Approved by myself and DHR. The twofold purpose of this thread is to entertain by sharing funny old stories, and warn future speculators of the follies of the past.
I initially wanted to make this thread a couple of weeks ago, but then forgot about it. Figured I'd give it another try today. The idea was sparked by the seemingly ubiquitous expectations of "Pokémon Stars", a supposed new Switch game in the core Pokémon series that would take players back to Alola with updated graphics and a new story and whatnot. As we all know, the predictions failed to materialize; instead we got another pair of games for the 3DS, albeit featuring a return to Alola.
In other words, the common expectations were wrong. And it got me thinking... what else have we been wrong about before? Because as every long-time Pokémon fan can attest to, swirling rumours about the franchise's future have always been around, and we've all encountered seemingly rock-solid predictions that failed to deliver.
The obvious other example is the infamous "Pokémon Z". A third game in Kalos that would expand on Zygarde's backstory and give it a greater role in the game's main story, akin to the treatment received by Kyurem, Giratina, Rayquaza, Suicune, and... eh... Pikachu before it. However, Game Freak seemingly had other plans, and Zygarde's epic quest took place in Sun and Moon instead. That being said, there's credible evidence that those plans were changed at the last minute, and that Pokémon Z really was planned before being hastily cancelled.
Another examle I remember particularly vividly was the widespread idea that the new Kyurem formes in B2W2 would have an ability that cancelled out the charge turn of Ice Burn/Freeze Shock, which had been discovered prior and (correctly) assumed to be the Kyurem formes' signature moves. The facts that no ability had ever been created mid-generation before, and that the moves probably wouldn't have had a charge turn in the first place if their designated sole users would have an ability cancelling it, were repeatedly disregarded.
So, what rumours and speculations do you remember from ages past, when we were waiting for new Pokémon games? What predictions convinced you back in the day? Was there anything you - or the persistent rumour you subscribed to - predicted correctly?
I initially wanted to make this thread a couple of weeks ago, but then forgot about it. Figured I'd give it another try today. The idea was sparked by the seemingly ubiquitous expectations of "Pokémon Stars", a supposed new Switch game in the core Pokémon series that would take players back to Alola with updated graphics and a new story and whatnot. As we all know, the predictions failed to materialize; instead we got another pair of games for the 3DS, albeit featuring a return to Alola.
In other words, the common expectations were wrong. And it got me thinking... what else have we been wrong about before? Because as every long-time Pokémon fan can attest to, swirling rumours about the franchise's future have always been around, and we've all encountered seemingly rock-solid predictions that failed to deliver.
The obvious other example is the infamous "Pokémon Z". A third game in Kalos that would expand on Zygarde's backstory and give it a greater role in the game's main story, akin to the treatment received by Kyurem, Giratina, Rayquaza, Suicune, and... eh... Pikachu before it. However, Game Freak seemingly had other plans, and Zygarde's epic quest took place in Sun and Moon instead. That being said, there's credible evidence that those plans were changed at the last minute, and that Pokémon Z really was planned before being hastily cancelled.
Another examle I remember particularly vividly was the widespread idea that the new Kyurem formes in B2W2 would have an ability that cancelled out the charge turn of Ice Burn/Freeze Shock, which had been discovered prior and (correctly) assumed to be the Kyurem formes' signature moves. The facts that no ability had ever been created mid-generation before, and that the moves probably wouldn't have had a charge turn in the first place if their designated sole users would have an ability cancelling it, were repeatedly disregarded.
So, what rumours and speculations do you remember from ages past, when we were waiting for new Pokémon games? What predictions convinced you back in the day? Was there anything you - or the persistent rumour you subscribed to - predicted correctly?
