Junichi Masuda believes Pokemon: Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee will be the last main Pokemon game he is the director for

Pokemon.com has put up a brand-new interview with GAME FREAK’s Junichi Masuda and Kensaku Nabana. The interview gives a detailed look at the upcoming Pokemon: Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee, but it's the end of the interview that reveals a very interesting tidbit. According to Masuda, Pokemon: Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee could very well be the last main Pokemon game that he acts as director on.

Pokemon.com: It’s been five years since you last served as director—on Pokémon X and Pokémon Y. Why were these the right games for you to return to that role?

Masuda: I was the one who worked on the base game concept document for Pokémon GO, and even in that original concept, I had the idea of introducing new Pokémon through the mobile game. I wanted to realize that goal by creating games that could connect with Pokémon GO and feel somewhat similar to it without feeling like we were copying it. Given my involvement in Pokémon GO’s development, I felt that I was probably the best person to direct these games.

It was also interesting to work with Nintendo Switch. There’s a lot of technology packed into the hardware that we were all trying to discover at GAME FREAK. For example, developing the Poké Ball Plus and working with Bluetooth to facilitate the connection with Pokémon GO were both very interesting things that I had a chance to work on as the director this time.

But at the same time, it’s important to have the younger generation at GAME FREAK take over the development of Pokémon as a series. I do believe this will probably be, in terms of the main Pokémon RPGs, the last time that I work as the director.