‘Pokémon GO’, ‘Pokémon Z’, ‘Pokémon Rainbow’, ‘Pokémon Sun and Moon’ Release Date and News; Is ‘Pokémon Z’ Never to Be?

By Mark Rollins
Pokemon GO
The Pokemon Company, Google and Nintendo have committed $30 million into Google spinoff Niantic. Pokemon Go website

This year of 2016 is going to be a big year for Pokémon because it is two decades old.  The gaming/trading card franchise has developed a huge following, and fans of it were expecting the arrival of several games.  One of them is Pokémon Z, a long-awaited follow-up to Pokémon X and Y, which looks like this sequel to the fan-favorite is not happening.  The other is Pokémon GO, which is a mobile platform game for iOS and Android, which is created by Niantic.  As for other games such as Pokémon Rainbow as well as Pokémon Sun and Moon, they don't have any definite release dates as yet, but they will. 

Considering that Pokémon is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, one would think that the company would do something very special.  Well, they had that big Super Bowl commercial, and the company did not unveil the release date for Pokémon GO would be. 

Fans are really looking forward to Pokémon GO, as it is essentially a way for fans to live out Pokémon for real, travelling to real-life locations in order to find augmented reality versions of their favorite Pokémon that they can train and capture.  The mobile platform game was supposed to be unveiled at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2016, but they cancelled, much to the fans' dismay.  There was also supposed to be a demonstration of it there as well.

So, there has been a lot of interesting news about what Pokémon Z could be.  Some people are saying that it would focus on Zygarde, a Pokémon who might be able to take on several forms in its Pokémon evolution.  It would also be a follow-up to Pokémon X and Y, but there is a lot of news like on Movie News Guide that the game won't be released, because it isn't real.    

This actually makes a lot of sense, as there was never really a formal announcement from Pokémon about this particular game.  Perhaps this was just something that the fans wanted, as Pokémon X and Y was very popular and fans wanted a follow-up. 

So instead of Pokémon Z, what is being planned?  Well, there are rumors that Pokémon Niji, which translates to Pokémon Rainbow, which could be released along with Pokémon GO.  Generally, when there is a Pokémon game, it is released along with each other.  According to Day Herald, this Pokémon Rainbow, or whatever it might be, is a work in progress and no one is sure what the game will be about.  Speaking of Pokemon games being released together, there is Pokémon Sun and Moon coming out.  

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