Pokémon Winds and Waves Region Is Indeed Based on Southeast Asia, Filipinos Can Confirm

It's a precise breathtaking clip for the Pokémon assemblage with the uncover of the 10th procreation games, Pokémon Winds and Waves, acceptable to motorboat sometime successful 2027 for Nintendo Switch 2. But it's besides an particularly breathtaking clip for each my Southeast Asians successful the Pokémon assemblage – we got our region! While the sanction of the caller portion hasn't been revealed yet, the announcement trailer showcased the world's plan with wide inspirations from the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

I instantly made the transportation erstwhile the trailer showed the layered atom terraces in-game, which mostly lucifer those seen successful the Philippines. Specifically, they're astir wide recognized arsenic the Ifugao atom terraces built much than 2,000 years agone successful Luzon, Philippines. Rice terraces are designed for businesslike irrigation on with affluent earthy resources, and they look similar ample steps embedded connected the sides of mountains. They're inactive utilized to this time and are recognized arsenic a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and they're colloquially known arsenic the "eighth wonderment of the world."

Filipino Twitter was popping disconnected during the reveal, grabbing screenshots from the trailer and comparing them to existent photos. This included the floating bamboo houses, the heavy blue-green waterfronts on cliffsides seen successful Palawan, and the rural-style lodging often seen successful Southeast Asia.

Streamer and contented creator Sevy connected the matter:

MF THIS IS JUST THE PHILIPPINES ???????? https://t.co/gVxCGuNhiP pic.twitter.com/AQWXBRIDfK

— Sevy (@SevyPlays) February 27, 2026

Spotting mangrove trees, which are autochthonal to tropical regions specified arsenic Indonesia and Malaysia:

— ✨🇵🇭ViyaGyudon 🇵🇭✨LABU-Plushies! (@FeedMe_Katsudon) February 27, 2026

One much for bully measure:

we're filipinomaxxing this gen https://t.co/l4CNwXRU8x

— flаre nouvoomf (@N0UVEAUCAFE) February 27, 2026

At archetypal glance, it whitethorn look similar a emblematic tropical portion with thenar trees and immense seafronts, but it's not unfounded to marque these connections considering that erstwhile games usage real-world inspirations – Spain for Paldea successful Scarlet/Violet, Hawaii for Alola successful Sun/Moon, France for Kalos successful X/Y, and truthful on. Both the crippled names and the Southeast Asia-inspired portion were some portion of the caller Pokémon leaks, and the uncover aligned with the details recovered successful the "Teraleak." With that successful mind, I'm besides looking guardant to however the determination besides incorporates different parts of Southeast Asian civilization whether it beryllium language, iconography, oregon food; I won't see Lechonk arsenic the second due to the fact that we emotion our babe pig, but I'll instrumentality the Spanish-Filipino crossover (because, past and each that).

For now, we person tons of sum of Pokémon Winds and Waves specified arsenic each the Pokémon confirmed truthful acold and wherefore the caller fire-type starter Pombom is an contiguous favorite. Check retired everything other revealed during the Pokémon Presents 2026 stream, which included the motorboat of FireRed/LeafGreen ports connected Switch, Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness coming to NSO's Gamecube library, and truthful overmuch more.

Michael Higham is simply a writer, editor, and podcast big connected IGN and volition leap astatine immoderate accidental to speech astir being Filipino. Find him connected Bluesky astatine brazyazn.bsky.social. Salamat sa 'yong suporta.