5 ways Pokemon Day 2025 announcements left fans wanting

Pokemon Day 2025 was filled with thrilling announcements, but not all of them resonated with fans. Although most players were excited to hear about new games and expansions, some were left wanting, causing disappointment among the community. Veteran players and collectors were anticipating certain announcements that never materialized, leaving the event feeling incomplete.

Or perhaps it was a lack of adored spin-off games, unfulfilled new formats, or surprising game direction decisions. These omissions all generated plenty of debate online. Here are five reasons Pokemon Day 2025 left people disappointed.

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5 things missing from the Pokemon Day 2025 announcements

1) No new Pokemon Mystery Dungeon title

Mystery Dungeon titles as seen in the past (Image via The Pokemon Company)

The Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games are a fond favorite of many fans. This dungeon crawler with rogue-like features reinterprets the Pokemon universe by granting players the option of playing as Pokemon themselves and assembling teams to explore and for rescue operations. Mystery Dungeons are not the main games in the series, but have still found success because of how original their gameplay and storytelling have been.

But the last Mystery Dungeon game was launched in 2020, and most fans anticipated that a new game from the series would be announced on Pokemon Day 2025. Not hearing any mention left fans disheartened because the series has a huge fan base waiting for a new adventure.

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2) Pokemon Legends Z-A is not set in the past

We see a lot of futuristic elements in the upcoming game (Image via The Pokemon Company)

When Pokemon Legends: Arceus came out, it mesmerized gamers by delving into the ancient history of the Sinnoh region, offering dense lore and a new take on the world of Pokemon. With the announcement of Pokemon Legends: Z-A, most fans wished for another venture into the past, maybe examining the origins of Kalos.

Instead, the game will be set in the modern era, presumably 5-10 years into the future of the current timeline. While the game is sure to be just as exciting, some fans feel that a futuristic setting will lack the same depth of world-building and historical fascination that made Legends: Arceus so strong.

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3) No new regional variants announced

The announcement revealed a lot of Pokemon that we already know (Image via The Pokemon Company)

One of the most exciting things about Pokemon Legends: Arceus was the inclusion of many regional variants as well as new evolutions for the starter Pokemon. Since Pokemon Legends: Z-A is likely to follow suit, fans were hoping to see new interpretations of current Pokemon. Unfortunately, the Pokemon Day 2025 presentation did not feature any new regional variants.

While more information regarding this will likely arrive as we near the game's release date, most players were expecting at least a teaser to generate speculation and anticipation. Lacking new designs, the announcement was somewhat disappointing for those who wanted to know how recognizable Pokemon would be redesigned.

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4) No Giratina ex in Pokemon TCG Pocket

The Triumphant Light expansion pack (Image via The Pokemon Company)

The Pokemon TCG Pocket expansion, Triumphant Light, was announced as the latest addition to the mobile trading card game. While the previous set (Space-Time Smackdown) focused heavily on Dialga and Palkia, many fans expected Giratina to take center stage in this new expansion. Instead, the set revolved around Arceus, featuring powerful ex cards and rare collectible variants of the creator Pokemon.

Giratina, often seen as part of the Dialga-Palkia-Giratina trio, was completely left out, leaving fans disappointed. Not only did it miss out on an ex variant, but it also didn’t receive any rare collectible cards, making the expansion feel incomplete to players hoping for a proper balance between the trio.

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5) No new Mega Evolutions announced

Few Mega Evolution revealed in the upcoming game (Image via The Pokemon Company)

The news that Mega Evolutions are coming back in Pokemon Legends: Z-A was a relief. Yet, during Pokemon Day, only pre-existing Mega Evolutions were featured, some of them being Mega Lucario, Mega Ampharos, Mega Kangaskhan, and Mega Charizard X. Although they were thrilling to watch, a lot of fans anticipated new Mega Evolutions to be announced.

There was speculation that the game's Starter Pokemon — Chikorita, Tepig, and Totodile — might get new Mega forms or regional variants, but nothing was confirmed. The no new reveals raised questions about whether Game Freak was keeping surprises in store or whether the Mega Evolution roster would look largely the same.

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While Pokemon Day 2025 was filled with thrilling reveals, these five exclusions left most fans desiring more. Of course, time remains for further surprises to come out in the next few months, but currently, these holes have left the Pokemon community looking forward to hearing more news.

Perhaps future patching will relieve some of the disappointments listed here and fulfill the excitement that fans originally hoped.