Pokémon Presents Stream Reveals New Details on Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

During today’s Pokémon Presents streaming event a bevy of new details and information for the upcoming Nintendo Switch games Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet were revealed. The trailer gives us hint at the story which will be divided into three quest-lines, the Gym Quest line where the player seeks out the 8 Gym Leaders and aims for the rank of Pokémon League Champion, the two other quest-lines were not revealed.

The region the game takes place in is called the Paldea Region. It is a vast region with a variety of environments from open fields to mountainous regions to lakes, and wastelands. The player enrolls in the Naranja Academy in Scarlet and Uva Academy in Violet. This venerable academy is the oldest school in Paldea and sits in the center of the largest city in the region Mesagoza City. At the Academy you’ll find people from various regions all gathered to hone their skills in academics as well as Pokémon, this makes student body is very diverse with students of all ages taking the same classes.

Mr. Jacq is the player’s homeroom teacher. It is very knowledgeable about Pokémon biology and created the PokéDex app that the player uses on their Rotom Phone. He can be a bit flighty as he becomes absorbed in his research.

Director Clavell runs the academy and soon after the player enrolls he announces a school-wide independent research project called the Treasure Hunt. Students are to go on a journey through Paldea region and learn about the people and Pokémon as they gather experiences and discover their own personal treasure.

One of the 8 Gym Leaders of the Paldea region is Grusha he is a former pro snowboarder with a cool-headed temperament. Grusa is a master of Ice-Type Pokémon.

Arven is an upperclassman. He is not very good at Pokémon battles but he is an excellent cook and researches Pokémon health and nutrition. He will ask the player to help him out.

Penny is a classmate. She has a shy personality and tends not to come to class often. She is very fond of her fluffy Eevee backpack.

The new battle mechanic was shown off in detail. It is called Terastal and it is similar to Mega Evolution. When a Pokémon Terastallizes it takes on a crystalline appearance and gains a sort of crown accessory called a Tera Jewel. The Pokémon gains better stats and stronger attacks and, in some cases, new typing. All Pokémon in Paldea are capable of Terestallizing. Every Pokémon has a hidden Tera Type that doesn’t activate until that Pokémon Terastallizes and it becomes that type. For example a Pikachu will normally have an Electric Tera Type matching it’s usual type, however some Pikachu will have a Flying Tera Type and when those Pikachu Terastallize they become Flying-types getting Pokémon with these rare Tera Types can be a key advantage in battles.

Raid Battles return as Tera Raid battles where up to four players can band together to fight a strong Terastallized Pokémon. The battles are streamlined so players no longer have to wait for their teammates turns to pass before making a move. This makes cooperating with your teammates even more key to come out victorious in these Tera Raids. After winning a Tera Raid all participants will have a chance to catch the defeated Pokémon. Tera Raids are a good way to capture Pokémon with rare Tera Types.

A couple new Pokémon were revealed in today’s trailer:

Fidough is the Fairy-type puppy Pokémon. It resembles mochi or baked confectionery treats like donuts, this Pokémon’s breath has a yeast quality that it uses to ferment things around it, this yeast breath is also useful for cooking.

Paldean Wooper is the Paldean Regional Variant of Wooper, it is a Poison/Ground-Type. In the ancient past the Wooper of Paldea were driven from the waters by competing Pokémon, and they moved into bogs on land where they adapted by covering their bodies with a poisonous film to keep from drying out as they live on land.Their gills hardened over time and they developed the ability to shoot poisonous liquid from them.