The official line is that Game Freak never planned to make Pokemon Z. Pokemon X and Y producer Junichi Masuda is even quoted as saying this is true and that Game Freak likes to surprise its fans. Instead of making Pokemon Z, Game Freak made Pokemon Sun and Moon so it could celebrate Pokemon’s anniversary in 2016. However, the official response leaves a lot of questions unanswered, like why Pokemon Sun and Moon took longer than normal to develop.

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The DidYouKnowGaming? video delves into these questions and seeks answers where there’s evidence to discover. For instance, it starts by noting that dataminers in 2014 found evidence Game Freak was working on two games, “28” and “29,” implying a dual release like Black 2 and White 2. Later datamining revealed Game Freak would skip 28 and 29, labeling them as “CALOS_RESERVE” and assigning Pokemon Sun and Moon numbers 30 and 31. Note that there were also “ALOLA_RESERVE” placeholders for 32 and 33 that eventually became Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.

The leading theory that DidYouKnowGaming? believes explains Game Freak’s decision not to develop a pair of Pokemon Z games has to do with development resources. It explains that around 2015, when Pokemon Z would have launched, Game Freak was dedicating a lot of resources to its “Gear Project.” Gear was Game Freak’s endeavor to create a new franchise, and was the studio’s biggest priority at the time. Games including HarmoKnight and Tembo the Badass Elephant were made, but Game Freak has since redoubled its Pokemon efforts.

In conclusion, DidYouKnowGaming? says there’s no evidence that Game Freak actually started full development on the Pokemon Z games. As noted, there’s evidence it was planned from datamining. There’s a Pokemon XYZ anime season started in 2015 and there’s even a Zygarde quest in Pokemon Sun and Moon that would have fit perfectly in a Pokemon Z. But, whether for Gear or to focus on Pokemon Sun and Moon, Game Freak must have decided not to make Pokemon Z before development truly started.

Pokemon Z may end up being Game Freak and Pokemon fans’ biggest question mark. There was every reason to revisit Kalos, but Game Freak had different priorities at the time. That doesn’t mean Game Freak can’t revisit the location in the future with a new game, but it did not do so in 2015 on 3DS.

Pokemon X and Pokemon Y released in 2013 on 3DS.

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