‘Pokémon Z’ and ‘Pokémon GO’ Release Date; Could These Two Games Actually Be One?

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

The issue with Pokémon is that there hasn't been a good gaming entry of the franchise since Pokémon X and Y in 2013.  Sure, there was Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, but the follow-up to the 2013 models of a 3D world with detail landscapes and Pokémon battles would be a Pokémon Z.  This is just a fan-made rumor of a title, not even announced by Pokémon as yet.  It is definitely long-awaited, as is the mobile Pokémon GO game, which has been announced.  Most of the time, these two anticipated games are talked about as two separate games, but what if they are actually one game?

For those who aren't aware of Pokémon GO, it is a mobile game designed not for consoles but for iOS and Android, and it enables the player to go to real-life locations in search of Pokémon to catch and train.  Considering that Pokémon X and Y took place in the region of Kalos, with many scenic spots to take pictures of Pokémon, then Pokémon Z would have to up the ante. 

Surely the real world could easily be a newer and much bigger location to find all sorts of new Pokémon in new places.  So far, there are over 721 Pokémon, and Day Herald reports that the new Pokémon Z movie will come with new Pokémon that are of a unique fire/water type with Volcanion and Zygarde (hence the Z).  There are reports of some "Mega-Evolutions" as well. 

If Pokémon Z and Pokémon GO end up being one and the same, then perhaps there will be more about it at the Pokémon GO demo.  The company that is helping to develop Pokémon GO, Niantic, is planning on having a demonstration take place at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) taking place this March. 

A recent promo of Pokémon GO has shown how the game will focus on players becoming Pokémon Masters and defating MewTwo.  There really is more information about Pokémon GO out there in comparison to Pokémon Z.  In fact, there is hardly any information about Pokémon Z, which leads one to wonder if it is even being developed at all. 

Still, there are many rumors that seem to point to Pokémon Z being developed at the same time as Pokémon GO, and possibly being released at the same time.  There is even some rumors saying that Pokémon Z will be a bonus game released for free with Pokémon GO, or vice versa. 

The idea that Pokémon GO and Pokémon Z are actually one game has been suggested within this article, but whether or not it is true has yet to be proven.  The issue is that it could take a while before it is proven.  With Pokémon GO on display at GDC in March, that means that it will be a while before we actually know the Pokémon GO/Pokémon Z release date or dates. 

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