Pokemon Friends Comes at the Perfect Time After Gen 10 Leaks

The latest Pokemon Presents spent around 24 minutes unveiling upcoming and current projects for the franchise, including some more information about Pokemon Legends: Z-A‘s Lumiose City and the new features that will be arriving with it. However, while that might have been the highlight of the presentation for some, The Pokemon Company went and shadow dropped a brand-new game alongside the announcement for it: Pokemon Friends. It was entirely unexpected, though not unlike Pokemon at all, but the reason Pokemon Friends is such a major reveal is what it means in the shadow of leaks for the next Pokemon generation’s games.

As the latest in the franchise’s cozy game library, Pokemon Friends sees players solving puzzles to untangle yarn, which is then inserted into a Plush-O-Matic machine to produce plushes of various Pokemon that players can decorate their room with. It’s designed to be played daily, with new puzzles being regularly added, although players can throw down real money if they want unlimited access to every puzzle immediately. Nevertheless, at its core, Pokemon Friends is a laid-back puzzle game meant to give players a chance to unwind at the same rate as the yarn they’re untangling, but this is precisely why it comes at the perfect time after Gen 10 leaks suggest the loss of one of Pokemon‘s oldest traditions.

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Pokemon Friends’ Puzzles Arrive Right as Gen 10 Risks Losing Its Own

Pokemon Friends Taps Into a Core Element Gen 10 May Leave Behind

On the surface, Pokemon Friends looks like a fairly simple puzzle game, and, in truth, it’s meant to be. Even the game’s marketing shows kids enjoying it, heavily implying its long-term accessibility. However, its puzzles not only become increasingly complex as players progress, but their mechanics also change to keep players on their toes. In a way, Pokemon Friends‘ design taps into a core element of the Pokemon series that Gen 10’s Pokemon games may be leaving behind — at least, according to leaks.

Leaks that originated from Teraleak earlier this year have suggested that Gen 10’s region, which is codenamed “Gaia” and modeled after the Greek Cyclades, will feature island-based exploration and “guardian deities,” similar to how Pokemon Sun and Moon lacked Gyms and instead used trials led by Totem Pokemon. If the leaks are true, the implication is that Gyms may not return in Pokemon‘s Gen 10 games, which would include the puzzles that have traditionally preceded them.

Obviously, the goal of Pokemon Gym battles has always been to defeat the Gym Leader and claim a badge, but the charm of it all has arguably always been the buildup. From tile puzzles to strength-based mazes, players were required to complete unique challenges that gave each location its identity and offered players something to chew on before the big fight. Pokemon Friends, then, effectively functions as a replacement for that format, especially considering Gen 10 might be abandoning it altogether. With its lightweight puzzle mechanics, players can experience those same Gym challenges, albeit in an entirely different format.

Mini-Puzzles Could Be the Last Link to the Gym Leader Experience

If Pokemon Gen 10 really does leave Gyms behind, then Pokemon Friends‘ brain-teasers could be a way for players to continuously relive the puzzles Gyms often presented to them, along with a hefty dose of nostalgia. Whether or not they were meant to, the mini-puzzles in Pokemon Friends now feel like the last line to a gameplay system that’s potentially on the verge of being phased out. That gives the game an unexpected relevance right when the mainline series seems ready to explore new territory.