Pokémon Winds and Waves was reportedly meant to launch in November 2026. That is the claim of a leak relayed on November 6, 2026 by Centro Leaks: the delay was allegedly decided in January, just weeks before the game's announcement, and the new target is said to be November 2027. The post has passed 2.1 million views.
Here is what the leak actually says, why the Horizons anime lends it real weight, every release date that has leaked so far, and the November 30 rendezvous that could change the picture.
What exactly does the November 6 leak say?
Three things. First, Pokémon Winds and Waves was internally scheduled for November 2026, the series' classic launch window. Second, the decision to push it back was supposedly made in January 2026, barely weeks before the game's reveal at the Pokémon Presents of February 27: the "2027" shown that day would therefore have been settled at the very last moment. Third, the reason is brutally simple: according to the post relayed by Centro Leaks, "the games simply weren't ready".
The new target being floated is November 2027, a full year's slip. None of this is confirmed: The Pokémon Company, Nintendo and Game Freak have neither commented nor denied, and the game's pages on Nintendo's online store still show a plain "2027".
Who is behind this leak, and is it credible?
The primary source is Moot, known as mootmonthly, a leaker mostly active on the Pokémon anime, whose information was then picked up by Centro Leaks, the franchise's biggest leak account. The November 6, 2026 relay went out at 2:26 AM UTC and stood at 2,125,588 views and more than 17,500 likes as of November 14, as Dexerto also reported.
A pseudonym is not a confirmation, and everything that follows stays conditional. But the source's profile matches the content: Moot deals first and foremost with anime production, and it is precisely the anime side of this leak that can be checked on screen.
Why does the Horizons anime add weight to the leak?
Because its schedule was allegedly reworked at the same time as the game's. According to the same leak, the Horizons anime was meant to end at episode 136, before The Pokémon Company convinced studio OLM to add an arc designed to tease the tenth generation. Once the delay was set, the references to that generation were supposedly removed, and a brand-new legendary Pokémon codenamed Konetsu was allegedly replaced on screen by Ditto.
And a Ditto is indeed what appears in the current arc, Wonder Voyage, which started on May 22, 2026 in Japan: it accompanies the newcomer Navie, as shown in the collage at the top of this article. The rest of the leak's roadmap: a hiatus from March 2027 to autumn 2027, a final arc of roughly 25 episodes in late 2027, and a new series that would not arrive before 2029.
A delay decided in January that leaves visible traces in a series airing in spring: that chain of evidence, more than the leaker's pedigree, is what makes this leak worth taking seriously.
Which release dates have leaked so far?
The November leak does not come out of nowhere. Since spring 2026, leakers have been converging on the same window, for partly different reasons.
| Date | Source | Claim |
|---|---|---|
| April 28, 2026 | Centro Leaks | Late 2027; the games would already be playable end to end, with the wait serving optimisation and a bigger Switch 2 install base |
| September 2, 2026 | BallGuy | Late November 2027 |
| Autumn 2026 | Riddler Khu | November 2027, and no information about the game to expect in 2026 |
| November 6, 2026 | Moot, relayed by Centro Leaks | Launch first set for November 2026, delay decided in January, new target November 2027 |
Taken from the cited accounts' posts. One dissenting rumour has floated September 2027, without anything to back it up.
If November 2027 holds, five years will have passed since Scarlet and Violet, released on November 18, 2022: the longest gap between two generations since 1996. The precedent of Pokémon Legends: Z-A, announced in February 2024 and released in October 2025, had already shown that the franchise's schedules can slide.
What should you watch on November 30, 2026?
A countdown published by The Pokémon Company ends on November 30, 2026 at 2 PM UTC, and we walk through the possible scenarios in our article on the November 30 countdown. Nobody knows what it hides; if communication around Winds and Waves is to resume, this is the first plausible window, ahead of Pokémon Day on February 27, 2027.
A reveal in February 2027 followed by a November 2027 launch would follow a proven pattern, the one Scarlet and Violet used in 2022: the franchise announces its games in February and ships them in November. If the leak is right, that is exactly the plan the delay pushed back by one year.
What does this delay change for fans?
Concretely, one more year of patience, and probably a long silence: if Riddler Khu is right, nothing more will surface about the game before 2027. For the full state of play, the starters Browt, Pombon and Gecqua, the sea-bound region, the Windychu and Wavychu forms, our Pokémon Winds and Waves guide remains the right entry point: the article you are reading documents the delay leak, the guide sums up the game itself.
While the tenth generation takes its time, the wait is easier with today's Pokémon: an Eevee crystal Poké Ball laser-engraved for the shelf, or the Umbreon Poké Ball whose LED makes the most sense after dark, like the trailer's night-time beaches. The rest of the light-up Poké Ball collection follows the same idea. We will update this page at every statement from The Pokémon Company, starting on November 30.
