DLCs aren’t just interesting because of what they add to an existing game. Sometimes they have really notable implications for a sequel. For instance, the first DLC in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild had a significant emphasis on the Master Sword, which actually plays a pretty trivial role in the base game. Fans have to wonder whether this later focus on the sword is making up for its position in the base game or a hint at the Master Sword’s role in Breath of the Wild 2. That sequel is probably a long ways away, so it’ll be a while before players know for sure how much that DLC will shape the franchise. For now, it will remain food for thought.
Another pair of Nintendo games that’s getting some very significant DLCs are Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield. These twin games in the Galar region are groundbreaking for having DLC at all. For most of its history, Nintendo hasn’t been a company inclined towards DLC, but that’s been changing lately. There’s rumors floating around that, after the second Pokemon Sword and Shield expansion comes out, there’ll be another one connecting the Galar region to the Kalos region from Pokemon X and Y. That would definitely be a bold move, so how likely is it exactly? If Nintendo decides to add a whole other region as a DLC, it may shape Pokemon fans’ expectations for generations to come.
Odds are that DLC will make Pokemon Sword and Shield pretty long-lived. Ultimately, though, Nintendo can’t linger in this region forever. Eventually, it’ll push forward with Generation 9, whether that’s after Crown Tundra or after the rumored Kalos DLC, offering players yet another unknown frontier to explore with new Pokemon of all shapes and sizes. Of course, considering all the real-world inspiration Nintendo has taken lately with the highly English Galar region and the French Kalos region, one wonders what part of the world Pokemon will imitate next.
The shape and size of Generation 9’s region, however, will have to answer to whether or not there’s actually a Kalos DLC for Sword and Shield. As The Crown Tundra and Isle of Armor indicate, the Galar region is bigger than Nintendo initially let on, so to connect all that space to the Kalos region via some sort of PokeChannel Tunnel would result in a truly tremendous game, geographically speaking. Two regions in one makes for a whole lot of the world to explore.
The question then becomes how Nintendo can follow that up in Generation 9 of Pokemon, if it were to happen. If players get accustomed to a gigantic two-region Pokemon game, will it be able to scale back down to one region once the franchise moves on to a new installment? It might start to feel cramped to go back to only having one region in a Pokemon game, even though having of the most modern regions is a really bold idea, even just in theory. A new region would have to find a way to make up for downsizing.
It’s worth nothing that there has in fact been a two-region Pokemon game before. Back in the days of the Nintendo DS, Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver proved that Nintendo is open to the idea. While those games start out reliving the Generation 2 games set in the Johto region, once a player gets far enough in HeartGold and SoulSilver‘s plot, they can cross the eastern border to enter the neighboring Kanto region where the Pokemon legacy began. It was a very exciting break in tradition and resulted in a really big map bursting with content. It was a great way to keep players engaged with the game, even when they thought they were nearing the end of the plot.
Admittedly, this was during a simpler time in Pokemon history: the Pokedex was still much smaller and mechanics like Dynamaxing weren’t even a distant thought on the horizon. However, that highlights one way Nintendo could keep the size of Generation 9’s region out of the discussion. It could go about making the world of Gen 9 relatively small, but focus on implementing a slew of changes and features that players expected out of Sword and Shield. A small region doesn’t feel so small when it’s dense with content and well-populated with fan favorite Pokemon. Odds are, a lot of players would overlook a new hunger for a big region in favor of a Pokemon game that covers Sword and Shield‘s faults.
Regardless of how attached Pokemon fans get to the size of new regions, Nintendo can almost certainly make the next region bigger. Since the focus is on DLCs and not a new entry for now, it seems likely that Generation 9 will be on a new console or an exclusive for the rumored Switch Pro rather than another game on the Switch. Nintendo got a lot of backlash for things like Sword and Shield‘s trimmed Pokedex, so the plan could be to pacify players with DLCs for now and ensure there’s good hardware for a really big Gen 9 game in a few years that fans will be happier with. If the third DLC really is the whole Kalos region, it could be a sign that Nintendo is testing for fan interest in Pokemon games with a big open world-like design.
Nothing is set in stone until Nintendo comes out and proves the fan theory right or wrong. Even if the third DLC is something completely different from Kalos, it won’t put the nail in the coffin until it’s absolutely certain that there won’t be more Sword and Shield expansions. If Galar and Kalos are really as close to one another as the real United Kingdom and France, it would make sense that they’re connected at the hip. Players would be delighted to revisit this part of the Pokemon world, get their hands on even more missing Pokemon, and potentially get back in touch with Mega Evolution. A Kalos DLC has a lot to offer the Galar region, but it could offer players even more for Generation 9 and beyond.
Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield are available now on Nintendo Switch.
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