Pokemon Gen 10's Game Versions Stand at a Fork in the Road

Summary

Gen 10 could either stick to Pokemon's color-based naming convention or break from tradition for its game versions.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet and their DLCs returned to the color-based naming convention, showing that Game Freak may not be ready to abandon this tradition.
Breaking from the color-based tradition could allow Gen 10 to explore more creative names that reflect the game's themes and features.

While Pokemon Scarlet and Violet as well as its two DLC expansions, The Teal Mask and The Indigo Disk, returned to Pokemon's color-based naming convention, Gen 10 now faces a choice about whether it will stick to this or break from tradition all over again for its game versions. Pokemon has various approaches when it comes to its naming conventions, such as how each game's Pokemon Professor has a tree-related name, but its extensive use of colors is arguably the most well-known.

Pokemon first broke this color-based tradition for its mainline games' names several generations ago. This opened the door for future games to become more creative when it came to game titles, leading to Gen 7's Sun and Moon and Gen 8's Sword and Shield. But despite seeming inconsequential at face value, Pokemon's name choice appears to tease key details about its upcoming region, story, and Pokemon. Additionally, just as others are already theorizing about the new titles for Gen 5's remakes, many will also be looking ahead to Gen 10 and speculating which titles it will use. But after Scarlet and Violet and its DLC reverted to color-based names, Gen 10 could be the ultimate make-or-break moment for this tradition.

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By Martin Wood

Gen 10 Might Reveal Pokemon's True Colors

Why Pokemon's Choice for Game Names Matter

Up until Gen 7, Pokemon's mainline games had used color-based or color-related names, starting with Red, Green, Yellow, and the Japan-exclusive Blue. That's now seen again with Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. Though these names transitioned to include precious metals and gemstones, ranging from Gen 2's Gold, Silver, and Crystal to Gen 4's Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, they still plausibly adhered to this convention. These names were superficial reflections of the games themselves, as they typically only connected to the design of their box art Pokemon with the likes of Yellow's Pikachu or Black and White's Zekrom and Reshiram.

However, though the same could be said for Legendary Pokemon like Xerneas and Yveltal being literal representations of X and Y in design and namesake, other games like Sun and Moon or Sword and Shield demonstrate that Pokemon's game names have evolved to become more nuanced. For instance, Sun and Moon had the unusual version exclusive of a mirrored day-night cycle, while Sword and Shield and its DLC names seem to be reflective of England's medieval history that the Galar region and the game's story were based on. With this in mind, Gen 10's chosen titles could reveal something about the games themselves ahead of their release.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Have Complicated Pokemon's Traditions

After three generations of Pokemon games appearing to retire the color-based naming convention, Scarlet and Violet demonstrated that Game Freak might not be ready to give up on this after all, especially with the addition of The Teal Mask and The Indigo Disk DLC. In fact, given that Game Freak has previously trademarked a broad range of names based on color shades and precious stones, coincidentally with Scarlet having been among these, it's possible that Gen 10 could follow the color-based naming convention. Between outdated and recent Pokemon trademarks, there appear to be several color- and stone-based names Game Freak could someday:

Pokemon Topaz
Pokemon Tourmaline
Pokemon Amethyst
Pokemon Brown
Pokemon Gray

Gen 10 Might Be Better Off Breaking The Color-Based Tradition Again

But the use of colors for Pokemon's titles still faces the same challenge it did prior to Gen 6, as there are only so many viable options to choose from. Since these color-based names seem to be surface-level reflections of the games anyway, Gen 10 might benefit from breaking this Pokemon tradition again and instead using more creative names like other recent generations. In doing so, these names could influence the direction of the game's themes and features. Conversely, the story, Pokemon, or regional inspiration could determine the names of its versions' titles, such as the handful of examples below: