Further speculation regarding next Gen VI series games, generic version.

1-We will likely see more moveset changes...:

As stated by Serebii himself, all third games of each generaion featured moveset changes(which is inaccurate, by the way, Emerald's only true change was the addition of Volt Tackle, whereas most of the changes in FR/LG were not trasferred over as Emerald reused movesets from Ruby/Sapphire, and since it was the last game of the generation, the lack of changes remained dominant). However, most sequels and remakes featured moveset changes, but only HG/SS and B2/W2 contained major intergenerational changes, the latter because of the expanded and heavily marketed New Unova Dex(with few additions to TMs on Pokémon with low movepools).

As for the former, though it is partially the HG/SS' Johto and Kanto Pokémon to the next generation, it was also to boost the anemic Egg Move movesets of the Gen IV Pokémon.

However, expecting massive moveset changes would be optimistic for three reasons;

1-Masuda is confident in X/Y's balance.
2-As the Pokédex is already gigantic and since most Pokémon already got a update in some form, there is little remaining to add, at least on paper(of course, this is completely false, as most Pokémon are far from being optimized moveset-wise, even Smeargle who can't learn Chatter in spite of the lack of the banworthy voice recording gimmick).
3-The amount of Move Tutors will surely reach near 70-80 moves, making them essentially a secondary set of TMs.

However, many of the Egg Moves' of the Gen VI Pokémon are abysmal both number and quality-wise, and many of the newly established and existing chains are not fully utilized yet. As such, it is almost certain that we will see updates on them, at least if this generation is long enough to host three sets of games.

There are also a few errors that need to be fixed, such as Spinda's inability to get Sleep Talk and Venipede's second Venoshock which likely should have been Venom Drench.

2-There will be more periodic rematches and more opportunities to encounter existing battle methods:
This is also a no brainer and a common occurance for later generation games, as a larger cast would also mean more periodic battles, and a larger region would mean more horde encounters. However, there will likely be more Sky Battles as well(which would also be a direct result of a larger region, but whatever). Inverse Battles are unlikely to get more attention unless they are actually marketed.

3-There will be more alternate mini-games/quests:

This is also well known for HG/SS and B2/W2, but FR/LG and Platinum both had various multiplayer mini-games, either through Joyful Game Corner or Wi-Fi Plaza. A similar thing is seen with Xtransceiver mini-games in B2/W2 and their ability to be used over Internet.

4-There will be new connection features:
But it is impossible to speculate what they might be.

5-There will be additional mini-games on PokéMileage Club for the releases:
Though this happened for B2/W2, the reasons for that were different. In B2/W2 the changes for previously unavailable Hidden Abilities. But for this generation, the changes will likely be for currently unreleased or single items(such as Elemental Gems and PokéBlock berries).

Could we possibly be having seventh generation as a near launch title for the next Nintendo handheld?

I have been thinking about the recent rumors, both the Fusion rumors and the Plus&Minus rumors. Of course, Fusion is a confirmed fake, but I have noticed a few things. Iwata recent statement regarding the next platforms' brother-like status, the SoC rumors as well as Masuda's statement on the HD render made me think.


As one can see from the release dates, each main Nintendo console took about 5-6 years between themselves and their successors except their handhelds;
-Game Boy, which was released 9 years before Game Boy Color.
-Game Boy Color, which was released 3 years before Game Boy Advance.
-Game Boy Advance, which was released 3 years before Nintendo DS.
-Nintendo DS, which was released 7 years before Nintendo 3DS.

With this in mind, one can expect a late 2017/2018 or early 2018/2019 release for the next console, whereas 3DS would be continued to be developed for until about 2-3 years after the release of the next handheld. This would also make sense considering that it takes about 2-3 years to develop a console.

However, the end of the console directly coincides with the latest possible release of a new generation of Pokémon, and as stated by Iwata, the next handheld will be a brother to the system. This leads to a few possibilities;

-A repeat of Generation V, where the new console release does not change the handheld release, instead companion software are released as a means of justification for the purchase of the next game until the next generation.

-The next handheld will not try to absorb Wii U architecture literally, instead its brother will be the Wii U. This is unlikely, as not only Wii U has been a major flop and its architecture is speculated to be decreasable to be used in a handheld, but also because even if it were succesful its low end horsepower simply makes it incapable of surviving for long.

-The title's case, obviously.

-Possibly the weirdest case would be the handheld coming out before the main console, with its brother coming later. This bizzare idea might actually work, as if it is going to use Wii U architecture(or something similar to it) it can actually have a connection with Wii U before its successor, which would also use some of the same architecture to an extent for backwards compatibility. This in theory would also provide the year GF generally takes for releasing a new generation.

However, if the video concept is GameFreak's own concept, and not Pokkén Fighters' developers' concept, then it would mean that GF is already creating concepts for the next generation. And if the handheld is a modified Wii U, then there would not be a major need for the prototype hardware for the console to create the proof of concept, or even the early development. Or even the entire development might be made in Wii U development kits.

Another reason why this would be likely would of course be the time that takes for a generation. Each generation takes 3 to 4 years, and if this generation is sufficiently long(as it seems to be planned to be so), then the next generation would have to end during the end of the console's lifespan. Again, this would not be unheard of as Gen V showcases, and priorly Crystal showcases. However, this can diminish the sales further(much like what happened to Gen V sales compared to Gen IV sales), as it would essentially be for a dead console without massive improvements from visuals. The gap would not be too huge, though.

On the other hand, this would be an unconventional route for both Nintendo and GameFreak to take, and I wouldn't think it would be worth it from a capitalist perspective, as there would not be an existing install base that can catapult the sales a bit more exponentially from word of mouth and such. However, this would only matter for initial sales.

From a fanboy perspective, I also would not like this, as the update to HD can also mean that we will get another generation that is not fully realized gameplay-wise, much like the current generation is(not that staying in DS allowed for Gen V to make massive moveset changes, but it did provide it time to polish several existing mechanics and add a good region with massive selection of Pokémon to choose from that is mostly diverse). However, as GameFreak current motto is clearly simplyfing the mechanics further, this might not be unavoidable to begin with, for better or for worse. On the other hand, Gen 8 would eventually be forced for the successor of 3DS like the seventh generation, and as it would likely have the backlash of Gen 7, several gameplay improvements will likely happen then. And I can't really deny the fact that I would totally dig the updated sound quality.

Either way, upcoming three to four years will certainly be amusing to watch... probably more fun than to be an actual participant in.

Scrapped/Removed Mechanics

I am putting this to document what old feature will inevitably resurrected for a future main series Pokémon game. Feel free to add anything I missed.

Note: Gambling features and Voltorb Flip are not put here because “gambling is teh evil!!1!”, but they deserve a honourable mention. Item related mechanics(such as the creation of the Gen III Flutes) and Move related ones are also not mentioned.