This month,Pokemon SwordandShieldwill release its second major DLC expansion.Game Freak shared information in a Crown Tundra presentationlast week, revealing that the expansion will offer players new ventures like co-op Dynamax Adventures and double battles against major characters in Star Tournaments. The Galar Region games broke ground for thePokemonfranchise by offering paid DLC for the first time, and fans are curious what’s next following The Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra.
While not substantiated by any official word from Nintendo or The Pokemon Company, some fans are under the impression that a third set of DLC is in development behind the scenes based on unused portions of the Galar Region map. One popular theory is that newSwordandShieldDLC will add the Kalos RegionfromPokemon XandY. While this seems unlikely given the first Expansion Pass' focus on adding smaller islands that serve as explorable Wild Areas, there is something to be said about the precedent for multiple Regions in one game set byGoldandSilver.
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The idea of fans wanting to return to the settings of older titles is not new. Many are still clamoring forPokemon DiamondandPearlremakes, as those are next in-line based on the pattern continued byPokemon Omega RubyandAlpha Sapphirein 2014. Rumors have also abound on sites like 4chan that a"Pokemon Super Collection" is coming to Switchfor the series' 25th anniversary next year. However, one more ambitious idea has underpinned these kinds of desires and theories for decades: APokemongame in which every Region can be explored.
The Pokemon World
Ever sinceGoldandSilveropened the Pandora’s Box of having an interconnected Pokemon world that experiences the passage of time, characters and ideas from just about every title have appeared in following entries. Sometimes these connections are like fan service, such as thePokemon World Tournament inBlack 2andWhite 2that let players duke it out with Gym Leaders and Champions from every Region. However, other times they have much more important roles in plot beats or world building.
The 3DS era ofPokemongames had a lot of these connections. In terms of plot advancement, both Elite Four member Grimsley and former Team Plasma boss Colress from Generation 5 appear in Generation 7’sPokemon SunandMoon, as well as their sequels. Grimsley offers up access to a rideable Sharpedo that can break through boulders, while Colress provides players the means of utilizingNecrozma’s transformations in the Ultra games.
World building can intermingle with plot elements, as seen through Grimsley’s friendship with Kahuna Nanu. InOmega RubyandAlpha Sapphire, a multiverse theory was introducedto explain why its version of Hoenn has access to Mega Evolution and features divergent areas from the original games. One such area is Mauville City, which was redesigned with inspirations from Kalos' Lumiose City — complete with a replica Prism Tower, itself based on the Eiffel Tower. This multiverse is also utilized forUltra SunandUltra Moon’s villainous reunion in the post-game Episode RR.
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The poster child forPokemonhaving an interconnected world is Sinnoh Champion Cynthia, a fan-favorite character who has appeared in more individual games than about anyone else in the franchise. After debuting inDiamond,Pearl, andPlatinum, she has also appeared in Johto, Unova, and Alola. She also appears onPasio from DeNA’s mobile gamePokemon Masters EX, a gacha game which could be considered a bridge to every other title because of it directly pulls from its characters' histories.
An Interconnected Game
One major element to the theory thatKalos may appear in DLC forSwordandShieldis the fact that each game’s real-world inspirations, France and the United Kingdom respectively, are neighbors on Earth. Kalos is also home to a place called Couriway Town that is defined by its railway station said to bring visitors from great distances. While it was underutilized in the original 3DS games, many have pointed to Galar’s use of train systems as an easy point of connectivity.
Even without this direct railway connection, thePokemonseries has included means of travel that theoretically could connect every Region should players be given the freedom to travel between them. Trial Captain Mina appears inLet’s Go, Pikachu!andLet’s Go, Eevee!on Switchhaving travelled from Alola to Kanto. The opening scene inRubyandSapphire, as well as their remakes, is the player character moving from Johto to Hoenn so they can live with their father, Norman.
That’s not to mention the relatively unused means of travel inPokemon BlackandWhite’s Unova Region. Castelia City features a massive port, and the Skyarrow Bridge that connects to Pinwheel Forest has active vehicle traffic with cars and trucks. Nimbasa City has a subway system that presumably gets more use than hosting the Battle Subway facility. Mistralton City’s Gym Leader Skyla is also the pilot at an airport said to import and export cargo from afar, a step above the city-to-city travel ofSwordandShield’s Flying Taxi system.
Making use of these travel means could create a system reminiscent of thePokemonanime, in whichAsh Ketchum has spent decades traveling between Regionsso he can collect every Gym Badge and compete in Pokemon League challenges. The aforementioned mobile gamePokemon Mastersshows how much promise there is to the idea of letting the franchise’s huge cast of characters interact more organically. While adding Kalos toSwordandShieldwould be a great step in the right direction, it’s still a far cry from Game Freak creating the kind of massive, interconnected experience that some fans have undoubtedly wanted to see since the very beginning.
Pokemon SwordandShieldare available now on Nintendo Switch.
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