This week, a fresh round of Pok\u00e9mon Winds<\/em> and Waves<\/em> rumors and leaks suggested that next year\u2019s mainline entry could feature 300 new Pok\u00e9mon. These leaks are, by any rational person\u2019s read, should be taken with an entire deer lick of salt. But they\u2019re nevertheless worrying. Hey, even a broken Hoothoot is right twice a day!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n If these rumors turn out to be true, a crop of 300 new Pok\u00e9mon would mark the single biggest new generation of Pok\u00e9mon ever. For context, here\u2019s how many Pok\u00e9mon have been introduced with each new generation, according to data tracking from Serebii:<\/p>\n Generation<\/p>\n<\/th>\n Starting year (U.S.)<\/p>\n<\/th>\n # of new Pok\u00e9mon<\/p>\n<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n 1<\/p>\n<\/td>\n 1998<\/p>\n<\/td>\n 151<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n 2<\/p>\n<\/td>\n 2000<\/p>\n<\/td>\n 100<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n 3<\/p>\n<\/td>\n 2003<\/p>\n<\/td>\n 135<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n 4<\/p>\n<\/td>\n 2007<\/p>\n<\/td>\n 107<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n 5<\/p>\n<\/td>\n 2011<\/p>\n<\/td>\n 156<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n 6<\/p>\n<\/td>\n 2013<\/p>\n<\/td>\n 72<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n 7<\/p>\n<\/td>\n 2016<\/p>\n<\/td>\n 88<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n 8<\/p>\n<\/td>\n 2019<\/p>\n<\/td>\n 96<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n 9<\/p>\n<\/td>\n 2022<\/p>\n<\/td>\n 120<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n Fans are pretty split on whether 300 new Pok\u00e9mon is a thrilling prospect of creature-collecting or an absurdly wild swing that would oversaturate an already pretty saturated compendium of monsters. One caveat, according to the leaks, is that Winds<\/em> and Waves<\/em> won\u2019t literally add 300 entirely new Pok\u00e9mon; that number could comprise alternate forms or regional variants in addition to wholly original Pok\u00e9mon.<\/p>\n For all intents and purposes the distinction is meaningless. Alolan Ninetails is fundamentally different Pok\u00e9mon than regular Ninetails in every meaningful way \u2014 its look, its typing, and its moveset, not to mention the strategies you need to memorize whether you\u2019re fighting with it on your roster or against it on an opponent\u2019s. But hey, Ninetails and Alolan Ninetails have the same name and National \u2018Dex number, so are they really<\/em> that different? (Yes, I say.)<\/p>\n 300 new Pok\u00e9mon\u2026 I wouldn\u2019t even know what to do with that. For decades, Pok\u00e9mon games championed the ideal of a six-Pok\u00e9mon party: You\u2019d choose six monsters, level them up from your first gym badge through the Elite Four, and forge bonds over the course of a lengthy RPG. There was an intentional tension to swapping party members out that forced you to give serious consideration before subbing in a new Pok\u00e9mon. But starting with 2018\u2019s Let\u2019s Go Pikachu!<\/em> and Let\u2019s Go Eevee!<\/em>, everything changed. You could swap out the Pok\u00e9mon in your party from (mostly) anywhere at (mostly) any point. The real-time battles in last year\u2019s Legends: Z-A<\/em> actively encouraged swapping out Pok\u00e9mon on the fly, further eroding the six-Pok\u00e9mon party. Bringing 300 new Pok\u00e9mon into the fold can only incentivize that shift even more.<\/p>\n There\u2019s also the fact that \u2014 cue an old man yells at cloud moment \u2014 Pok\u00e9mon designers are really starting to scrape the bottom of the barrel. Keys are Pok\u00e9mon now. There\u2019s a Pok\u00e9mon that\u2019s literally just an ice cream cone with a face. (Admittedly, Vanillite is 16 years old. But that was the beginning of the end!)<\/p>\n And this isn\u2019t just nostalgia talking. In the Pok\u00e9mon community, there\u2019s a meme-ified refrain that \u201cevery Pok\u00e9mon is someone\u2019s favorite.\u201d In 2025, one YouTuber actually put that notion to the test in a wide-ranging survey of more than 26,000 respondents. More than 50 Pok\u00e9mon didn\u2019t get any votes at all. Of those, just one<\/em> of the original 151. (Pour one out for poor Tentacool.) Meanwhile, the most-beloved Pok\u00e9mon largely originated in earlier generations.<\/p>\n For every Dragapult, there\u2019s an Applin (it\u2019s an apple). For every Sprigatio, there\u2019s a Flamigo (think: a literal Flamingo). If the new generation comprised 100, maybe 150, Pok\u00e9mon, I could see many of them being worthy additions to the Pok\u00e9dex. But at this point, 10 generations into the series, I certainly don\u2019t have faith that Game Freak could cook up 300<\/em> interesting creature designs for Winds<\/em> and Waves<\/em>.<\/p>\n So, what\u2019s the ideal size for a new generation of Pok\u00e9mon? I can\u2019t say for sure, not without knowing more details about the overall structure of Winds<\/em> and Waves<\/em>, which have been kept so far under wraps we don\u2019t even know the name of the tropical region they\u2019re set in. But I can<\/em> say that, if 300 new Pok\u00e9mon do join the roster, there will be no catching them all.<\/p>\n\n\n
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\n <\/picture>Graphic: Polygon | Source images: Game Freak\/Nintendo, The Pok\u00e9mon Company<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n