Pokémon Z and Pokémon GO Release Date, Are Both Set For February 2016?

Nov 11, 2015 03:28 PM EST

There are good reasons for fans of the game/comic/TV show franchise Pokémon to be excited.  Not only is the long-awaited follow-up to Pokémon X and Y due to be released next year with Pokémon Z, but there is a strong possibility that the new location-based application for iOS and Android, Pokémon GO could come out at the same release date. 

A recent report from Realty Today puts the Release Date of the long-awaited Pokémon Z at "sometime in 2016".  It has been three years since Pokémon X and Y were released, and fans have been clamoring for something new since then.   One thing that has been stated about Pokémon Z is that not only will it have one legendary character but 2 more, as Zygarde will be joined by Xerneas and Yveltal, both legendary characters from the last two iterations of Pokémon. 

Zygarde is planned to come in five different forms, starting as a blob or Zygarde Core, and then becoming a cell.  Then the next form will be a 10 percent evolution to a dog-like creature, then 50 percent to become a snake-like creature, then a Mega-evolution to surpass Xerneas and Yveltal. 

Yibada states that it will be an early 2016 release, and the Pokémon company revealed last September a magazine titled Pokémon X, Y, and Z which brings information on the game's possible release. 

As for Pokémon GO, there are still rumors abounding that the game will be out this year.  Considering all the information about the location-based game seemed to focus on a release date of next year, possibly with Pokémon Z, this is a sudden surprise. 

However, this good news seems hard to believe with all that Niantic and Pokémon are putting into this game.  The game was only officially announced two months ago, and with all the location-based Pokémon that have to be built into it, it seems far too optimistic to believe that such a massive game would be given to mobile users before the holiday season. 

MoviePilot has recently stated that the popularity of a YouTube video has given rise to rumors of the Pokémon GO game given a release date of February 27th, 2016.  Part of this belief is due to the 20th anniversary of Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green for the original Nintendo GameBoy, but this is, of course, all speculation. 

In the meantime, there has been some news about the Pokémon GO Plus, the wearable Bluetooth device that works with the Pokémon GO application that works like a notification device on the wrist, in an odd shape that is reminiscent of a Pokémon ball.  The official Pokémon GO application can function without the device, but Pokémon GO Plus helps serve as a handy device where the player can check the application at just a glance at the watch.

So it looks like both Pokémon Z and Pokémon GO could have their debut in early 2016.  These release dates need to be made official, and perhaps they will be.  Junichi Masuda, the Pokémon games director, is set to appear on the Japanese television show Pokémon Get TV next month.  So it is possible that by next month fans of the Pokémon franchise will have their answers as far as the release dates of Pokemon GO and Pokémon Z are concerned.