It's hard to believe that it's already been three years since Pokemon X & Y hit the scene. It seems like just yesterday that Trainers around the world first stepped for into the world of Kalos — and now, to celebrate the franchise's 20th anniversary, Nintendo has finally revealed the next game in the main series.
Information is still scarce, but Nintendo has officially confirmed that the next two games in the series will be Pokemon Sun & Moon, which are both set for launch worldwide launch this holiday season.
Sadly, that's about all the information Nintendo was willing to share. Save for the games' logos (which already leaked yesterday), fans still know nothing about Sun & Moon — where they'll take place, if they'll reuse the engine from X & Y or if they'll change up the series' core gameplay in any major ways are all still a mystery. That being said, Pokemon titles typically hint at the games' major themes, and the same holds true here.
Ruby & Sapphire were about earth and water, Diamond & Pearl mainly focused on time and space, while X & Y touched on themes of life and death. With Sun & Moon, it's easy to assume the games will focus on some sort of balance between light and dark — considering there's already a Dark typing, could a new light-based Pokemon be on the way?
While there's no telling what sort of new Pokemon fans can expect to see, it's clear that Nintendo is focused on bringing Sun & Moon to as many players as it possibly can. Back in 2013, X & Y launched with seven different language options — now, Sun & Moon will launch with nine. These include English, Japanese, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Korean and both traditional and simplified Chinese — theoretically adding millions of players to an already-massive fanbase.
Finally, there's the issue of the upcoming Pokemon Red, Blue & Yellow eShop re-releases: for the first time ever, Gen. 1 monsters will be available to transfer into current-generation Pokemon games. When Sun & Moon are released, players will be able to use Nintendo's Pokemon Bank to transfer their team between the eShop versions of the original games and the new releases. It's a small touch, sure, but it gives Trainers even more incentive to pick up the original games!
With any luck, we'll see more of Nintendo's latest Pocket Monsters game soon — otherwise, Pokemon Sun & Moon are due out this holiday season.