Pokemon Day Presents 2024 - Pokemon LZA 2025

[R_N]

You're never going to please everyone regardless so somehow I don't think that'll factor into anything

Like if it's Overt Gold and Faithful Silver you're going to upset people that wanted Remade Crystal or HGSS++
If you get Experimental Johto you're going to upset people that wanted Let's Go Johto or Legends Johto

Same with the Unova games, but more so, because you have the extra wrinkle of BW2.

Honestly I don't know why GF would want both a Johto game and a Unova game (regardless of which one may/may not be the remake or may/may not be the experimental title) since they have no real linkage beyond "GS was a sequel and Unova had a sequel", but if you're going to do it you're probably not going to fully care that you can't please everyone and just want to do whatever struck your fancy.

 

[Samtendo09]

Considering how much of an awful taste BDSP have left within the fanbase, as well as negative critics bashing on Legends: Arceus (to the point of insincerity), I don’t trust the fanbase to behave well. Regardless…

A new Presents on Pokémon Day? I'm not surprised. Feels like it has become a yearly tradition at this point. I might as well post some thoughts on what we might get in terms of new games (main series and others), I apologize if this is too excessive to be considered "mild" speculation.

Past region revisits:

Kanto: Very unlikely. LGP/E were released six years ago so they are still rather recent, I don't see any demand for a new Kanto game within the online fandom, and Game Freak themselves seems to have stopped with the Kanto spam after Gen 7 (which I think is a good thing).
Johto: More likely. Johto is the oldest region without a revisit. If there's a new Johto game, what could it be? More Let's Go games if they want to follow up on LGP/E, some kind of regular re-remakes, BD/SP-style remakes, pixel remasters of HG/SS (or even G/S/C), or maybe Legends: Celebi? I feel like a Johto revisit in some form is one of the three most likely outcomes if there's a new main series game to be announced.
Hoenn: Unlikely. It has been 10 years since OR/AS, so Hoenn is still rather recent compared to many other regions. I don't see a lot of demand for a Hoenn revisit from the online fandom either.
Sinnoh: Definitely not happening since BD/SP and L:A were released just a little more than 2 years ago. If there's a new Sinnoh/Hisui game, I will be very surprised.
Unova: More likely. The second oldest region without a revisit. What could they do here? Many things. BD/SP-style remakes, regular remakes, pixel remasters, Legends: Kyurem, or Black and White 3. Or maybe something like a present day sequel with elements from L:A, named Pokémon Legends: Unova ~ The Golden Region (I totally didn't steal the name from XC2, what makes you think so?). Anyway, I think an Unova revisit is the second of the three most likely outcomes.
Kalos: Less likely, I don't think it will happen as X/Y are quite unpopular in the fandom, and I haven't seen a lot of demand for a Kalos revisit.
Alola: I don't think so. Both S/M and US/UM are still rather recent. I don't see a lot of demand for an Alola revisit either, only from Yung Dramps.
Galar: Doubt it as S/S are still recent. It would also be very weird to go back to Galar directly after Paldea.

So that's it for past regions. But what about the present?

Paldea/ScaVio revisits:
- Alternate versions: Ultra Scarlet/Violet. I doubt it. If it happens, I will probably not get them. Though "Pokémon Ultra Violet" is a really cool name.
- Sequels. Doubt it as well. But far more interesting than an alternate version. Could see myself getting Violet 2 if they happen.
- More DLC. Possible, but still unlikely. Defintiely getting it if it happens.
- Prequel/Legends game. I don't think so. Might get it if it happens, it all depends on whether it has the gameplay issues from Arceus or not.

I'd say a Paldea revisit is the third of the three most likely outcomes, but it feels a lot less likely than a Johto or Unova revisit.

Next, the future.

Gen 10: I think it is way too early. It has only been a little more than a year since ScaVio were released. A generation usually lasts for 3-4 years, and we have never had three generations on a single system before. I sincerely hope they wait with Gen 10 until 2026, for the 30th anniversary, and make it debut on the Switch successor. Either way, Gen 10 should absolutely not be released before 2025.

Other things:
- Pokémon Anthology. Nope. Too late at this point, better save it for the Switch successor instead (not that it will ever happen, but it is fun to think about).
- I saw the idea of a Johto/Unova fusion game and I think it is sounds so absurd that I can't help but be fascinated by it. Way more interesting than a regular remake.
- Something completely new and different. I never expected Legends to happen, but it did. Nor did I expect Black/White 2 back in 2012. Maybe we'll get another surprise this time around.
- No new main series game. This would be fine for me, I have 16 other Switch games that I have planned to play during this year, so I am more than fine with not being stressed into getting another Pokémon game. Likewise, a Pokémon game I'm not interested in would be fine too. Which is why I'm honestly holding out for Let's Go Johto, so I can skip them without feeling bad about it.
- Older generations added to NSO. Would be cool, but doesn't make a difference for me since I don't have NSO. Adding Gen 1-3 shouldn't be any problems, Gen 4-7 might be harder since they have to go from two screens to one.
- Some kind of new spin-off games. Could happen, no idea what though. A revisit to an older series is possible, we did get a Mystery Dungeon remake a few years ago after all. Or maybe a completely new game. Who knows?

Then there's the free-to-start Mobile games. There will obviously be some focus on Go, Masters Ex, Sleep, Café Remix and Unite. Not something I care about since the only one I play is Go, and only very sporadically since I don't find it very fun.

There might also be some focus on the anime, and maybe the announcement of a new miniseries that's different from the main series? I loved Paldean Winds and it left me wanting more.

That's all I could think about, I think all bases have been covered here. As for the Presents itself, I won't watch it live (it starts just as I stop working for the day) so I'll just read up on the news once I get home instead.

It was since SwSh more speficically, between Leon’s ace, the fact that only Garbodor and Melmetal (unless you count that one as Gen 8) being the only non-Kanto with Gigantamax forms, and even small details like three Kanto mons being the (or at least some of the) most popular in Galar. It did toned down greatly in both Legends: Arceus and SV though.

You're never going to please everyone regardless so somehow I don't think that'll factor into anything

Like if it's Overt Gold and Faithful Silver you're going to upset people that wanted Remade Crystal or HGSS++
If you get Experimental Johto you're going to upset people that wanted Let's Go Johto or Legends Johto

Same with the Unova games, but more so, because you have the extra wrinkle of BW2.

Honestly I don't know why GF would want both a Johto game and a Unova game (regardless of which one may/may not be the remake or may/may not be the experimental title) since they have no real linkage beyond "GS was a sequel and Unova had a sequel", but if you're going to do it you're probably not going to fully care that you can't please everyone and just want to do whatever struck your fancy.

You gotta give it to GF; even if their execution isn’t always the best, they stick to their gun, knowing that they can’t please everyone. Then again, it wouldn’t kill them if they actually listen to some more widely known crtiticisms, like removing the choice of Set / Switch in-game and On / Off of EXP Share.

I would be more concerned on the execution side of things. Because no one wanted to see either ideas to be butched up, and if GF didn’t learned their lesson on how ICLA handles their future games, it might get worse.

 

[QuentinQuonce]

Overt Gold and Faithful Silver

Screw Pokemon Tin and Brass, I want these games now

 

[Nickeljorn]

List of joke monkey’s paws for the direct:

• ILCA pulls a Creatures and disbands only for most of the people who worked for ILCA to start a new company with a different name right after. Then they can develop a Pokémon remake with everything you hated about BDSP and Game Freak can still technically say it was not made by ILCA (look at the title screens in SSB games…Ape and Creatures are separated in the copyright!)
• N’s Farewell is replaced with an original Toby Fox song (if you know, you know)
• Pokémon Vantablack is announced, and it’s a single version like Legends Arceus that has all Pokémon not only in the game but available without trading, both PWT and Battle Frontier, and (insert your favorite feature in an older game that never came back here). However, only people who work at Game Freak can play it.

 

[BIG ASHLEY]

The reason for there to be a new Johto, Unova, and Alola games increases tenfold. There are starter forms for which there are missing. Kind of like of what happened with ORAS and XY and the Blazikinite stone, the problem is combining all three regions for the other starter forms to exist and in what generation console.

idt that's something they necessarily need to balance -- decidueye/typhlosion/samurott are hisui's starter trio as much as they're part of the other regions' equivalents

 

[ScraftyIsTheBest]

Regional forms are effectively honorary new Pokemon in their own right. The original Decidueye, Typhlosion, and Samurott are part of their respective regions' starter trios, and only them. But Hisuian Decidueye, Hisuian Typhlosion, and Hisuian Samurott are very much their own separate proper trio of starters in their own right and are specifically a group with each other, independent of their original forms, and together are the starter trio of Hisui, of Legends: Arceus.

You see this with other regional forms as well. Sandslash and Ninetales are counterparts with Arbok and Arcanine respectively, with Sandslash/Arbok and Ninetales/Arcanine being counterpart duos. But Alolan Sandslash and Alolan Ninetales are specifically counterparts with each other, and there is no Alolan Arbok or Arcanine because A-Ninetales and A-Sandslash are effectively separate Pokemon who form a duo with each other as counterparts in Sun and Moon and now are counterparts with each other again in SV's Indigo Disk expansion. In Galar, Galarian Darmanitan and Galarian Rapidash are counterparts, even though their originals had no counterparts to begin with. Sirfetch'd and Cursola are also counterparts.

The Hisuian form starters are Hisui starters who are effectively separate Pokemon from their original derivatives and form a trio of starters with each other, they're just sort of a pseudo-new trio at the time because they're offshoots from the original pre-evos.

 

[bdt2002]

We're about halfway through the waiting period (2/20 to 2/27) for the new Pokémon Presents now, and I've already talked a bit at the start about what I expect to see. This time, I'm going to consciously make the horrible mistake of getting my hopes up and explain what I would want to see in this presentation. Here's what my dream Pokémon Presents this year would look like:

• The Pokémon Presents abruptly starts with a reveal of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers DX, a game that I myself probably wouldn't pick up but want to happen regardless for the sake of its dedicated fans. The game uses the same engine and art style as Rescue Team DX from four years ago and is intended to release in the late Spring or early Summer of 2024. Functionally, this reveal would be very similar to how Nintendo Directs often open with a trailer for something before the host actually comes on, but it's possible that the reveal trailer would get its own segment later in the presentation instead.
• Following this reveal, the host welcomes everyone and tells us Happy Pokémon day before talking for a minute or two about what's been happening with Pokémon over the past year. The host thanks us for enjoying their products before mentioning that they're excited to share the latest news from around the world of Pokémon, referring to Pokémon's nature as a multimedia brand and not just a video game franchise. During this segment, our host talks about the 2024 World Championships and other notable social events across the brand. This section overall will probably be the one where people in the live chat start to complain and start spouting nonsense like usual because they're incredibly impatient.
• The first of Pokémon's mobile games mentioned is Pokémon Go, following in the "social interaction" theme of this part of the presentation. The host mentions their Pokémon Day celebrations for the game, whatever those may be, before mentioning the addition of more Paldean Pokémon into the game, most notably Koraidon and Miraidon coming to 5-Star Raids soon. It's also possible that the recently added Shiny Shaymin Masterwork thing gets briefly mentioned, too.
• The rest of the mobile games section that everyone in the live chat is dreading by this point consists largely of content for Pokémon Unite with a Miraidon gameplay trailer, Pokémon Sleep, and Pokémon Café Remix. Masters EX also shows up here for announcements for the games 4.5 anniversary update, but a certain Sync Pair who Pokémon Masters EX fans may be expecting to show up soon isn't going to be a part of this month's update cycle. (Don't worry completely, said Sync Pair would be revealed at a later date.) Our host wouldn't be visible on camera during this section like usual.
• The penultimate section of the Presents is focused on Scarlet & Violet, more specifically a brief mention of The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero (and possibly Mochi Mayhem by extension) before we get news on the status of the Pokémon Horizons anime. I personally would enjoy a Mythical Pokémon and/or a movie reveal here, but it seems more likely that this section would be focusing on the international dubs of the series releasing on streaming services, mainly Netflix as one might expect. Speaking of streaming, now's probably the best time to mention that Concierge isn't featured in the Presents at all, not because they don't care or anything, just because they're still working on the new episodes and can't actually show off trailers for the new season just yet.
• During the final section of the Presents, our host asks what we've thought. The host goes on the usual spiel about how they've shown a lot of information from around the world of Pokémon, saying that they hope we look forward to more information. This is followed up with the "We have one last announcement to share with you" that's become almost as much of a tradition as the Pokémon Presents themselves before thanking viewers for tuning in. Nintendo Switch ports, presumably Nintendo Switch Online but hey you never know, are revealed for the Generation 1 and Generation 2 games. The ports are not compatible with Nintendo Switch Online's Pokémon Stadium and Pokémon Stadium 2 ports, but they are compatible with Pokémon Home and keep the content of the 3DS Virtual Console versions intact- including the Celebi event in Pokémon Crystal. I would absolutely love to see Generation 3 revealed here too, but I'd imagine all of that at once might be a bit much, instead having those versions being saved for later on, especially as the Japanese Nintendo Switch Online Game Boy Advance catalog just had an update a couple days ago anyways. Assuming the Generation 1 and Generation 2 ports go the expected Nintendo Switch Online route, their release dates would either be just after the Presents wraps up or throughout the course of 2024. Generation 3's ports would be released after Generation 1 and Generation 2's games are all released regardless. While not clarified by the host for... obvious reasons, all of these ports would eventually be compatible with the next Nintendo console as well.

 

[Nickeljorn]

especially as the Japanese Nintendo Switch Online Game Boy Advance catalog just had an update a couple days ago anyways.

Maybe this is just me looking for patterns, but that specific game being the one they revealed weirdly makes me think a Unova game is more likely.

• It's a non-third party game in a Partner's Showcase
• It's a GBA game revealed alongside NES/SNES/N64 games
• It's from 2006 while most NSO GBA games so far are from earlier in the GBA's lifetime
• It's a game with a lot of references in the Unova games (some of the songs are based on Mother 3 songs, there are Pokemon/NPC designs very similar to Mother 3 designs, and the backstory has a lot of similarities to Mother 3's plot

So what if it was going to be released later in the year but was released at this time so people would think about the plot, then that would get them thinking about the Unova plot, and that would get them excited when more Unova content was revealed six days later?
Or maybe this is just Nintendo's way of saying "We have Legends Kyurem at home"

 

[Volt-Ikazuchi]

I almost thought "Meh, it wouldn't be so bad to have ILCA remake HGSS. It'd be pretty much HGSS HD, but it could be a lot worse."

Then I remembered they'd probably remake GS and shuddered.

I really can't imagine anything but Gen 5 though. The writing has been on the wall for a minute and there hasn't been enough time for anything else if we think about how recent SV is. And considering that means the main dev team isn't cooking that...

Outside of extreme wishlisting like new Orre/Stadium games, there might not be a lot of options.

I, for one, would welcome an actual Pokémon fighting game. No, Pokken wasn't it. Props for making Pikachu cool tho. They should've picked between a classic 2D game or a 3D arena fighter like DB Xenoverse 2, not this weird mishmash.

 

[pharaohcalvin]

SV is too recent for it to be a whole new gen. On the other hand, SV is also 100% done, DLC-included.

It's gotta be Gen 5 remakes, and I, for one, hope ILCA and Masuda do exactly the same thing they did to Sinnoh.

Honestly, all we know is that it ain't Gen 10. The odds point out to Gen 5, but it could be another remake or a big spinoff. The landscape looks like a blank slate right now.

Or, I can inhale some copium like Kirby and say we getting a Platinum remake with a Hisuian expansion.

" Or, I can inhale some copium like Kirby and say we getting a Platinum remake with a Hisuian expansion. "

Or even better HG/SS with the Hisuian mons+other regional forms/new evos...or somehow even better then that HG/SS+all mons. One can dream.

 

[Yung Dramps]

The true hyper giga zeta delta copium route for me is Sun and Moon 2 or Legends Ultra Space

 

[bdt2002]

The true hyper giga zeta delta copium route for me is Sun and Moon 2 or Legends Ultra Space

My hypothesis that tends to line up with the general consensus among Alola fans like yourself is that Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon were supposed to be sequels at one point, but that Game Freak didn't like what they saw with Black 2 & White 2 but still wanted to avoid another "lack of a Pokémon Z situation" at the same time. I personally really enjoyed the original Sun & Moon versions if only for the fact that it totally doesn't take inspiration from Guardian Signs (I can't be the only one who sees that), and while I would have probably enjoyed true Alolan sequels more than what we got in 2017, I think an Ultra Space themed game would be even better. I'd imagine they'd call it something like "Pokémon Legends: Necrozma" or something about the Ultra Beasts, but whatever it's called, I honestly really vibe with the idea of having a Poipole as your Starter Pokémon and adventuring through expanded zones of Ultra Space. I would imagine the biggest challenge would be coming up with an entire region's worth of Pokémon and/or Ultra Beasts to find that would still make sense to actually appear in this game, but if they can do that, this isn't the craziest idea I've ever heard.

 

[Volt-Ikazuchi]

Those Unova rumors are getting louder.

 

[Codraroll]

Regarding region revisits, I don't think that's a thing unless there is demand for it.

GameFreak has rarely given a hoot about demand, so I don't think that's a factor. The big idea behind region revisits is that they get to re-use the entire creative process of making a game, with its locations, character designs, gameplay progression, wild Pokémon, lore, scripting, etc. Some minor adjustments may have to be made, and of course everything has to be modelled and animated in a new engine, but they get to jump straight to "design freeze" for a whole ton of features and save quite a bit of money and time by re-using the work they did years ago.

 

[R_N]

There's also always demand
Every generation's big region is someone's first or someone's favorite or is just generally nostalgic for

yes even that one

 

[Zowayix]

Johto's last game was 2018 if you count Virtual Console Pokemon Crystal

This generation also introduced ""national dex"" way earlier than usual, with transfer only mons already being available on the first Worlds rather than the second one.

Gen VII, we thought they'd do another remake after USUM, but got LGPE instead.

I almost thought "Meh, it wouldn't be so bad to have ILCA remake HGSS. It'd be pretty much HGSS HD, but it could be a lot worse."

Then I remembered they'd probably remake GS and shuddered.

• Both Gen 8 and Gen 9 allowed transfer-only mons at the same time, July 1 of the first year. But Gen 8 was hit by covid, delaying Worlds by two more years.
• I recall the prevailing argument in 2018 being the "Pokemon Stars" thing where the Switch debut would supposedly be an HD port of SM or USUM.
• Why would they remake GS instead of HGSS? The source code's way older and less compatible (and probably at least partially in assembly, in which case it would be entirely incompatible). We know ILCA did a major copy-paste of DP's source code, bugs and all, to make BDSP.
  • If the argument is "they always pick the most base game to remake off of", I don't think that holds up either. Let's Go was officially a remake of Yellow, not RB, and BDSP used DP as a base instead of Platinum because (1) they wanted a pair of games for more money and (2) now that you want a pair of games, it's easier and cheaper to use a pair of games as the base rather than a single game.

I can’t wait to look up the presentation time half way through and see there’s still 15 more minutes of ads (yucky) before we finally get to the ads (good).

Something no one seems to have brought up yet - isn't this the first Presents in a long time whose length wasn't revealed in advance? I don't think Youtube displays how long a premiere is either (until it ends), so we won't know mid-video how much is left.

(blue = main series, light blue = main series non-new-game, purple = transfer app, green = virtual console, yellow = spin-off, red = mobile, grey = non-game)

Some predictions based on attempted business logic:

1. The presentation will be short, perhaps shorter than 13 minutes (the shortest Pokemon Day presentation we've had so far). This would justify why TPC isn't revealing the length in advance.
   • However, length and number of interesting* reveals aren't necessarily correlated. One of the best presentations ever, June 2017's, had three reveals and was just 8 minutes long. Meanwhile, last year's presentation had only one reveal and was the longest Pokemon Day presentation at 26 minutes long.
   • *I am biasedly defining "interesting" as "a game you can buy", including spin-offs but deliberately excluding mobile games.
2. There is no way that multiple main series games will be revealed at once. Every previous time this has happened, it was either a major anniversary or some similar kind of business hype (in May 2018, TPC had already mentioned two Switch games and everyone was already wondering what GF would make of the new big console). This isn't happening here.
3. I don't expect no main series reveal at all - this has never happened on Pokemon Day, and the last time it happened (June 2020) the Japanese presentation was titled "Pokemon Business Strategy Announcement" instead of "Pokemon Presents" like in English, signaling that mobile games were going to be the focus. Breaking both patterns at once would be bad for business.
4. I still can't believe TPC leaked the string "©2023 Spike Chunsoft" last year and then did nothing with it. For a business, writing down a different business's copyright just isn't a thing you do for no reason. My wild guess is that 4 of the past 5 main series systems (GBC, DS, 3DS, Switch, but not GBA) have received spin-off Pokemon games before receiving main series games, presumably so Nintendo gets at least one sales hook out of Pokemon while GF is still getting used to the new system. I wonder if some Mystery Dungeon-based game was indeed ready to go but was delayed to 2025 to launch on Switch 2.
5. Every single main series reveal since after ORAS has either been a new generation or some kind of "double reveal", presumably for business hype (USUM had Pokken DX, Let's Go had SwSh tease, SwSh DLC had Rescue Team DX, BDSP and LA had each other). The catch is that what TPC considers a good second reveal can now be a mobile game. Last year's second reveal was obviously Pokemon Sleep, with a double trailer and a bigger timeslot than all other mobile games combined.

Therefore, my prediction is ILCA BW1 only + a reveal that Pokemon Sleep has replaced the original game's Dream World, with some kind of Sleep main series integration as the second reveal.

Edit: I completely forgot the 'troll' from last year where the English announcement specifically had red/blue/yellow balloons, while the Japanese announcement specifically had red/green/blue/yellow balloons, making everyone think Gen 1 VC was coming. Then there was nothing. This demonstrates that even the most blatant-looking hints are utterly unreliable.

 

[Volt-Ikazuchi]

Why would they remake GS instead of HGSS? The source code's way older and less compatible (and probably at least partially in assembly, in which case it would be entirely incompatible). We know ILCA did a major copy-paste of DP's source code, bugs and all, to make BDSP.

• If the argument is "they always pick the most base game to remake off of", I don't think that holds up either. Let's Go was officially a remake of Yellow, not RB, and BDSP used DP as a base instead of Platinum because (1) they wanted a pair of games for more money and (2) now that you want a pair of games, it's easier and cheaper to use a pair of games as the base rather than a single game.

Ah, that's simple. It's called trauma.

Masuda bent over backward to ensure he wouldn't use any of Platinum's fixes. Of course Unova stans should be sweating bullets right now.

 

[R_N]

Unova stans aren't even in the same boat as any other game since BW1 & 2 tried their best to be more distinct from one another. Even in a normal remake situation I highly doubt they would bring over most of what was new or updated in BW2.

 

[MoonlightRose]

Unova stans should be just fine, there's no updated version to leave things out from unless you count BW2 which... no. That's a sequel, not an undate.

 

[R_N]

On the opposite side of the spectrum are the Kalos stans, who wish they had an enhanced version to worry about not getting the changes in their remake.

 

[DreamPrince]

Unova stans aren't even in the same boat as any other game since BW1 & 2 tried their best to be more distinct from one another. Even in a normal remake situation I highly doubt they would bring over most of what was new or updated in BW2.

Stans?

 

[Volt-Ikazuchi]

Unova stans aren't even in the same boat as any other game since BW1 & 2 tried their best to be more distinct from one another. Even in a normal remake situation I highly doubt they would bring over most of what was new or updated in BW2.

Normally, I'd agree, but I hear they really hate the 3D models...

Ironically, I'd be super down for BW1 to get the ILCA treatment since to me, the spritework in that game is too ugly to stomach.

 

[Valoo]

I’d be fine with ILCA’s take on BW as long as the chibi models/graphics aren’t as ugly as BDSP. BW didn’t have as many issues as regular DP, so it’ll at least be better in that regard.

I do wonder what they’d do in terms of the Nat dex though. 650 Pokemon is a lot compared to what’s typically available in one game these days, maybe they’ll ditch the Nat dex all together and just leave whatever’s available post game.

 

[Coronis]

Edit: I completely forgot the 'troll' from last year where the English announcement specifically had red/blue/yellow balloons, while the Japanese announcement specifically had red/green/blue/yellow balloons, making everyone think Gen 1 VC was coming. Then there was nothing. This demonstrates that even the most blatant-looking hints are utterly unreliable.

Hahaha whoever did that deserves a pay raise.

 

[Sirya]

To me, all the options are mediocre at best.

If Game Freak remakes Black and White, and by Game Freak I mean the actual Game Freak, it'll be based on Black and White with no Black and White II content. Those days were they took the original versions and greatly improve over them, like they did were FR/LG and HG/SS are a thing of the past, so there's literallly 0 chance of them doing the extra effort of mixing content from BW2 into BW remakes.

With that being the case, I actually prefer the ILCA treatment. Yes, they won't be as great as past remakes done by Game Freak, but it'll probably exceed in quality what Game Freak is able to do now. In fact, it won't surprise me if somehow, and for some reason, Game Freak decided to just get rid of the Battle Subway as a whole, making remakes with less content than the original games released for the Nintendo DS in a 256/512 MB cartridge.

The good ending would be past-Game Freak doing another HG/SS with BW, but since this isn't happening, the not so bad ending is ILCA being at least faithful to the originals while improving the teams and so on like they did with BDSP. No matter what they do, games will have less available mons than the originals BW, so they actually have less content no matter who ends up making them.