A day after the end of the Sinnoh Tour, Niantic announced the next season for Pokémon GO, which will start on March 1 and run until May 31. Wonderland is teased via a short promotional video that gives very little detail about what to expect. But it’s always fun to speculate!
Trailer for Wonderland
Introducing the Next Season #PokemonGO…
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World of Wonders! 🤩 pic.twitter.com/f3z909mr7j— Pokémon GO (@PokemonGoApp) February 26, 2024
Let’s first take a look at what the trailer actually shows us. A single Nidoran ♂ is seen walking past the Pokéstop and across the grass. We cut to an overhead view of a forest where several gyms can be seen as Pidgeotto, Pidgeot, Butterfree and Dragonite fly through the skies. Our friend Nidoran is back ♂, now joined by a walking gear trainer while playing Pokémon GO. Suddenly, an Ultra Wormhole appears in the sky, and from it a purple light shines over Nidoran ♂. Then the camera zooms in on the wormhole and we’re treated to a floral design for the season’s title, Wonderland.
Ultra Beast debut?
You can’t show Ultra Wormhole in a teaser trailer this season without featuring Ultra Monsters in some way. The most likely scenario is that at least some of the remaining Ultra Monsters will make their Pokémon GO debut.
Both of these Ultra Monsters were exclusive versions and additions to the general Pokémon roster for Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, neither of which have currently appeared in Pokémon GO. They will end up with 5* raids for their debut, but hopefully not as regional exclusives.
This may be a lot of speculation, but the Nidoran ♂ featured so strongly in the teaser seems odd from where I’m sitting. It’s a Pokémon family that hasn’t received any new forms or evolutions since its debut, so why put it front and center for the new season? It’s a horned, purple poison type, shown as the trainer’s partner, and exposed/pulled by Ultra Wormhole. What if it’s a taunt for Poipole, the horned, purple poisonous first partner Ultra Beast from Ultra Megaopolis? If Poipole is introduced to Pokemon GO this season, I’d expect it to be similar to Cosmog’s debut via a season-long Special Study, culminating with trainers turning Poipole into the incredible Naganadel.
Back to Kanto?
There have been a few vocal groans at the idea of having a Kanto-focused season, in fact the only Pokémon shown in the teaser are all from this region. While long-term players will likely be fed up with first-generation Pokémon, newer players will struggle to finish the Kanto dex, a requirement to finish the Mew Masterwork Research that was briefly introduced last year.
Another focus on the Kanto region will give players another chance to get regions for this generation.
Furthermore, the only notable feature of the Pokemon shown in the teaser (besides Nidoran ♂) is that they are all flying types. If there was anything to get players excited about in terms of Kanto flying types, it would be the brilliant release of the Galarian versions of the Legendary birds!
Another thing?
The World of Wonders logo has a beautiful floral theme, but the Northern Hemisphere is about to enter spring, which may just be to highlight the return of annual events such as Sustainability Week, Spring to Spring and the Festival of Colours. With nothing else to go on at the moment, the global Pokemon GO community will have to wait and see what the next 3 months bring us.