Highlights
- Pokemon Black and White 3 could be released as an alternative to Gen 5 remakes, allowing Game Freak to deliver a new Gen 5 title that's not an outsourced remake.
- Recent rumors suggest that Pokemon Black and White 3 will have a lot to do with past vs. future themes and may feature Paradox Pokemon from Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.
- There is speculation that a three-headed version of the Original Dragon, made up of Zekrom, Reshiram, and Kyurem, could be included in Pokemon Black and White.
After Pokemon Scarlet and Violet came out, featuring multiple references to Gen 5 that were hard to ignore, including a Bisharp evolution and two Paradox versions of Volcarona, Pokemon fans have been expecting the inevitable Black and White remakes after Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. While this would be a logical progression for the series, there's a way for Game Freak to avoid working on remakes while also adding entirely new Gen 5 games to the series that are not in the style of Pokemon Legends: Arceus. This option would be to release a sort of Pokemon Black and White 3, which recent rumors point towards, this time tied to Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Paradox gimmick.
Considering that one of the biggest issues with Gen 4 remakes was that they didn't include elements from Pokemon Platinum and their art style didn't please fans, many were afraid something similar would happen with remakes of Gen 5. This is because Game Freak's current development cycle makes it so the studio can focus on one Pokemon game not from the mainline series and whatever comes after Gen 9, which is likely going to be Gen 10. However, if the developer wanted to shake things up, cutting the need for Gen 5 remakes and a new Pokemon Legends game at the same time, it could release a sort of Pokemon Black and White 3.
Pokemon Black and White 3 Would Kill Two Birds With One Stone
Pokemon Black and White were the first Pokemon games to get a sequel for each version compared to the usual formula of a third game that worked well for Gen 1 through 4. A sequel to Pokemon Black 2 and White 2 wouldn't be the most logical step for the series after establishing its model in a slightly different way, but it would allow Game Freak to kill two birds with one stone by delivering a new Gen 5 title that's not an outsourced remake.
As such, the recent rumors on Chinese social media that have seemingly been corroborated by renowned Pokemon leaker Riddler Khu about what would effectively be Pokemon Black and White 3 make sense, even if fans are largely expecting a Pokemon Legends Unova game by now. What these alleged leaks state is that there will be new Gen 5 games that have a lot to do with the same past vs. future themes, possibly even drawing from the same Paradox Pokemon from Scarlet and Violet.
Based on the rough translations from the original posts, whose pictures were then tweeted by Riddler Khu as well, the leaks seem to suggest that there will be an "Original" version as opposed to a "Paradox" version of these Gen 5 sequel games. This idea would tie into a different leak from Riddler Khu from a few weeks ago suggesting that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's The Indigo Disk DLC would have two critters to represent the Black City and White Forest from Unova. If this were the case, then it's highly likely that creatures like Slither Wing and Iron Moth will make an appearance in these games.
Not only that, but the recent Pokemon Unova game leaks point toward the story of the Original Dragon from the region's lore, which would be the creature that comprised Zekrom, Reshiram, and Kyurem. Riddler Khu has been hinting at three-headed Pokemon for a bit now, meaning there could be a version of the Original Dragon where the Legendary Dragons of Unova are indeed fused together. These remain speculations for the time being, as Khu is also known to tease the community with misinformation, but the possibility of a Pokemon Black and White threequel would be an interesting choice for Game Freak to make as its next Pokemon game.
