Ahh, the Sinnoh region of Pokémon. Truly, if news about Pokémon was Captain Ahab, then the Sinnoh Remakes would truly be the internet’s white whale. There isn’t a month that goes by without the internet rumouring the Sinnoh region returning to the world of Pokémon. I could use up my word count for this article simply listing links to people talking about it. Believe me, as I sit down as a heartbroken gaming journalist today, I am sorely tempted to do so, however, the big fella who edits all my stuff has told me not to, so here’s going to be the structure of this piece. Firstly, I’ll look at the background and all rumours, then I’ll measure how likely that is. Then, I’ll predict what’s going to happen at the next Pokémon direct, and finally, I’ll suggest how I’d like any potential Sinnoh remakes to happen.

The Background

Nearly 15 years ago, the world of Pokémon got their wish with the launch of Pokémon Pearl, Diamond and Platinum, with these games generally regarded as some of the best Game Freak have ever made. The amount of internet love you can find for these games is insane. From the ever-brilliant Nintendo Enthusiast covering the likelihoods, to even The Metro covering it, to the boatload of youtube videos covering the games, there’s no shortage of information and misinformation around.

However, most of the information concerning potential Sinnoh remakes tends to be pure speculation. We do however, have an ace up our sleeves in one regard: There’s a French language twitter account called “@CentroLeaks” which has an astonishingly high accuracy for leaking things about the Pokémon game franchise. So much so, that the Metro ended up running with an article linked earlier.

The Claim

As you can see from the picture below, they’ve confirmed that Pokémon Diamond and Pearl are coming onto the Nintendo Switch. However, they link themselves only to a connected Twitter account. If it wasn’t for their incredibly prophetic and accurate track record, and the timing of this tweet, I’d suggest you disregard this, but there are two things that shouldn’t be ignored. Firstly, a domain name has been taken out by someone that a serious amount of research won’t reveal the identity of. The domain URL? Diamondpearl.pokemon.com

If you, like I, immediately search that, you’ll find that the URL sends you to an errand code, but this is oddly reminiscent of the run up to Pokémon Sword and Shield, where a URL got obtained, band then this twitter account leaked the information. The other thing I need to bring to your attention is the timing. This came out ten days before the annual Pokémon Direct, in whiich we may very possibly get official confirmation, and the twitter account did this with both the Let’s Go and mainline Pokémon games.

So, is this bullshit?

Well, gamers, as I referenced before, these games are something of a white whale for the gaming industry. Every god-damned year, people like me are paid money to cover this and some even create various amounts of hype for it. Normally folk, I’d tell you straight-up that this is bullshit, but the amount of leaks this time and throughout January 2021, mean that I can’t just say people are pulling your leg. Honestly, for the first time since the Nintendo Switch launched, I can finally say that it’s time to get excited.

Predictions

The Pokémon Direct doesn’t just cover the video games, it covers the highly-successful anime, the trading card games, the promotions of plushies, where the Pokémon Center will open this year and also, what we can expect from the franchise in a year. This usually takes about 30 minutes, but you’re not here to see me predict about the other parts of Pokémon. So, games-wise, what can we expect?

Firstly, there’ll be an update about Pokémon Go. It’s proven to be even more successful whilst the world has been on house arrest, so expect new updates to the list. We have just about every Pokémon on the game minus the current generation, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they worked with Niantic to integrate Pokémon featured from the Galar Region.

Then, they’re likely to focus on the release date for their confirmed Pokémon Snap remake. I really hope we’re going to see more of what the game looks like, as well as some explanation of how the game functions on the Nintendo Switch. I’d hope that they’d show us someone playing the game, in order to allay fears over the functionality of the game.

Finally, they’ll address the Sinnoh game. Whilst a lot of people are expecting the games to be remade, I fully expect this not to be. Whilst Pokémon Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby are awesome, and logic dictates that Game Freak will fly in this direction, Game Freak aren’t celebrated for following logic. Just look at the stramash over the national Dex. Considering that other names haven’t been registered, expect this remake to just be the original games made for the Switch and given better graphics.

So, that’s the analysis of the leaks and all things Pokémon. Which are you looking forwards to? Do you think I’ve got my predictions right? Let me know either on the Twitter or in the comments below.

For The Gamerhub, I’ve been Davey