I feel certain beyond measure that Pokémon Wind and Waves were originally intended to be released in 2026, as part of The Pokémon Company’s 30th anniversary celebrations. It’s clearly not coming until 2027 now, but something is happening soon because TPC’s social media in Japan has been cryptically posting what’s now almost certainly a countdown that should end at around 9 a.m. on November 30, 2026.
Naturally, this pattern was first spotted and reported on by Seribii‘s Joe Merrick, probably the world’s primary source of all things Pokémon (thanks Nintendo Life), first spotting something strange was happening on October 26, and then confirming it early this morning. The antics began as early as October 18, but in a fairly impenetrable way, when Japan’s official Pokémon X channel posted a 30th anniversary Bulbasaur image and the number 1025. It also had a phrase printed below, with the latter part scribbled out, which in part read, “Pokémon and.” There wasn’t a lot anyone could do with that, given there appeared to be no connection between Bulbasaur and that number, so it mostly went ignored.
Come October 26, TPC posted again, this time with Goodra and the number 843. Again, there’s no obvious link there, but the very smart Joe Merrick quickly spotted that the exact time between the two posts had been 182 hours. And 1025 minus 843 is 182. While very unlikely to be a coincidence, it was still only two incidents. Until a couple of hours ago, when TPC Japan once more posted a matching image, this time with Teddiursa and the number 676. Again, the timings matched for this to be an hourly countdown, meaning it should all come to an end at 9 a.m., Monday November 30.
Also, this time the Japanese text was all revealed, translating to “Continue with Pokémon.”
So what is this counting down to? It’s possible, given the images used, this could be another part of the 30th anniversary celebrations, which so far have been primarily focused on the TCG and little else. But that seems a little small-fry for such an elaborate countdown.
Again, I’m certain Wind and Waves were originally intended to launch for this holiday season, given by not launching last year it was already breaking the three-yearly release schedule of mainline games for the first time in 15 years. Not launching in 2026 will make it the longest gap between entries ever. Given the complete lack of the usual drip-feeding of promotional materials, nor reveals of any new Pokémon since the starters back in February this year, it seems impossible that Game Freak or Nintendo would surprise-launch the new games this month. So it’s vanishingly unlikely to be that (as fantastic as it would be).
My theory? The 9 a.m. timeslot I think is the big clue. I’m pretty sure this is going to be a new Pokémon Presents, which—given recent leaks suggesting a November 2027 launch—would be one year ahead of release and a sensible time to start the giant promo wheels turning. I think we’ll be seeing the first (not leaked) footage of the game, and reveals of a bunch of new Pokémon to be added in the 10th generation.
Or it could be some massive anticlimax, given just how much Nintendo loves to announce a big Direct and then have bugger all to reveal.
