Something’s afoot in Japan. Pokémon fans have been advised not to miss the next episode of the anime that’s airing in the aforementioned country as it’ll reveal what’s described as a “major world exclusive announcement” for the franchise. The mysterious and vague tease has got Pokémon fans abuzz, with most concluding that it’ll concern a new development related to the upcoming Pokémon Sword and Shield hitting the Nintendo Switch this year.
The episode will air on September 1st and is titled “Guzma the Undefeated.” It’ll be episode 1078 of the anime, which is currently officially titled Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon – Ultra Legends, and will see the villainous trainer Guzma trying to destroy the Alola league, with only Satoshi’s “heart and faith” in his Pikachu standing against him. I’ve got to admit, I haven’t been keeping up with the anime, but it’s nice to see that not much has changed over the years.
Speculation amongst the fan community is that the episode will unveil a new Pokémon from Sword and Shield. Whether that takes place within the actual plot of the episode or not remains to be seen, but it’d certainly be a neat way of stoking hype amongst diehard fans. We may also get a new trailer for Sword and Shield, or possibly a teaser for the Sword and Shield anime series.
Let’s hope it’s something major, because right now Nintendo and Game Freak really need to start building hype for Pokemon Sword and Shield. The title’s guaranteed to be a success no matter what, but after the Pokedex controversy (in which, for once, the gaming community was absolutely right to get mad as hell), they could use some good press. We’ll find out for certain though when “Guzma the Undefeated” airs on September 1st. Here’s hoping that this “major world exclusive” isn’t an anticlimax.