Ad Astra per Aspera... and the Third Games

"Ad astra per aspera" is Latin for "to the stars through hardships". So it means to go through difficulties first before achieving greatness, which is practically true everywhere, including in playing the Pokémon games. Nowadays, however, when it comes to Pokémon and stars, it's mostly about speculation about the third game complement to Sun and Moon, which many players think it will be Stars. Speculation is loud and rife, but nothing is set in stone yet due to many uncertainties.

Historically, the main series of games had third-game versions up to the fourth generation; these offered the same gameplay as the primary pair of that generation, except with a few different twists and turns. It is this fact that I appreciate that kept me playing all the third-game versions rather than playing the other game of the main pair. However, none of the remade games came with a third-game version, and in the fifth generation, the paired games were followed up with a second pair of games rather than a third game proper, while the sixth generation nothing was ever realized.

Considering this history, the future of "third-games" seems bleak. Back during the time of the sixth generation, speculation was also plenty, but nothing ended up appearing, though it looked like a third game or a second pair was a natural. In current times, this is exaggerated further because the 3DS does not have a successor set for it, though most players already assume that the Switch is poised to take up this role, even more so since the Pokémon games are starting to lag (cf. my post about 3D and 2D). If a third game is coming, the name is a consideration in addition to the platform - we might not even have "Stars" as its subtitle, as possibilities like "Earth" are also intriguing. Everything is up in the air.

The history of "third-games" for the Pokémon games is both established and uncertain, due to their past succession for the former and recent happenings for the latter. Speculation is fine for hoping that one may come, but until one is announced, speculation remains only trading figments of imagination about what and how the game will be. In the meantime, thinking about "Stars" is a fine thought, for it also rings true in Pokémon that greatness is a follow-up to hardships. We can only hope it will turn out in this manner.