Today is the day that Nintendo fans have been waiting for. It’s a day that many thought may never come again. ANintendo Directis here. Doubts about whether there would ever be a return of traditional Directs had started to creep into many fan’s minds, as Nintendo seemed to be opting for smaller, more focused showcases, like thePokemon DirectPresentations from last year.A collective sigh of relief was breathed around the globe yesterday, February 16, however as Nintendo announced a brand new Nintendo Direct for today. The first one in 18 months.As always, speculation has run wild all over the internet, with fans predicting what they may see. A big question that’s come to light, however, is what does this mean for a potential Pokemon Direct. The franchise turns 25 this year, are there going to be a bunch ofPokemonannouncements littered through today’s Direct, or will they come from a standalone Pokemon one? Let’s craft some theories.
When is today’s direct?
Today’s Nintendo Direct takes place at 2 PM PT/ 5 PM ET / 10 PM GMT. It will be available to watch through Nintendo’swebsiteand their official YouTube Channel. Or, bookmark this page and watch it right here if you fancy it.
What does today’s Nintendo Direct mean for a potential Pokemon Direct?
My prevailing theory is that there will be little tono Pokemon presencein today’s Nintendo Direct, for two reasons. Firstly, I believe that Nintendo has so many of their own announcements to come, there simply wouldn’t be the time to showcase everything that is anticipated to be coming from The Pokemon Company. Secondly, is almost the exact opposite point. I imagine The Pokemon Company has a bunch of announcements that they want to make themselves. They will want all eyes to be on the Pocket Monsters as they look to celebrate the past 25 years and look ahead to the future of the series.
The most I think Pokemon fans could expect in the Direct is another peek at theNew Pokemon Snapand maybe, just maybe, a new Pokemon character announced forSmash Bros.
What could see from Pokemon in a standalone Pokemon Direct?
This is where we can get really creative. I would never have guessed aNew Pokemon Snapwould be coming and it shows The Pokemon Company are willing to revive old games. Personally, I’d love the return ofPokemon Pinball, Pokemon StadiumorThe Pokemon Trading Card Game.
Then, we have to talk about remakes. A Johto remake has been heavily rumoured over the last few months and would be a fan favourite, but I don’t think that’s it. Instead, I imagine that the more recent rumours that have pointed towards aDiamond and Pearlremake are correct.
On top of that, we may be due for a new mainline Pokemon game.Sword and Shieldcame out in 2019 and Game Freak usually releases a new Pokemon game every couple of years. While it may seem soon, we’ve completed theSword and Shield DLCand I can’t help but think we’ll be moving on from there.
The likes ofPokemon GO(which celebrates its fifth anniversary this year),Pokemon SleepandPokemon Unitewill all also likely make appearances.
