Image: The Pokemon Company
The Pokemon Company has revealed the next generation of mainline Pokemon games along with their new starter Pokemon.
The Pokemon Company recently hosted a Pokemon Presents video stream to announce the ninth generation of mainline Pokemon games: Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet, both of which will arrive in late 2022. Much like Pokemon Legends: Arceus, these games will be set in a large open-world environment.
You can check out the reveal trailer below:
While Pokemon Sword and Shield were clearly based on the United Kingdom, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet seem a little more vague location-wise. We see a wide range of environments from sandy deserts and towering cities, to grassy hills and sunny towns. Most of the Pokemon seen in the trailer are from previous generations, up until the reveal of Scarlet and Violet’s three new starter Pokemon.
The three starters are the Grass-type Sprigatito, Fire-type Fuecoco and Water-type Quaxly. The Pokemon Company’s website goes into more detail on these adorable starters, calling Sprigatito the, “capricious, attention-seeking Grass Cat Pokémon.” Fuecoco is, “The laid-back Fire Croc Pokémon that does things at its own pace.” Quaxly is, “The earnest and tidy Duckling Pokémon.”
So a cat, crocodile or duck - those are your choices. I’m going with the green cat, personally. The official website also confirms that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are open world games where, “Various towns blend seamlessly into the wilderness with no borders.” Players will be able to spot Pokemon, “in the skies, in the seas, in the forests, on the streets—all over!” Currently, the only difference between Scarlet and Violet that we know of is that the protagonist will wear slightly different-coloured clothes in either game.
The Pokemon Company has had an unbelievably busy few months lately. The company put out Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Pearl last November, and just released Pokemon Legends: Arceus in January. Pokemon Sword and Shield launched in 2019 and developer Gamefreak typically introduces new generations of Pokemon in three-year cycles, so these announcements weren’t entirely unexpected. Expect more information on Pokemon Scarlet and Violet in the coming months, including new Pokemon reveals from this mysterious region.