Pokémon continues to go from strength to strength, and there’s a big year ahead for the franchise with the possible launch of the Nintendo Switch 2 ushering in a new era—and there’s plenty I’d love to see Pokémon do in 2025.
Whether it’s the video games or the TCG, whether you play competitively or trade with friends, the Pokémon franchise has provided hours of fun for over three decades. There’s plenty to be happy with, but there’s also lots of room for improvement.
I’ve identified my Pokémon wish list for 2025, covering all areas of the game. Let us know what you’d like to see in the comments below.
Classic games on Nintendo Switch Online
Pokémon’s catalogue now spans over three decades, but many of the classics are unavailable to play on modern consoles. Nintendo Switch Online has seen some additions, mostly spin-off titles, but there needs to be more.
Bringing beloved games like Heart Gold and Soul Silver, Fire Red and Leaf Green, and more classics to Nintendo Switch Online would be a dream that’s especially appealing to those looking for nostalgia and fans who want to try the games for the first time.
Gen X teases and news
The upcoming year is a big one for Nintendo, with the expected launch of the Switch 2, and it should be a big year for Pokémon too, particularly with Pokémon Legends: Z-A releasing. Beyond that, however, 2026 should be even bigger with the launch of Gen X.
Next year will mark three years since the release of Scarlet and Violet, which were released three years after Sword and Shield, but it would be a surprise to see Gen X in 2025. Instead, Legends: Z-A should be given a longer lifespan, with Gen X in 2026.
That doesn’t mean there should be radio silence, however, and teases for Gen X would certainly raise excitement throughout the year.
Black/White remake
The Pokémon remake schedule has been fairly easy to predict in the past, though things changed somewhat with the release of Let’s Go and Legends: Arceus. Now, it’s anyone’s guess what’s in store and anticipated remakes for Black and White are yet to be announced.
Even more confusion arose with the reveal of Legends: Z-A, taking place in Kalos’ Lumiose City, but Unova shouldn’t be ignored, and hopefully we’ll see a reveal of a remake next year. If that were to land in late 2025 or early 2026, it would make for an exciting period.
Return of Delta Species Pokémon
Exciting things are on the cards for the Pokémon TCG in 2025, including the return of Owner’s Pokémon and Team Rocket, but there’s still plenty of room for more fan-favorites to return—and I’d put Delta Species at the top of the pile.
Delta Species have not appeared in the TCG for almost 20 years, but they remain extremely fun to collect, adding diversity to decks for those who play competitively, while those who want new cards to stand out in their binders will also benefit.
Pokémon Go catering for solo players
Not everyone lives in a big city, and not everyone has a group of friends to play the game with. But Pokémon Go continues to push out content catered towards group play—the latest example being the introduction of Gigantamax Pokémon.
For players like me who live outside a large city and don’t have friends nearby to play with, these content drops are fairly pointless. While it’s great to see new forms introduced, I’ve had to accept that it’s pretty much impossible for me to get my hands on them. That’s not ideal and needs to be changed. I’m not asking for the entire mechanics to be altered, but giving players more ways to collect these Pokémon, especially ones from Raids, are long overdue.
Improved battle mechanics in Legends: Z-A
Pokémon Legends: Arceus will forever go down as one of the best Pokémon games to release. There was plenty of new features in the 2022 release to enjoy, with the introduction of the open-world mechanics and the hunts for Shiny Pokémon standing out as highlights.
One area where the game lacked, however, was in battles. Usually, the main mechanic in Pokémon games, it became a hindrance in Legends: Arceus and was frustrating to experience. While this did make for something different, complete removal would have been better than what was offered.
In Legends: Z-A, battles should be more prominent in Lumiose City and, ideally, should operate similarly to the mainline games.
More spin-off titles
Pokemon fans ate well in 2021 in 2022, with a plethora of releases that included New Pokémon Snap, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, and Legends: Arceus. Fans were also given Unite in 2021, while Scarlet and Violet followed suit late in 2022. While not all of those games will appeal to everyone, it kept things fresh for Pokémon fans and offered plenty to enjoy. In the years since, the spin-off titles haven’t quite been up to the same excitement levels and I’d love to see that change in 2025.
Personally, a new Pokémon Stadium title would be an absolute dream and top of my wishlist, particularly if it could incorporate every generation so far.
Give Johto some love
Many fans expected to see a Let’s Go title for Johto announced on Pokémon Day in 2024 and, while there’s still the chance that could happen next year, either way something is clear: Johto deserves to get more love.
Whether it’s a remake to play through, a set in the TCG similar to the uber-popular 151 set, or something entirely different, the Johto region needs to be revisited—but it doesn’t have to be something entirely new either. Even giving the Johto starters some focus in Legends: Z-A would be welcome, whether it be Mega forms for the trio or having either Totodile or Chikorita as a starter option for the game, just like Cyndaquil did in Arceus.
More regional evolutions
Regional evolutions have brought exciting additions to Pokémon, including Annihilape and Kingambit recently, and they’re a great way to hand some love to some under-appreciated Pokémon. In that regard, there’s a long list of deserving candidates.
I was disappointed to see Tauros only receiving regional forms in Scarlet and Violet and not an evolution, and I’d love to see Pokémon like Dewgong get some attention. That could be said for a lot of those with two Pokémon in the evolution line, while there’s even more reason for a lot of those without an evolution line at all to receive some focus.
More TCG Pocket content
Pokémon TCG Pocket has been a huge hit since it released, first with the Genetic Apex set and then with the Mythical Island expansion, and there’s plenty of opportunities for the game to expand in 2025, as I’m sure it will be.
A new set is likely to occur in Spring 2025, which is another opportunity to give Johto some love, but with nine generations of Pokemon to choose from, there’s no shortage of content. Hopefully for players, the game continues to be refreshed with more and more additions.
