Centro LEAKS@CentroLeaks
Pokémon Champions producer Masaaki Hoshino confirms the game exists to preserve classic turn based Pokémon battles into the future in the case they completely disappear from main series games.
—You’ve said that the goal for this title is “to preserve Pokémon battles forever.” Where did that feeling come from?
Hoshino: The Pokémon series, including Pokémon LEGENDS: Arceus and Pokémon LEGENDS: Z-A, has always continued to take on new challenges. Within that current, there were also people—myself and Mr. Morimoto (*) foremost among them—who had a strong desire to “preserve forever” the core form of play known as “turn-based battles.” Pokémon Champions is the title that began production when those members came together.
(*) Shigeki Morimoto of Game Freak Inc. One of the members who has been involved with the Pokémon series since its early days. He was responsible for developing the battle program for Pokémon Red and Green. Since Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, he has served as battle director.
—So, for example, does that mean that from Pokémon Wind and Wave, scheduled for release in 2027, onward, the series will more actively challenge itself with new forms of battle?
Hoshino: No, this is not about any specific upcoming title in the near term. Pokémon Champions is looking much further into the future. In fact, I myself do not know what kind of battle format Pokémon Wind and Wave will actually have. For example, several decades from now, entirely new kinds of Pokémon battles may have emerged, unconstrained by what we currently consider common sense. We hope people will look forward to that in its own right, while at the same time we have separated out the turn-based Pokémon battles we love into a dedicated title so that they can also be enjoyed forever.