Pokemon Scarlet & Violet: Gen 9 trailer, location, open world & everything we know

August 07, 2022

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet have officially been revealed, going in a whole new direction for the main Game Freak series. Here’s everything we know about Gen 9, including release date, location, and starters.

On Pokemon Day 2022 on February 27, Generation 9 was announced. With many expecting nothing more than a Legends Arceus update, fans were shocked when Pokemon Scarlet and Violet was officially revealed.

With a whole new open-world location, starters, and more in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, trainers have a lot to digest in the latest region. As is the norm for a new generation, more Pokemon will be added to the Pokedex along with an entirely new region.

It also looks like Pokemon Scarlet and Violet will have a lot in common with the experimental Pokemon Legends Arceus, so here’s everything we know so far.

Pokemon Scarlet & Violet trailers and gameplay

The February 27 reveal trailer shows a glimpse at the sprawling landscape of the new open-world region, giving players insight into what the Gen IX location will look like during the day, in the evening, and at nighttime.

It’s filled with lush greenery and wild Pokemon galore, with the Hisui region’s Hisuian Zoroark confirmed to be in the game, as well as fan favorites from other Generations like Lucario, Larvitar, and Seviper.

A city is also shown, with a giant tower in the middle, as well as the male protagonist and their house and bedroom.

The second trailer revealed a lot more:

Is there a Pokemon Scarlet & Violet release date?

Both Pokemon Scarlet and Violet will be released worldwide on November 18, 2022.

This isn’t too surprising, as Pokemon games usually release around October/November time. As usual, both games will be Nintendo exclusives, released solely on the Nintendo Switch family of consoles.

Fans will be able to dig into this new region at the end of 2022.

Pokemon Scarlet & Violet is open-world

In a first for the series, The Pokemon Company confirmed on their website that Gen 9 will have full open-world gameplay.

While Legends Arceus had large sections split into maps that trainers could warp between, Scarlet and Violet will be “seamless.” This means no loading screens for different areas – it will all load in as one.

“Various towns blend seamlessly into the wilderness with no borders,” said The Pokemon Company. “You’ll be able to see the Pokemon of this region in the skies, in the seas, in the forests, on the streets—all over!

“You’ll be able to experience the true joy of the series—battling against wild Pokemon in order to catch them—now in an open-world game that players of any age can enjoy.”

Pokemon Gen 9 will have a fully open world for players to explore.

Four-player co-op

For the first time in the Pokemon series, Scarlet and Violet will feature four-player co-op, allowing players to explore and battle wild Pokemon together.

While the details are yet to be fully revealed, the second trailer shows four players, with three of them using the game’s starters and a fourth using Pikachu. Interestingly, Pikachu features prominently at the end of the trailer too.

This could suggest Pikachu is obtainable early in the game. The electric mouse was considered a fourth starter, of sorts, during the first Generation of Pokemon games.

New starters in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet

The three new starters for Scarlet & Violet were also shown off in the trailer on Pokemon Day: Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly.

Sprigatito:

Category: Grass Cat Pokemon
Height: 1′4″
Weight: 9 lbs.
Type: Grass
Ability: Overgrow

Fuecoco:

Category: Fire Croc Pokemon
Height: 1′4″
Weight: 21.6 lbs.
Type: Fire
Ability: Blaze

Quaxly:

Category: Duckling Pokemon
Height: 1′8″
Weight: 13.4 lbs.
Type: Water
Ability: Torrent

A 4chan leak that has been circulating on Reddit suggests that Sprigatito will evolve into a Grass/Electric saber-toothed tiger Pokemon with lightning bolt-shaped fangs.

It goes on to say that Fuecoco will gain a more serpent-like body form and will be Fire/Dragon. Finally, it states that the last evolution of Quaxly will resemble some sort of navy admiral and use feathers as swords, it will be Water/Fighting type Pokemon.

While we’re often skeptical of 4chan leaks, it’s worth pointing out that many of the Pokemon Sword and Shield leaks were accurate. All the same, take it with a pinch of salt until we know more.

Gen 9 region & location

The new region’s name and location have yet to be revealed at the time of writing. That said, all signs are pointing to it being based on Iberia. A map appeared in the background of the announcement trailer that is shaped very similar to the Iberian Peninsula, home to Spain and Portugal.

There were also several references to Spain in the video, namely a huge building that looks like the Sagrada Familia temple, the Plaza de Espana, and the Sanabria Lake. The architecture in the trailer also resembles the plazas of many Spanish cities.

Pokemon Scarlet & Violet version differences

So far, only one difference between the Scarlet and Violet is known and it’s the protagonists. In a first for the mainline series, both games will feature a pair of different playable characters, depending on which one you choose.

They’re very similar to each other, just with contrasting outfit colors: Scarlet’s protagonist wears red and blue while Violet’s is dressed in purple and white.

The protagonists basically the same, just sporting different colored outfits.

The leak that originated on 4chan and was later shared on Reddit suggested that “The region will have two main schools that will play an important role in the plot, depending on the version the characters come from different schools.” Based on the clothing above, we’d guess that the two schools are connected to the game’s versions, Scarlet and Violet.

The leak also suggests that the game’s token rival character will be from an opposing school. Again, take this all with a pinch of salt until more official information arrives.

New Legendary Pokemon in Scarlet & Violet

Some of the Legendary mascots for Pokemon Scarlet & Violet, have also been revealed in the second game trailer:

Pokemon	Type	Ability
Koraidon	??	??
Miraidon	??	??

Both Koraidon and Miraidon appear in the trailer at the end, perched on top of a tall structure. Koraidon appears to be a Dragon/Fire-type Pokemon with Miraidon being a Dragon/Steel-type, but this isn’t confirmed yet.

Chances are, we’ll get to catch Koraidon in Pokemon Scarlet and Miraidon in Violet, and will need to trade with someone who owns the other version to obtain both Legendary beasts.

Pokemon HOME connectivity

On The Pokemon Company’s official press website, it was confirmed that Gen IX will have Pokemon HOME compatibility.

“After their release, Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet will be able to link with Pokemon HOME, a service that allows Trainers to keep their entire Pokemon collection in one place,” it reads.

“By linking these games with Pokémon HOME, Trainers will be able to have Pokémon from other regions adventure alongside them in [the games].”

Home will be arriving on Pokemon Brilliant Diamond, Shining Pearl, and Legends Arceus soon, but so far, we still don’t know if Pokemon Scarlet and Violet will receive day access to the service. It’s also unlikely that Pokemon from Gen XI will be transferable to older Pokemon Games.

For more information on upcoming video game releases, check out these other hubs we have:

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