A Pokemon YouTuber went viral after sharing their wild theory about Gen 9’s location being in California. The fan proposed the idea after discovering an old quote from Pokemon Director Junichi Masuda.
With the Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl remakes releasing this Fall, and Pokemon Legends: Arceus debuting in January 2022, talks of Gen 9 seem to be far off.
One fan went viral, however, after discovering an old Game Freak interview that could have hinted about the next game. Could the ninth generation titles really take place in the United States?
Viral Pokemon theory states Gen 9 will be in California
Pokemon YouTuber HoopsandHipHop explained that they came up with the theory after having a nagging suspicion to revisit a Game Informer interview with Director Junichi Masuda who was promoting Sword & Shield in 2019.
The content creator told viewers that Game Freak has a history of hinting at the next location. “Game Freak actually has a trend of basing the latest Pokemon region off of places they had just visited to promote their game that is about to come out. They did it when they went to the U.K to promote Sun & Moon and then made the U.K. into a Pokemon region in the next generation,” they said.
According to the fan, Game Informer caught on to this fact and asked Masuda where they had visited to promote Sword & Shield. “When Masuda does answer the question he says Redwood!” The YouTuber then argued that the Director has hinted at upcoming Gens before, such as Sword & Shield when he posed with Link’s Shield from the Legend of Zelda in a 2018 tweet.
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Although there are many Redwoods, the Pokemon YouTuber argues that the most famous place in the world with that name is in California. “By far the most significant is Redwood City, California. Of all the places in the world where the next Pokemon region could be, I think anyone would agree that the West Coast of the US is one of the most likely candidates.”
HoopsandHipHop followed up by arguing that the Northern California locale’s infamous trees and lush forests would be great for the series. “You would find it is literally the perfect candidate. It’s got the big city areas with Los Angeles, San Fransisco. It’s got beautiful landscapes. And it’s got the redwoods. You can’t tell me that redwoods aren’t just dying to inspire some amazing new forest locations in a Pokemon game.”
The popular YouTuber told viewers to take this theory with a major grain of salt. As he points out, Masuda actually laughed while giving the answer. And Redwood could mean many things. Still, it’s an interesting answer considering the Director knew what Game Informer was trying to get at with him revealing the next location.
Given the fact that Game Freak has a history of teasing upcoming generations long before they are announced, anything is possible. The Unova region is another example of Masuda basing the next region on the US after visiting New York City to promote Diamond & Pearl. Only time will tell if this wild theory pans out.
