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Deprived of actual news about the next mainline entry in the Pokémon series, wild fan speculation is well underway. Gamers are scouring the existing titles for hints on the next location within Pokémon Scarlet & Violet.
A painting hanging in a building has caught people’s eye, sparking rumors that the next games might be set in Italy or Greece. The in-game text when looking at the picture says “This painting is entitled Street, Midday. It depicts a beautiful town in a different region.”
Italy or Greece region hint?
byu/Highland_the_kitsune inPokemonScarletViolet
The phrasing “a different region” caught players’ attention – if the painting was of a previously explored region from the mega-popular franchise, the region’s name would likely have been specified rather than leaving it vague.
However, many commenters believe that a different part of the world like India or Brazil will be the location of the next game because there have been many European-themed regions already.
The excitement for Pokémon has rarely been higher – it was revealed recently that the Switch has been the most successful console for the franchise to date. The Pokémon Company has been known to seed its games and TV shows with hints and clues about what’s coming next and nothing big has been found in Scarlet & Violet yet, so gamers are going through the games with a fine-toothed comb for even a crumb of a hint.
Hints in previous Pokémon games
The Pokémon titles have been very clever in seeding clues and tips about where the franchise will be going next in the games.
The original Pokémon games were an unknown entity – Gamefreak and Nintendo had no way of knowing they would become one of the most popular and successful game properties in the world – so hints were not so prevalent in the first games, but the very first episode of the Pokémon anime includes a shot of legendary bird Ho-oh, from the second set of games.
In Pokémon Silver, the Pokédex entry for Corsola mentions “a south sea nation” where “people live in communities that are built on groups of these Pokémon.” In the third generation of games, Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald, Pacifidlog town is exactly as described – a floating town built on top of a Corsola colony.
Possibly the most well-known hint is the one from Pokémon X and Y. A mysterious NPC gives the player a “strange souvenir” and hints that it’s from a new upcoming region. The item description reads “An ornament depicting a Pokémon that is venerated as a protector in some region far from Kalos.” It’s a clear reference to Pokémon Sun and Moon’s Alola region and the guardian Tapu Pokémon from there.
