Earlier this year, we saw a massive wave of generation 10 Pokémon leaks that might show the winds of change affecting Pokémon in a positive way. The leaks detailed the game design for the next generation, as well as the names Pokémon Winds and Pokémon Waves. Along with this, screenshots revealed early looks at what could be the gen 10 games. Now, there are even more leaks about the next generation of Pokémon titles, and they show that the series could be returning to turn-based combat. This comes after the battle system was switched up for Pokémon Legends: Z-A.
Pokémon Possibly Returning to Turn-Based Combat in Gen 10
Turn-based combat has always been a staple in the Pokémon series. Since the first generation of the games, the combat has largely stayed the same, except for a few changes in various titles that added new mechanics like Terrastalization, Mega Evolution, and more. The biggest change to this combat style came in the latest iteration, Pokémon Legends: Z-A, which turned the standard combat more strategic and action-focused by allowing the player to move around the battlefield and command their Pokémon.
A leak from Light_88_ on X, however, reveals that this change isn’t sticking around, and that Pokémon will be returning to a more standard turn-based style in generation 10. They listed the following in the post:
- “Turn-based combat returns.”
- “Battles are a fluid version of the combat system from Pokémon Legends: Arceus.”
- “Battles occur automatically on the overworld map.”
- “There is freedom of character movement during turn-based combat.”
- “Area attacks and effects are added to combat moves.”
The combat stated by this user sounds like GameFreak is looking to combine parts of both Legends: Arceus and Legends: Z-A to create a better variation of the turn-based combat system. Legends: Z-A allows the player to take damage if they are caught in the area of effect of a Pokémon’s attack, leading to the player blacking out if they take too much damage.
A combination of the two combat styles is something players were asking for when Legends: Z-A was released. Many criticized the combat in Legends: Z-A for allowing players to win via moving and spamming attacks. Hopefully, this new combat system gives players everything they want.
