Pokemon Winds and Waves are officially the names of the next entries in Game Freak's beloved RPG series.
Yes, during the Pokemon Presents February 2026 showcase in celebration of Pokemon's 30th anniversary, the stream ended with the reveal of the new games which will follow in the footsteps of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet as open-world adventures.
Pokemon Winds and Waves release date speculation
Good news, trainers! We know the release window for Pokemon Winds and Waves is set for 2027.
While we don't have a firm release date yet, we suspect that it will arrive in the latter half of next year, given the release pattern of Pokemon Legends: Z-A. Pokemon Legends: Z-A was announced during a Pokemon Presents showcase in 2024 and then released in October 2025. While Winds and Waves are mainline titles instead of a Legends spin-off, we assume that the timeline will be similar.
Is Pokemon Winds and Waves a Switch 2 exclusive?
Pokemon Winds and Waves will be a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive. This choice does make sense and again follows past patterns in the series. I can still remember Pokemon Sun and Moon being a 3DS game while I had my regular old DS still in hand. When a new Ninty console drops, a new Pokemon exclusive tends to come with it.
If you want to know more about other upcoming Switch 2 games, we have a handy guide for you. And if you are still on the OG Switch, there are still a handful of upcoming Switch games for you to check out as well.
Pokemon Winds and Waves trailer
Pokemon Winds and Waves gameplay
While a lot of gameplay details for Pokemon Winds and Waves are still under wraps, it looks like the classic Pokemon battling system is back in place. As with previous games, you'll start with a starter Pokemon that is either a grass, fire or water type and will have to go out into the world in order to battle and catch other Pokemon in order to build your team up.
Interestingly, the official Pokemon website mentions that: "you'll be able to team up with all kinds of Pokémon to overcome both the difficult road ahead and even the forces of nature that block your path at times", which suggests we could see environmental blockades which have also popped up in past games. If they'll differ to play in the Waves and Waves respective titles remains to be seen, but it would make sense.
From what we've seen so far, it's unclear if Pokemon Winds and Waves will have real-time battles like Pokemon Legends: Z-A. or if we'll be going back to classic turn-based affairs. We do know that the next games will be open world. Given the Switch 2's hardware, an open world experience is very doable, and is something that I personally loved about Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. So, yeah, I'm very pleased about this news.
What are the Pokemon Winds and Waves starters?
Thanks to the recent Pokemon Presents trailer, we did get to see the new starters for Pokemon Winds and Waves and they are extremely cute.
The grass type starter is a bird called Browt, the fire type starter is a cute like puppy called Pombon, and finally, the water starter looks to be a snazzy reptile called Gecqua. We didn't get to see much of their abilities or evolutions during the teaser, so stay tuned as we keep an eye out for more details on our new partners.
In the meantime, you can check out our Pokemon Winds and Waves starters guide for a closer look at the adorable trio. We also have a guide on Pokemon Winds and Waves Pokedex, which lists all of the confirmed Pokemon coming to the game as well. Just in case you wanted to start planning your team now.
Pokemon Winds and Waves leaks
There have allegedy been a lot of Pokemon Winds and Waves leaks out in the wild ever since 2024. In October 2024, well-known Pokemon leaker Riddler Khu gave us hints about the names of the upcoming games. And since then, we've had a number of other leaks that reportedly also give insights into Pokemon Winds and Waves' region, game mechanics, and more.
A big leak that we are particularly interested in was reported by Vice back in 2025, which shared rumors that the games will center around "infinity". Account CentroLeaks stated that this may refer to a new feature where the games procedurally generate the region's map.
Another rumor is that the Pokemon Winds and Waves region is located in Southeast Asia. The game is supposedly said to have a jungle section, and we'll be playing as a trainer who is said to live in a hotel (which is also believed to act as an MMO-like hub that will show us other players). From the recent trailer, it does look like the jungle leak was correct ; however, it seems like we'll be getting a more tropical island vibe.
Leaks have also reported weather effects in battle, and a potential new breeding/evolution mechanic. As ever, it's important to keep in mind that leaks aren't confirmed. So before you get excited, it's always best to wait until we get proper confirmation from either Nintendo or Game Freak.
Pokemon Winds and Waves region speculation
While the recent trailer shown during the February Pokemon Presents showcase did give us a look at the games, it didn't explicitly mention where the games are set, no name given for the new region. But taking previous supposed leaks into account and also piecing together all the different locations we saw, we are pretty sure that the region is based on Southeast Asia.
The tropical climate seen in the trailer, paired with the mountain areas, active volcano shots, jungle areas and architecture that's reminiscent of Singapore all point to our hunch being correct. We will keep you posted as we wait for firm confirmations.
But, if you want more information on whether past areas will make an appearance, or a deeper analysis on what we've seen from the trailer already, we have a Pokemon Winds and Waves region guide that dives into the nitty-gritty.
For more, check out our ranking of the best Pokemon games of all time.
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