Squirtle uses LEAK: The Pokemon MMO rumors

Pokémon has strayed from its usual formula. After years of being accused of making the same game over and over again, Nintendo Pokémon Go has emerged to delight children and adults who enjoy a good old touch of nostalgia! Then, Pokemon Sword and Shield entered an open world to the delight of many (myself included).

Arceus embraced and pivoted to the action RPG subgenre Pokémon in something akin to a long-form fanfiction where Pokémon get tired of being things to be caught and openly attack trainers who harass them! …Without the “dying horribly” part that usually underlies fan-curated stories. It turns out that Game Freak may be planning another big change for the franchise if the flood of leaks online are to be believed.

Videos from VICE

Courtesy of Centro LEAKS PokémonThe future. Well, things might be a bit disjointed because, as you know, there are leaks on social media. But I’ll do my best to get through the chaos for all of you. It’s going to be a ride because there are leaks continues as I write this. I warn everyone to take this with caution for now. If nothing else happens, at least we’ll have fun with it!

A Pokémon MMO could be on the horizon

So our saga begins three hours after I started writing this piece. Centro posted in all caps simply: “MASSIVE GAME FREAK LEAK HAPPENED. GEN 10 AND NEW MULTIPLAYER POKÉMON GAME DEVELOPED BY GAME FREAK. Gaia codename of Gen 10.” The first comment under the post that made me laugh was once again from Centro: “Oh man, it’s happening.”

The following information is scattered as Centro “confirms” things and then says, “Wait, no. This is wrong/incorrect.” So I’ll put together the “relevant” tidbits here.

• Apparently the Switch 2 is codenamed “Ounce”.
• “Gaia” – a codename for the 10th generation of Pokémon – is being developed for the Switch 2.
• Gaia will have two versions: “N” and “K”.
• Gaia will be on both “Switch 1” and “Switch 2”.
• Then Centro lost its mind over some files that were interpreted as a Pokémon MMO is in development.
• To which Centro then followed: “Oops, whatever – it’s not an MMO.” Which definitely doesn’t make this article clickbait!
• Then the code name “SYNAPSE” came into play. It’s supposed to be a “multiplayer/combat game”.
• Oh, but wait. Two hours later, Centro clarified: “No, no, no, I’m sorry. The files don’t reference Synapse at all. It is actually a… Splatoon-like Pokémon Game?”

The rest so far only consists of “leaked” screenshots and chaotic X-comments. If the destination doesn’t produce anything substantial in the end, at least the journey was exciting!