Pokémon fans have been talking about the potential for a reveal or Direct stream this week, and the rumors won’t quiet down. Want to know why so many fans think Pokémon Stars may be announced in the coming days? Here’s everything we know.

1) Pokémon’s Long History With May: Pokémon is a franchise with a long history, and over a decade within that 20-year span has had strong ties to the month of May. We could list out all the reveals for you, but Twitter’s Dystify has conveniently done that for us already. Stretching all the way back to 2006, May reveals have been part and parcel with the series. In fact, as Serebii’s Joe Merrick put it, 2011 is the only year since 2005 without Pokémon news in May. That history alone has fanatics enticed.

2) Weird Changes On The Nintendo Direct Site: As heavily discussed in this NeoGAF thread, there have been some pretty bizarre changes to the Japanese Nintendo Direct site recently. As of April 30, an empty space was featured where the thumbnail for a Miiverse Direct used to be. A similar shift happened one week before the Splatoon 2 and ARMS Direct last month.

To make the deal even sweeter, it was a previous Pokémon Direct that was cut from the list back then. Did Nintendo reps remove that old Pokémon stream because a new one is coming? It’s a possibility. At the very least, the company appears to be preparing for some sort of announcement. It may be tied to E3, but it could be something else too.

3) Splash! Magikarp: You may have forgotten about Splash! Magikarp by now, but we didn’t. The strange game was announced for Japan in February, and it’s slated to release this spring. We still have some time to go before that spring window closes, but, given the prior May history and Direct site adjustments, an update on the title would make a lot of sense.

Consider how Nintendo featured 3DS’ Fire Emblem: Shadows Of Valentia and mobile’s Fire Emblem Heroes during a franchise Direct in January. It seems like a similar console-mobile news drop is being set up.

4) The Pre-E3 Surprise: Independent of The Pokémon Company’s habits, the idea of a pre-E3 announcement is a smart idea in general. It’s why we’ve already heard about major titles like Call Of Duty: WWII and Star Wars Battlefront II over the past few weeks. Publishers can show off an awesome trailer or teaser in May and then let the press get a deeper feel for the product in June.

When it comes to something like Pokémon Stars that logic seems appropriate. As a third-pillar mainline game, Stars may not have enough cache to truly shine during an E3 Direct. It wouldn’t be a downer per se, but Nintendo needs to start highlighting new Switch experiences so the system doesn’t start looking like a $300 port machine. It may be better messaging to talk about Stars elsewhere whether it’s playable on Switch or not. A May reveal leaves room for something new to impress investors in June.

5) Those Pokémon Stars Rumors Just Won’t Die: We’ve been hearing about Pokémon Stars for such a long time that it just seems like this game is ready to go. A little pre-release polish could push it out of the 2017 calendar year, but it still feels mostly done. There was some speculation that its debut was passively panned for January’s Switch Presentation. If that’s the case, some additional time to prepare for a May reveal makes sense.

Officially, however, no Pokémon or Nintendo Direct has been announced at this time.

Do you think we’ll see a Pokémon Direct soon? Do these rumors mean anything with regard to Pokémon Stars? Tell us in the comments section!

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