Pokémon Winds/Waves Battle Gimmick Rumors Contradict Each Other

Every Pokémon game has a bespoke gimmick that changes how battles play out in a new region. The Kalos games have Mega Evolution, Scarlet and Violet put jewel-like crowns on Pokémon and allowed them to change their type. Winds and Waves are still a year away, but thanks to some leaks and a few hints in the first trailer, we have some idea as to how the Switch 2 games will be shaking up battles in 2027.

The trailer itself doesn’t draw any attention to Winds and Waves’ new battle mechanics, but the Japanese trailer does have one clue the English one doesn’t. For the past few generations, the Japanese Pokémon logos have included some sort of reference to the battle gimmick of their respective games. You can see the Mega Evolution symbol in X and Y, a Z-Crystal in Sun and Moon, and the Terastallization symbol in Scarlet and Violet. Winds and Waves follows this tradition with what looks like a cross between a Poké Ball, the Omega symbol in the Greek alphabet, and what some theorize might be a spike in a heart monitor.  

The Japanese logo for the main line games always carries that generations “gimmick”.

You can see Terastal, Z-Crystal, Gigatamax, and Mega Evolution all built into the logos from previous titles.

For Gen 10, it’ll be whatever these things are. 👀 pic.twitter.com/y3Qsy3puzQ

— 𝘽𝙍𝘼𝙔𝙎𝙃 𝙜𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 ✨ (@brayshgaming) February 27, 2026

A similar symbol also appears on a charm that Mr. Windychu, one of the dressed-up Pikachus from the trailer, has around his tail. But what does it mean? Well, according to the Teraleak, Winds and Waves’ gimmick will have something to do with the weather. The mechanic, which is reportedly codenamed “Majin,” will factor into something the leaks refer to as “weather moves,” but for the moment, we don’t know what those will entail. We have seen what is reportedly a model of Pikachu using the mechanic, which mostly shows its body being distorted and stretched in odd ways. The moves will apparently also be accompanied by the appearance of strange clouds on the battlefield.

Here’s the new battle gimmick from Gen 10: it’s codenamed Majin.

The Pokémon gets distorted, and some kind of clouds appear.

From early documents the mechanic is related to “Weather Moves” but we don’t know how much it has changed since then. https://t.co/HUO7w1cdM5

— Centro LEAKS (@CentroLeaks) December 24, 2025

The symbol on the Japanese logo doesn’t have any immediately apparent connection to this idea, though there are 4chan rumors swirling around that Winds and Waves will actually have some kind of revival mechanic that allows Pokémon who are knocked out to return to the battle with a stat boost, with some monsters getting new forms when they are reborn. This would line up with the heart monitor speculation, but leakers dispute the legitimacy of this.

It remains to be seen if the Majin leaks are still up to date, as a lot could have happened in the year and change since the Teraleak. That said, a lot of other details in the leaks, such as the archipelago setting and main character designs, remain accurate. Other leaked  elements, like the monster-shaped clouds reportedly meant to symbolize the games’ equivalent to raid battles, are visible in the trailer, as well. So there’s little reason to think the weather moves aren’t in the game. We’ll know more as we get closer to Winds and Waves’ launch next year.