, some fans of thePokemonfranchise are already looking ahead to the future, wondering what the Generation 9Pokemongames might have in store. And now these fans think they might’ve found a clue as to what the Gen 9Pokemonregion might be.
A screenshot ofPokemon Brilliant DiamondandShining Pearlhas been making the rounds online, showing a painting hanging on the wall in one of the games' buildings. Speculation points to the painting being representative of Van Goh’s “Starry Night Over The Rhone” or Venice, Italy. If it’s the former, it seems unlikely to be a hint since we’ve already had aPokemonregion based in France (Starry Night Over The Rhone depicts Arles, France), but if it’s the latter, it could be a hint that theGen 9Pokemonregionwill be based on Italy.
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All of thePokemonregions so far have had real-world equivalents, and it stands to reason that Italy will be featured eventually, by process of elimination if nothing else. Even so, it’s entirely possible that fans are reading a bit too much into this. Yes, Game Freak has been known to hint at the future of thePokemonfranchise in the games, but there’s one big hole in this logic:Game Freak is not the primary studio makingPokemon Brilliant DiamondandShining Pearl.
Game Freak is busy developingPokemon Legends: Arceusfor the Nintendo Switch, which looks to be taking an open world,Breath of the Wild-style approach to thePokemonfranchise. Since Game Freak is focused on that, development ofPokemon Brilliant DiamondandShining Pearlhas been handed over to ILCA. This is the first time that a main seriesPokemongame is not being developed by Game Freak, and it could very well mean that there are no hints about thePokemonfranchise’s future hidden in the games.
Ultimately, fans won’t know for sure if this painting is a hit at the Gen 9Pokemongames until the Gen 9Pokemongames are announced. And again,Game Freak is currently busy working onPokemon Legends: Arceus, so it could be quite some time before the next generationPokemongames are revealed to the public. All told, it could be years before fans know if this is a real hint at the Gen 9Pokemonregion or if it means nothing.
