Pokémon's 30th Anniversary Surprise: 'Winds' and 'Waves' Trailer Has Everyone Talking

30 years ago today, the very first Pokémon games came out in Japan, Pocket Monsters Red and Pocket Monsters Green. This moment launched a massive franchise that still hasn't gotten stale. In 1996, players used their Game Boys to fire black and white ember attacks during battles. In 2016, players used their phones' camera and GPS to "Pokémon Go to the polls." In 2026, players are going to use their Nintendo Switches to play Pokémon Winds and Pokémon Waves — glimpses of which can finally be seen in the trailer released on the original games' 30th anniversary.

Meet the Next Generation of Pokémon

Winds and Waves evoke The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, taking place in an open world centered around the sea with a series of islands. The games introduce three new starter Pokémon as part of the 10th generation:

• Browt, a birdlike Grass type Pokémon who, per the announcement, is "lively but clumsy"
• Pombon, an adorable Fire type who looks like a puppy lion
• Gecqua, an "intelligent" Water type who looks like the Geico gecko's distant cousin

Each game also introduces a new Pikachu variant: Mr. Windychu in Winds, and Ms. Wavychu in Waves. Both are dressed like they just arrived at the White Lotus, but the announcement remained coy about the roles they would play in the new games.

Fans React to Pokémon 'Winds' and 'Waves'

Winds and Waves won't be released until 2027, but Pokémon fans are already talking.

"These games look really nice," one person wrote on Reddit. "There's actual art direction going on here and we still have another year+ of dev ahead of what they've shown."

Of course, fans also are fawning over how cute the new starter Pokémon are. So far, there seems to be one clear favorite.

"I've only had Pombon for 3 minutes, but if anything happened to them I will end the world," one person wrote. "I'd die for Pombon, not gonna lie," wrote another.