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Girl After The Rain Sees Game Freak Experiment Beyond Pokémon
While Game Freak remains best known as the studio behind Pokémon, it has continued to explore original ideas away from its flagship franchise. That has become increasingly visible with projects such as Beast of Reincarnation, and now the developer is heading in another unexpected direction.
Its latest project is Girl After The Rain, known as Ame no Chi Hare Onna in Japan, a free-to-play mobile title that Game Freak itself describes simply as a “laundry game”.
That description only tells part of the story. Shigeru Ohmori, director of several Pokémon titles and Concept and Senior Director on Pokémon Pokopia, is leading the project, and its gameplay also incorporates real-world weather information.
Real-World Weather Will Affect Girl After The Rain
Game Freak has yet to detail exactly how the system will work, but has confirmed that Girl After The Rain will connect its gameplay to weather forecasts in Japan. This means real-world conditions will influence the experience in some capacity, although the developer has not yet explained how directly those forecasts will affect individual gameplay sessions.
That weather connection also feeds into the premise. The story centres on women known as Hare-Onna, who possess magical abilities that allow them to turn weather into a source of power and use it to brighten the days of those around them.
Their powers come from mysterious creatures called Kumorin, described as messengers of the gods who grant Hare-Onna their abilities. The game itself takes place in modern-day Japan, giving its more fantastical elements a recognisable contemporary backdrop.
Game Freak Partners With Chronogate for a Winter 2026 Launch
Game Freak is developing Girl After The Rain with Chronogate, and it is currently scheduled to launch in Japan in winter 2026 for Android and iOS. The game will be free-to-play, although further details on its progression, monetisation and the actual laundry systems behind Game Freak’s unusual description have yet to be revealed.
There is also no confirmation of an international release for now, meaning players outside Japan will have to wait and see whether Girl After The Rain eventually makes its way to other regions.
