Pokemon Gen 10's 'Confirmed' Setting is a Double-Edged…

Summary

Pokemon Gen 10, codenamed Gaia, is rumored to be set in the Cyclades in an archipelago.
The open-world water traversal may pose challenges due to past issues with water gameplay.
The game needs to improve the water travel experience to succeed, possibly adding evolutions based on Greek mythology.

Despite 2025 breaking the usual three-year cycle for mainline generations of Pokemon games, as Gen 10 is currently slated for a 2026 release if leaks and reports are to be believed, it's very plausible that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's successor will be huge and worth the wait. Presumably releasing on Nintendo Switch 2, allegedly exclusively on the new console and not its predecessor, Pokemon Gen 10 saw some leaks surface online with last year's TeraLeak. Allegedly referred to as "Gaia" for its codename, Pokemon Gen 10 is reportedly taking place in an archipelago - namely, in the ensemble of islands called the Cyclades.

This may seem surprising to some fans, but it would make sense in a way, considering one painting found in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet that depicted a sunlit street with flowers and plants. The cobblestone street and the white buildings, combined with the rest of the scenery, made it likely to be about Italy, a rumor that circulated all the way back before Gen 9 even came out. Yet again, though, if leaks are to be believed, the next installment of the Pokemon series won't take place in Italy, but in a nearby Mediterranean Sea country - this time, Greece. As exciting as it can be, the setting "confirmed" by leaks can be equally problematic for a few reasons.

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Pokemon: One Cross-Gen Evolution May Already Be Clear For Gen 10

Pokemon Gen 10 leaks and rumors seem to state that it will take place in Greece, so it would make sense to give a Johto critter a cross-gen evolution.

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By Andrea Trama

Pokemon Gen 10's 'Confirmed' Setting Could be a Controversy Waiting to Happen

The Cyclades is an archipelago made of around 30 islands, and while not all of them are inhabited, it's plausible that players will get to visit most, if not all, of them in the game. Much like past settings were not 1:1 representations of their real-life counterparts, so Gen 10 doesn't have to include as many islands, but the core principle of an open world made of water remains. This can be a problem for several reasons, like the "too much water" meme from Hoenn Pokemon games and the fact that water is not the most popular place for players to travel.

This is because riding Pokemon or vehicles like bikes on water, like in Gen 8, can be a bit clunky compared to moving the character in the overworld, as there is a different feel to the movement. On top of that, avoiding random battles on water is typically more difficult than on land, with Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Veluza attacks making all water sections a chore due to how fast it and some other critters can attack players.

The Pros and Cons of Pokemon Gen 10's Leaked Setting Being an Archipelago

If Pokemon Gen 10 is set in Greece, specifically in an archipelago, and if it follows the same open-world approach as PLA and Gen 9, then it needs to make traveling on water a better experience overall. Greece can be a fantastic place as a setting because it can allow Game Freak to go ham on some new Pokemon evolutions in Gen 10 based on Greek mythology, but as good as it has the potential to be, it can be equally problematic if no major improvements are made to the open-world water sections.

For example, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Koraidon and Miraidon can travel on water after some story progress, but in the end, they acquire abilities to traverse the world in other ways too, making it hard to combine them all when on water. Traveling on water and then jumping into flight maneuvers can be quite unpleasant to achieve, and that's in tranquil waters where players are not relentlessly chased down by wild critters. Having an entire archipelago as the game's setting puts a lot of pressure on traversing water, and it's something that Gen 10 should nail on the head if it wants to succeed.

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