Game Freak may be preparing to evolve Pokemon’s long-standing turn-based battle system more boldly in future mainline games. In a recent video, Pokemon Champions director Kazumasa Iwao explained that the free-to-play competitive title was created in part to preserve the classic formula, giving the studio room to experiment elsewhere.
"There are people who have battled for decades since Pokemon Red/Green or Pokemon Gold/Silver, so we didn’t want to say like ‘it’s changed now, so please buy and play the new games.’ That wouldn’t be good," Iwao said. "However, at Game Freak, we always want to challenge ourselves by doing new things with the series, but we don’t want to throw away the battle system that we’ve built until now. Because of this, we thought it would be good to put the battle system we’ve constructed into one game that you can keep playing, and that’s where the development of Pokemon Champions began."
The comments suggest that with Champions serving as a permanent home for traditional competitive battles, mainline entries such as the upcoming Pokemon Winds and Waves could introduce changes "little by little." Iwao did not outline any specific new mechanics or confirm that Generation 10 will be the first to diverge significantly.
Pokemon’s core turn-based combat has remained fundamentally intact since 1996, even as the series added new types, held items, abilities, Mega Evolution, Z-Moves, Dynamax, and Terastallization. More noticeable departures have appeared in the Legends sub-series. Legends: Arceus introduced overworld encounters and a more action-oriented approach, while Legends: Z-A moved further into real-time combat with positioning and timing as key factors.
Scarlet and Violet also experimented with auto-battles against overworld Pokemon. These side projects have given Game Freak practical experience with alternative systems without forcing every player to abandon the classic format.
Pokemon Winds and Waves, scheduled for 2027 on Nintendo Switch 2, will mark the tenth generation. So far the only confirmed details are the three starters Browt, Gecqua, and Pombon and a general watery, island-based setting. No official information has been released about its battle mechanics.
Iwao’s remarks frame Champions as a strategic safety net. By keeping the traditional system available in a dedicated game, Game Freak can test new ideas in the main series without risking the alienation of competitive players or long-time fans who prefer the original structure.
For those who would like to watch the video, here it is in Japanese, YouTube does have an auto-dub feature so you can enjoy it in English:
Whether those experiments begin in Winds and Waves or arrive in a later generation remains unclear. The studio has a history of introducing major mechanical shifts gradually rather than all at once. The existence of Champions simply removes one of the biggest barriers to more ambitious changes.
For now, the comments serve as an official signal that the battle system is no longer considered untouchable. As more information on Pokemon Winds and Waves emerges closer to its 2027 launch, players will learn whether Generation 10 is the starting point for that evolution or simply the next step in a longer process. Let us know your thoughts on the article in the comments!