"Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire" – What Could Happen in the Upcoming Relaunch

Ryan Smythe ‘15/ Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer

The sudden announcement of Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire confirms the speculation that has been going on ever since X and Y was released seven months ago. In the press release, a “spectacular new world” is teased, though what that means is very unclear. Going off the precedent set by the previous remakes, FireRed/LeafGreen and Heart Gold/Soul Silver, Hoenn will probably become a much larger place.
In the Kanto pair, the largest addition was the Sevii Islands. It included a new story arc, featuring the remaining Team Rocket Admins, still unaware that Giovanni disbanded the group. For the Johto pair, a massive Safari Zone was included to the west of Cianwood City, as well as an expanded Mt. Silver and Viridian Forest. A similar sized expansion should be expected for this upcoming pair, and with a Safari Zone already in the region, something more along the lines of the Sevii Islands seems likely.
An exciting idea for what could be included is the anime-exclusive Orange League. Not only does it fit well with Hoenn’s ocean-heavy area, it would act as a nod to older fans of the series. When Orange League came out in 2000, it focused very little on the catching and training of Pokémon and instead featured four amazing gym battles before pitting Ash up against Drake, the Dragonite-wielding champion. This would translate so well to the games since it almost entirely removed the training aspect, and could even allow for some truly challenging gym battles.
Another option for an “expansion” is the Battle Frontier from Emerald. Since none of the previous remakes have included their third version, questions about what is going to happen to that part of the game have come up. While the phrasing of the press release indicates an entirely new area, not including this part of the game would be a very unfortunate turn of events.
The second piece of unexplained news is the depiction of Groudon and Kyogre on the box covers. Both are glowing bright yellow, which could simply be a more dramatic way to show off the legendaries, but the more likely scenario is that this is a teaser for their Mega Evolutions. Each of the previous remakes included new features, most notably the ability to have any Pokémon in a trainer’s party follow them in Heart Gold/Soul Silver. With the inclusion of Mega Evolution in Super Smash Bros. 4, Nintendo apparently has given it their blessing for it to continue through the series.
Not only that, a Torchic holding a Blazikenite was given away for the beginning of X and Y’s run, meaning that Hoenn starters already have a link to Mega Evolutions. Those factors point towards a new cast of Mega Evolutions, though probably not quite as many as the 28 X and Y introduced. Mega Sceptile and Mega Swampert are almost guaranteed to join Mega Blaziken, and speculation and leaks point to a possible Lati twin Mega Evolution.
Which Pokémon would you most like to see get Mega Evolutions? Leave your answer in the comments below!