Following the monumental success of Pokémon Go in every market where it’s been introduced, it’s no surprise that more Pokémon mobile games are coming down the pipeline. The next one however, may be a Japan exclusive. But what the game is about, beyond involving one particular Pokémon, is anyone’s guess.
Announced via a Japanese teaser site, we’re told that the game is called Hanero! Koiking, which translates to Splash! Magikarp (thanks Kotaku). There’s also an image from the game which shows a pair of curiously Magikarp shaped holes in the floor of a field.
Purportedly they were discovered by a 27-year-old fisherman in the middle of a town. What bearing his age has on the story is anyone’s guess, but it’s interesting to note that players won’t necessarily be taking on the role of a surprisingly self-sufficient ten-year-old, who’s just decided to take on the world.
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The game is being developed by Japanese studio, Select Button, which previously released the popular free mobile title, Survive! Mola Mola!. While there is a fishy theme to the two games, we don’t know right now whether that will have any bearing on the gameplay.
The game is being made for both Android and iOS and is slated for a spring 2017 launch. There’s no word yet on whether this game will see an international release, either. So far it’s only been detailed on the Japanese site, though Survive! Mola Mola! was released internationally, despite a Japanese focus. Pokémon is an international franchise as well, of course, so it seems likely that Splash! Magikarp will eventually debut all over the world.
Of course, this wouldn’t be the first game to reference Magikarp and its typically useless splash ability. In the original Pokémon Stadium on the N64, there was a minigame with a very similar name. Here’s hoping the gameplay in whatever Select Button is making is a little more exciting than that though.
