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Pokémon fans are convinced that tomorrow’s Pokémon Direct presentation will introduce Pokémon Stars, the reported Nintendo Switch revamp of last November’s Pokémon Sun and Moon. Yet what many fans want instead isn’t a new Pokémon game, but another pair of remakes based on much older ones.
Rumors about Pokémon Stars have grown since Eurogamer reported it was in the works back in November. The Nintendo Switch game would expand upon Pokémon Sun and Moon, according to Eurogamer’s reports. It’s also said to feature a returning characters, the Alola region and much of the same Pokémon, albeit with some rare finds in larger roles.
A Switch version of a mainline Pokémon game would be exciting — we’ve never had one on a Nintendo home system — and for many Pokémon fans, it is. But just as many players are eager for a different set of mainline games. Pokémon Diamond, Pokémon Pearl and Pokémon Platinum comprised the fourth generation of role-playing games in the series, and fans think they’re ripe for a redux.
sinnoh is literally the best pokemon region. nintendo knows this theyre just afraid that gen 4 remakes will be so good they can never top it
— Tae (@FuuinNoTsurugi) June 5, 2017
One fan’s Twitter thread gives nearly 30 reasons as to why a return to the Sinnoh region, the setting of the fourth generation Pokémon RPGs, is imminent. These include multiple references to that era’s new Pokémon in Sun and Moon, callbacks to and appearances by those games’ characters and the return of features introduced in those games.
Most compelling, though, is that it’s been 10 years since Pearl and Diamond’s 2007 release on Nintendo DS. The previous set of remakes, Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire, hit Nintendo 3DS in 2014, more than 11 years after the original Game Boy Advance games. That means that we could continue to wait for redone generation four games, but many think now’s the time.
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Tomorrow’s presentation is only eight minutes — but perhaps that’s long enough for Nintendo to squeeze in both Pokémon Stars and Pokémon Diamond and Pearl remakes. The company rarely, if ever, announces Pokémon games at E3, so if there are any major new titles in the series on the way, fans should hope to see them tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. ET.
