Pokemon Winds and Waves Leak Reveals Changes to Turn-Based Battles

Pokemon Winds and Waves will kick off Gen 10 sometime in 2027, and until the new year comes around, known Pokemon insiders have suggested no concrete news will come. As unfortunate as that is, the Teraleak 2 has provided plenty of information (some of which was teased or confirmed when Game Freak revealed Pokemon Winds and Waves), and plenty of rumors and leaks still keep giving, at least in terms of interest.

Following the loving reception of Pokemon Legends: Arceus, as well as Pokemon Legends: Z-A (to a lesser extent), many fans are no doubt curious if Pokemon Winds and Waves will have more active combat. While this should be taken with a grain of salt, it seems like the answer to that is a solid no, but that doesn’t mean either game won’t influence the upcoming mainline titles.

Pokemon Winds and Waves’ Battle System Will Be Turn-Based, But “Tweaked”

According to leak aggregate account Centro Leaks, Pokemon Winds and Waves‘ battle system will be “tweaked” and slightly different from Gen 9. It seems that, while it will be more traditionally turn-based than the Pokemon Legends subfranchise games, there will still be elements like free roaming and multiple targets. The latter is not so surprising, given plenty of moves can traditionally hit multiple targets in Double Battles, Multi-Battles, or against Swarms of Pokemon, but there’s also going to be Area of Effect moves similar to Legends: Z-A. With that in mind, it can only be presumed that AoE moves could be used to physically prevent or push Pokemon away from key areas, adding another layer of strategy to the game.

That said, as Centro highlights, Pokemon Winds and Waves are still in development. That means anything can change between now and release, and it’s possible these introductions are rolled back. After all, it also seems safe to presume that any changes to the method of battling would also be determinate on the Battle Gimmick of the Generation. It’s long been believed, and even teased, that Pokemon Winds and Waves‘ core battle gimmick would involve the weather somehow. It’s not a stretch to see how free roaming, multiple targets, and AoEs could tie to the weather.

Unfortunately, whether this proves to be true or not is likely a long way out. If Pokemon was sticking to its old 3-year release cadence, then Pokemon Winds and Waves would already be available. Many expected and accept an extra year, believing that Gen 10 would release in 2026, but the confirmation of 2027 suggests that a lot of potential work is being done to make Pokemon Winds and Waves the best they can be, presumably anyway.

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The semi-good news, beyond the potential of better games even if it takes longer to get them, is that fans may not have to wait until then to get their hands on the new starters (Pombon, Gecqua, Browlet). Rumors suggest Pokopia DLC is being built to bridge the space and time until Waves and Waves’ releases, and it is believed that Pokemon Winds and Waves starters are coming to Pokopia‘s DLC. That much, fans no doubt don’t have to wait as long to learn for certain.

Systems

Released

2027

Multiplayer

Online Co-Op, Online Multiplayer