The Pokémon Company is having a huge year already with Legends Arceus, and now the company has announced two new mainline games set to come in 2022: Pokémon Violet and Pokémon Scarlet.
The titles are set in a new region in the Pokémon universe and feature three entirely new starters. Violet and Scarlet feature a grass cat-like named Sprigatito, a Fire-type croc called Fuecoco and the Water-based duckling, Quaxly.
Sprigatito has the Overgrow ability, Fuecoco has Blaze and Quaxly is equipped with Torrent. You can learn more about the starters on Nintendo’s website. Strangely, the main characters in Scarlet and Violet will wear different outfits. This seems strange to me given the last few titles in the series allow players to customize their outfits anyways.
The character models look more detailed than they have in other Pokémon titles and include subtle shading on characters’ cheeks, clothes and legs. It also appears that Game Freak might avoid any tree-based controversy this time around, as the screenshots show off a wide variety of flora in the new region.
The game is set in an open world where Pokémon roam free, similar to the recently released Pokémon Arceus Legends. We haven’t seen any gameplay of the new titles yet, so it’s unclear if they’ll play more like Arceus or a more mainline series game.
With a 2022 release date, it’s likely Pokémon Violet and Scarlet will release before the holiday season, but we’ll have to wait for Nintendo or Game Freak to reveal more information in the coming months.
Image credit: The Pokémon Company