A new batch of beta screenshots and a sprawling location list has given fans their clearest look yet at what could be the next mainline Pokémon world — even if the images aren’t final. The files, which appear to originate from a July 23, 2024 build, were shared as part of recent Teraleaks-style dumps and show a multi-island region bristling with cities, volcanoes, swamps, caves, and even underwater spaces. The rumored titles attached to the project are Pokémon Wind and Pokémon Waves, though nothing is official until the Pokémon Company speaks.
What leaked
Rather than a single contiguous landmass, the leak outlines more than a dozen islands plus deep-sea and ocean zones, legendary temples, and multiple Majin research labs scattered across the archipelago. Notable entries in the location list include a 'Capital City' with a large skyline, a suite of elemental gyms (Dark, Poison, Grass, Fighting, Steel, Fairy, Normal and more), a Champion Trial and Pokémon League hub, multiple research labs categorized by element, and a series of deep-sea and abyssal areas labeled Ocean 1–8 and Deep Sea 1–10.
The leak breaks the world into named island zones — from Uninhabited Island volcanic caverns to a neon-suffused Abyss and a Fairly Gym island — and even flags an icy research lab, a desert cauldron, mangrove forests, and terraced rice fields. It’s a lot to parse, and the sheer variety of biomes is probably what got most trainers talking.
How the world looks in the screenshots
Screenshots from the build present a visually busy world compared with recent entries. Highlights reported by multiple analysts and fans include:
- A massive metropolitan area that looks far larger than typical Pokémon towns, with a clear skyline, plazas, and a spire-like structure anchoring the scene. Some have noted a resemblance to Jakarta if the region takes inspiration from Indonesia.
- Improved foliage, more convincing palm trees, sharper rock textures, and more natural lighting and reflections on surfaces and water.
- Underwater vistas that suggest diving or robust underwater exploration may return — the water lighting, coral-like color, and terrain detail stood out in several images.
- Snowy mountain routes with cave entrances, swamp and poison-tinged bogs, desert cauldrons, mangrove forests, and layered jungle paths. Multiple shots emphasize elevation changes and cave mouths, implying deeper traversal options than a simple linear route system.
- Several images include intentionally blurred or obscured objects. Those could be new Pokémon, character models, or other story-critical elements the leaker chose to hide.
Taken together, the pictures suggest Gen 10 could aim for denser environments and more varied traversal — underwater caverns, layered island topography, and a big urban center that might be more than decorative.
Size matters: a regional comparison
Fans online have already compared the leaked island map to past regions. If accurate, this archipelago could dwarf Hoenn and be comparable in ambition to Alola while stretching across an area that some interpreters mapped over Indonesia toward the Philippines and near Vietnam. That geographical footprint has people wondering if Game Freak plans to stagger content with post-launch islands or DLC — Isle of Armor-style expansions have precedent in recent Pokémon releases.
A big question is how much of the city's vertical space and building interiors will be explorable, and whether the oceanic scale shown here will translate into meaningful, content-rich zones instead of scenic backdrops.
Why this matters — and the hardware angle
Visually richer environments, underwater systems, and scale-heavy cities are exactly the sort of features that benefit from stronger hardware. Earlier leaks have suggested Gen 10 could be a Switch 2 launch-era title or even Switch 2 exclusive. That makes the timing notable: Nintendo has recently signaled strong momentum for Switch 2 hardware, and the possibility that Gen 10 targets a newer platform could explain some of the graphical and traversal ambitions in these images. See how Nintendo's expectations for Switch 2 have shifted recently in the company report on console momentum Nintendo Raises Switch 2 Forecast as Console Sales Soar.
Likewise, larger, more ambitious open spaces are part of a trend Nintendo seems to be leaning into for the platform; the console's third-party and first-party release cadence has been updated to reflect that shift, which is relevant if Gen 10 really is aiming at a next-gen console profile Nintendo Reconfirms Big Switch 2 Release Schedule as Third‑Party Support Surges.
Caveats and what to expect next
All the screenshots circulating are from an early build, and the leakers themselves flagged that textures, lighting, and even geography could change. Game development often involves dramatic visual and structural shifts between internal builds and final releases. So while these images offer a strong hint at direction, they don’t confirm final design, story beats, or Pokémon rosters.
Calendar-wise, Pokémon Day on February 27 is the likely stage for an official reveal, and with the franchise celebrating three decades, expectations are high. If you enjoy speculative cartography and environmental sleuthing, now is prime time: fans will be dissecting these images frame by frame until the company says otherwise.
Either way, the leaks amount to something rare: a peek at a Pokémon world that feels layered and alive, one that might finally give players more to explore below the ocean and inside a city skyline. That possibility alone explains the buzz.