For many years, Game Freak has pretty much been synonymous with Pokémon. While the developers have a few other projects under their belt, Pokémon has long seemed like their primary focus. And for good reason! Pokémon is a global phenonemon that seems to keep getting bigger. But earlier this year, Game Freak brought us an ambitious new, non-Pokémon project in the form of Beast of Reincarnation. The action RPG got a bit of a mixed reception, but there’s no denying it was something different from the team best known for Pokémon. Now, Game Freak has unveiled its next non-Pokémon game, and it’s once again something entirely unexpected.
On September 14th, Game Freak announced Ame no Chi Hare Onna, which roughly translates to After the Rain, Sunny Girl. This new game will once again involve close friendships between humans and their critter companions. But this time, the humans in question are also Magical Girls. Co-developed with Chronogate, the title will be a free-to-play mobile game. It’s set to release in Japan this winter, meaning we don’t have too long to wait to see more from Game Freak’s latest venture.
Game Freak’s New Magical Girl Game Delivers a Premise So Wild, It Just Might Work
So far, we don’t have too many details about this new game. But we did get a teaser trailer that basically feels liike the opening sequence of a Magical Girl anime, and I very here for it. The teaser introduces us to our main character, Hare Onna, along with a few of her friends and would-be foes. Ame no Chi Hare Onna is set in modern-day Japan and focuses on magical girls who can change the weather to brighten people’s lives. They do this alongside their animal partners, known as Kumorin. You can get a first look at the Kumorin and their Magical Girl friends in the Ame no Chi Hare Onna teaser trailer below:
Since this initial reveal, Game Freak hosted a livestream digging into more details on the game. You can check out the VOD for that stream here. In addition, the team has been posting up a storm via the game’s new official Twitter account, bringing much of the info shared during the stream to social media as well. There, we’ve gotten some more key art and details about the upcoming free-to-play mobile game. Most notably, the game’s weather-focused mechanics will pull from real-world weather data, “transforming weather forecasts into power.” It’s kind of a wild concept, but I’m really curious to see what it looks like in action.
Pre-registration is already live for gamers in Japan ahead of the winter 2026 release for iOS and Android. As of now, it’s unclear when or if the game will release worldwide. Here’s hoping it does, because I need to see how that real-world weather magic works ASAP.
Want more Game Freak slash Pokémon-adjacent goodness? Check out my homage to another free mobile game with an unusual premise, Pokémon Sleep.
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