Next New Pokemon Game To Take Place In Oceanic Region

We all knew that the next new Pokemon game was in the works. And while we still don’t know anything about it, some tantalizing hints were dropped yesterday during an interview with Shigeru Ohmori, one of the primary game and map designers on the Pokemon games. According to an unofficial translation, the next new Pokemon region will be mostly oceanic-based, taking place on and underwater, with perhaps a few small islands dotted here and there.

The map will require Surf and Dive to traverse most of it, as well as the return of HMs for Whirlpool and Waterfall and the possible addition of more water-based HMs to effectively gate players as they sail the oceans of this new region, collecting badges and capturing new Pokemon. Some cities may be located on islands, but others will be located underwater, behind waterfalls, floating on top of the water, or in other water-based locales (perhaps glaciers?). Ohmori indicated that the islands were an afterthought–“We may very well make everything on and underwater. We are quite happy with how the [underwater] city design is going and it will be something players have not seen before from us.”

Ohmori indicated that they weren’t sure yet how this would affect the Pokemon roster for this new region, but that they would definitely be adding more water-type Pokemon, and were considering upping the encounter rate while surfing. “That way, if you really want…say, a Tentacool, it will be very easy to find one even if you keep making it faint on accident. They’ll just keep appearing.” He remarked later that most trainers would have water-type Pokemon, as well.

Though he couldn’t give any further details as to the plot of the game or any of the gyms, Ohmori indicated that they were looking to Team Aqua for inspiration, and the region’s evil team would “definitely be water-based.”

When asked if Ohmori thought that perhaps this would be just a little “too much water”, he apparently grew very serious, responding simply that “you can never have too much water.”

Well, at least, maybe on April Fool’s Day. Have a happy one, everyone!

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