Pokemon Winds and Waves: Weather-Form Leaks Swirl Ahead of 2027 Switch 2 Launch

Pokemon Winds and Waves remain more than a year from release, but the leak mill hasn’t slowed down. The Pokémon Winds and Pokémon Waves games, all-new entries in the Pokémon video game series, will be released exclusively on Nintendo Switch 2 in a simultaneous worldwide release in 2027. Beyond that official confirmation, a fresh batch of unverified leaks now claims the games will lean on a weather-based battle gimmick and a wave of new regional forms for classic Pokemon.

Browt, Pombon and Gecqua Confirmed for the Switch 2-Only Launch

The Pokémon Company made the reveal official on February 27, as part of a Pokémon Day livestream marking the franchise’s 30th anniversary. The Pokémon Company group celebrated 30 years of Pokémon with a special Pokémon Presents video presentation packed with new announcements, including the unveiling of the next titles in the Pokémon video game series, Pokémon Winds and Pokémon Waves. Company president Kenji Okubo called the milestone a chance to kick off celebrations “as we kick off the celebration of 30 years of Pokémon with exciting announcements for Trainers everywhere.”

The reveal trailer confirmed three starters. Pokémon Winds and Pokémon Waves were unveiled as the next mainline entries, launching Generation 10 with an open-world “windswept islands” region and new starters Browt (Grass), Pombon (Fire), and Gecqua (Water). The games are being built by the franchise’s longtime core developer, and the games are developed by Game Freak, the studio behind most modern Pokémon games, including Sword and Shield, Legends Arceus, Scarlet and Violet, and Legends: Z-A.

Unlike earlier Nintendo Switch generations, this pair won’t be splitting duty across two consoles. These two new Pokémon games are being developed by Game Freak and are slated to launch globally exclusively for the Nintendo Switch 2, meaning we won’t be getting Pokémon Winds and Pokémon Waves on the original Switch. For Australian and New Zealand trainers, that simultaneous worldwide release means no import wait or region-locked delay once a firm date lands, though The Pokémon Company has yet to confirm pricing or a specific month.

Leaked Weather-Form Gimmick Could Reshape Pikachu, Arcanine, Lucario and Kecleon

Where the official trailer stayed tight-lipped on gameplay mechanics, leakers have rushed to fill the gap. According to material attributed to a leaker known as Kurwa and amplified by the Centro Leaks account, rumors are circulating that Pokémon Winds & Waves will feature a weather-themed battle mechanic that will alter certain Pokémon in battle, with several Pokémon able to evolve mid-battle into new forms using the weather mechanic, including Pikachu, Arcanine, Kecleon, Lucario, and seven of the new creatures debuting in Gen 10.

It’s still unclear exactly what these transformations will do in practice. It’s also unclear whether these weather forms will give the Pokémon new types, Abilities, or stat buffs. The same leaker has previously flagged false starts: the leaker claims these are technically placeholders, noting that Mega Jynx was once planned for the series but was cut during development, a reminder that early build assets don’t always survive to launch.

There is some precedent for the rumor, at least. While the Arcanine line might not have had as much attention as Pikachu and its siblings, it did receive a Hisuian form in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, as did Growlithe, meaning there’s precedent for Gen 1 Pokémon receiving fresh forms in later games.

Onix, Houndour, Zweilous and Salandit Tipped for New Regional Evolutions

A separate strand of leaks points to entirely new regional evolutions rather than temporary battle forms. A new leak regarding Pokémon Winds and Waves has emerged, essentially confirming that players will have access to new forms for Pikachu, Lucario, Arcanine, and several other creatures. The rumor mill has since named specific candidates, with reports circulating that Onix, Houndour, Zweilous and Salandit are each in line for brand-new regional evolutions, with Salandit’s rumored to carry a Poison/Dragon typing.

Coverage compiling the various leak threads has also floated Drowzee, Psyduck, Shellos, Nincada and Clamperl as additional candidates for new forms, though the exact designs remain unconfirmed. As one outlet summarising the rumors put it, the latter four are said to get new weather forms specifically, although what other Pokémon join that list remains to be seen.

Pokedex Rumored to Swell Past 500 Species in Generation 10

The most eye-catching claim in the current leak cycle concerns sheer scale. One of the biggest rumors circulating about Winds and Waves, allegedly based on an early build of the game, is that it will add more than 300 Pokémon to the Pokédex. If accurate, that would be a historic jump: it would replace the original games as the title with the largest wave of new additions in one generation, more than doubling the 151 introduced by those games.

As with any leak, outlets tracking the rumor urge caution. Pokémon Winds and Waves are still a year away, and anyone who’s paid attention to the series’ community knows it is full of leakers, theory crafters, and misinformation, with some rumors propped up by the Teraleak from 2024 and others coming from leakers claiming access to early builds. Game Freak has not commented on any of the Pokedex, weather-form or regional-evolution claims.

Legends: Z-A’s Water-Only Season 15 Fuels More Speculation

Away from the leak accounts, Game Freak’s live-service Pokemon Legends: Z-A has been dropping its own hints about the upcoming generation. Pokemon Legends: Z-A is releasing Season 15 on August 6, completely changing the ruleset to only allow Water-type Pokemon, after Season 14’s ruleset of only Flying-type Pokemon, yet another direct tease at Pokemon Winds and Pokemon Waves.

Fans reading into the pattern note that this isn’t the franchise’s first use of in-game seasons to preview an upcoming generation. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet released Water-type events alongside Season 14 in Legends: Z-A, and Pokemon games often have a new trailer or more information revealed over the summer, particularly in August and/or at the World Championships. Whether that translates into a fuller Winds and Waves trailer this month remains to be seen, but the pattern of themed seasons lines up neatly with the confirmed 2027 launch window.

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