>>36158217Technically, it was and it wasn't. For whatever reason, back in May the live translator of that press conference where LGPE was revealed translated 最新作 and 完全新作 (saishinsaku and kanzenshinsaku) as 'mainline' and 'core' even though they've never been used for the distinction of games and actually just refer to new/upcoming works, like a recent film vs an upcoming one scheduled for a later date. But because it was translated that way the media ran with it, though despite the confidence you regularly see from Serebii regarding it, TPC's actually been pretty flaky about committing to that one way or the other.
However, part of the problem is, aside from a questionable translation, one thing that really isn't especially well known to Western fans is how TPC has always distinguished main and side series titles. In Japan, the main series is Pocket Monsters (ポケットモンスター), and the side series is Pokemon (ポケモン). And as it's relevant to LGPE, they're known in Japan as Pocket Monsters: Let's Go Pikachu and Iibui.
The real confirmation that they're not spin-off titles is that they've been named for the main series, unlike practically every spin-off in this series other than Stadium. So there you go.
