Though Pokemon Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee! are launching this year for the Switch, the true Pokemon RPG for the system, which was announced all the way back last year, is going to be launching next year. And it looks like with development on Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Eevee! mostly complete, Game Freak is now ramping up development on next year’s game.
Job listings on the Game Freak website for positions starting next month have been posted for a Planner and a Motion Designer, with the job descriptions also specifying “planning and creating specifications for a new RPG (consumer game) development project” and “experience with creating highly strategic game systems”. It’s pretty obvious what they are talking about- and given the position is for starting September, I think we can assume development on the next game is in a state of ramp-up now.
Little else is known about Pokemon 8, except that it will be more like the handheld games, and that it will be aimed at long time fans of the series. It is due out in late 2019.