Hot off the heels of Pokémon Legends: Arceus, Game Freak has already announced the next two mainline games in the Pokémon series: Pokémon Scarlet & Violet.
While the trailer was packed full of details about the region and new starters, a lot of what we can expect from Gen 9 was left up to the imagination. Fortunately, we’re complete and utter weirdos who watched the entire trailer four times at 0.25x speed. That was on our day off, by the way — we watched it another couple of times when we started work this morning.
With all of that said, let’s talk about the trailer in laborious detail. No, no — it will be fun. We promise.
When yesterday’s trailer kicked off, we were convinced we were seeing the first official confirmation of Detective Pikachu 2. Even though Ryan Reynolds isn’t supposed to be a tiny electric squirrel anymore, it felt as if Pokémon’s mascot was about to pop out of hiding to uncharacteristically complain about a demonic hangover any second. The dark building; the lone police officer; the bone-chilling tension of the slow inching through lurching shadows.
Nope — as it turns out, this is where Game Freak’s office is. And plot twist: Game Freak’s office is haunted.
Not really, but it is deserted for some reason. Among the various paraphernalia scattered throughout the room are ceramic pots, gold bars, and dusty old tomes that could very well have belonged to one Professor Laventon at some time or another. The point is that the isolation of this place is directly contrasted with the hyper-stylish cadence and lighting of the video itself, which is why the Gen 9 reveal — even after seeing “Game Freak” plastered across the wall — hit pretty damn hard for a show-stopper that should have been predictable.
So, let’s get the tinfoil hats out. There’s a map on the wall of the Game Freak office that looks suspiciously like the Iberian Peninsula, meaning the southwestern European region comprising Spain and Portugal. Further evidence that this is the new basis for Pokémon’s next setting can be seen in the Gothic architecture of the unnamed region’s cities, resembling Gaudi’s La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.
There is, at one point in the trailer, a section where a clock starts to go a bit berserk. We’re convinced it stops at the numbers nine, two, two, and two, making for a 9/2/22 pattern that could narrow down its ‘late 2022’ release window. That being said, we’re also aware there’s a chance that having watched this video at least six times has made us see things that aren’t there. We may behave bizarrely, but at least we can recognize that fact.
Anyway! After we get a look at some of the opening areas — which include roving plains, tranquil lakes, and sprawling deserts — we get to see some of the Pokémon themselves. It’s worth noting that a significant number of the Pokémon shown here are also catchable in Legends: Arceus. Given how aesthetically similar the two games are, this makes sense — Game Freak has already done a lot of the work for how these ‘mons behave in the overworld and in battle, so it only seems natural to include at least some of them again here. The Pokémon guaranteed to be returning so far are Pikachu, Starly, Petilil, Psyduck, Combee, Drifloon, Blissey, Magnemite, Lucario, and Hisuian Zoroark, the last of whom apparently isn’t extinct anymore. Cool cool.
Meanwhile, other ‘mons including Hoppip, Bounsweet, Meowth, Stonjourner, Clauncher, Pelipper, Swablu, Seviper, and Larvitar also appear in the trailer, while the existence of a Dratini fountain implies that the Dragonite family are knocking about, too. Accounting for evolutions, this puts the total number of Pokémon in Gen 9 so far as 55 — that is, if we include the inevitable three forms of each of our new starters.
Shortly after yesterday’s trailer debuted, we were introduced to Pokémon Scarlet & Violet’s three starter Pokémon: Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly. The Internet has already collectively decided that all of these babies must be protected at all costs — especially Sprigatito, who is unequivocally the best one.
Let’s look at these three little guys in more detail. Sprigatito, known as the “Grass Cat Pokémon,” is apparently an attention-seeker; Fuecoco, the “Fire Croc Pokémon” is supposed to be much more laid back; and Quaxly, the “Duckling Pokémon,” is an “earnest and tidy” bird who looks like Donald Duck crossed with Waluigi. Look, its hat has a ‘W’ on it that is probably supposed to represent a wave. Let us have this one thing, yeah?
So far we know very little about these ‘mons, but we did learn about their abilities: Overgrow, Blaze, and Torrent. While that is a bit annoying — how boring! — there’s a chance they might get more interesting abilities after they evolve. After all, if they grow up to be a Big Cat, a fire-breathing alligator, and some kind of monster duck, chances are they’ll pack pretty formidable punches.
That’s pretty much it for now. There are other things in the trailer that people could definitely read into, although a lot of the speculation beyond what’s written here plays fast and loose with evidence or a lack thereof. We know we’ve got at least 55 Pokémon confirmed for a region based on Spain with starters that are objectively better than the Galarian trio. That’s enough for now, right?
Oh, and the clock thing. If this comes out on Sep. 2, 2022, everyone who said we were wrong has to eat Quaxly’s hat. Unless it’s actually part of its head, in which case… ok, you can just tell us we’re geniuses and move on. See you in six months!
Written by Cian Maher on behalf of GLHF.
