Drew Swanson is a Features Article Editor from the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Being a gamer all his life and enjoying everything from ARPGs like Diablo to JRPGs like Pokemon and Persona, his love of digging into game lore and history naturally led to a passion for sharing these ideas with others through writing. He has been writing about games professionally for over 4 years, with bylines as a Contributing Writer at High Ground Gaming for 2 years before joining GameRant. He also has a background in video game studies with a degree from Washington State University, where he also won the Showcase for Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities Award in 2021 for his writing and design work on the game Quest for Arete.
Pokemon Day 2026 officially debuted the next generation of the franchise, showing the first official trailer for Pokemon Winds and Waves with a release date planned for 2027. This trailer showcased a brand-new set of starters along with a much-improved visual design compared to Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, making the environments shown look stunningly detailed. Eagle-eyed fans may have caught a brief teaser for a major Gen 10 mechanic hidden in plain sight, and while it hasn’t officially been revealed, leaks point toward it being a significant part of Pokemon Winds and Waves‘ story.
A lot of Pokemon Winds and Waves‘ features have been leaked over the past year, thanks to the TeraLeak of information that has been making the rounds on the internet. This leak has detailed everything from the island region based on Indonesia to the names “Winds and Waves” themselves, and more. One of the most enigmatic parts of the TeraLeak is the new Gen 10 battle gimmick, which fans may have seen a glimpse of in the official reveal trailer for Pokemon Winds and Waves.
Pokemon Winds and Waves’ Underwater Routes May Be a Double-Edged Sword
While the trailer for Pokemon Winds and Waves showed off underwater environments, these infamous route types may not be as exciting as players expect.
Pokemon Winds and Waves’ Trailer Has a Blink-and-You’ll-Miss-It Moment for a Major Leaked Feature
There is a lot to process in the trailer for Pokemon Winds and Waves that not every fan may have seen on a first watch. While the new starters for Winds and Waves stole the show, and the visual update that the power of the Switch 2’s hardware allows was impressive, more teases were shown throughout Gen 10’s Pokemon Day 2026 first look. One easily missed tease lines up almost exactly with a leaked feature for Pokemon Winds and Waves that was included in the TeraLeak last year, giving players an idea of what is still to come from the Gen 10 games.
Leaked Features for Pokemon Winds and Waves
- Procedurally generated content
- Underwater Exploration
- “Majin” Pokemon battles with weather moves
- All Pokemon will be rideable in some form
- A rebirth mechanic that allows fainted Pokemon to revive with special Rebirth Forms
- Hiking replaces picnics as Gen 10’s way to interact with your Pokemon
Of these leaked features said to be included in Pokemon Winds and Waves, the most mysterious yet likely most gameplay-relevant is the Majin battles. This feature is supposedly replacing the Terastallization and Dynamax mechanics of the past couple of generations, while also acting similarly to Pokemon Scarlet and Violet‘s Titan battles players will encounter throughout the story. While not much is officially known about these mechanics, the reveal trailer for Winds and Waves seems to have already confirmed their existence.
Pokemon Winds and Waves’ Trailer May Have Teased the New Gen 10 Raid Mechanic
Towards the end of the Pokemon Day 2026 trailer for Winds and Waves, fans are shown a sweeping shot of the region’s islands under a blue sky with only a few clouds to be seen before plunging the camera below the waves to give players a peek at the games’ underwater environments. One of these clouds looks a bit suspicious, being darker than the rest and oddly shaped as well. Fans have pointed out that it looks a lot like a Gyarados, the iconic Gen 1 critter that evolves from Magikarp.
Allegedly, this Gyarados-shaped cloud is actually a first look at the Majin battle feature that will be a prominent part of Pokemon Winds and Waves‘ story. These battles seem to act like Dynamax or Tera Raids, where players will be able to find them randomly throughout the game and challenge a powerful creature using the weather-related battle gimmick in a raid-style format. With this tease in mind, Pokemon fans may want to keep their eyes on the sky in future Pokemon Winds and Waves trailers to see if they can spot any other suspiciously shaped clouds that could further hint at this mechanic.
- Released
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2027
- Multiplayer
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Online Co-Op, Online Multiplayer
