The Pokémon Scarlet and Violet reveal trailer is full of brand new information, but eagle-eyed fans believe it also helps prove there was a hint to the new games inside 2019’s Sword and Shield.
Reddit user DDD-HERO posted an image of Sword and Shield’s Hotel Ionia in Circhester. Since launch the hotel has featured a roped-off room with wallpaper decorated with oranges and grapes, seemingly not seen elsewhere in the game.
While this sounds odd, oranges and grapes also appear to be a part of the visual theming in Scarlet and Violet. The new games’ location appears to be based on Spain, which is known for its blood oranges and grapes – both fruits feature throughout the new trailer, and could be seen to represent the colours of scarlet and violet.
Image Credit: Reddit user DDD-HERO
The gameplay clips don’t reference this too much – although we do see a few orange trees in the new open world – but the live-action portion of the trailer shows mounted shields featuring the two fruits, and a fruit bowl full of them too.
Fans therefore think that developer Game Freak was teasing Scarlet and Violet in Sword and Shield by including the cordoned-off area. Other theories go as far as to presume the area will be opened up and include cross-generation interactivity when the new games are released.
You can see the images of oranges and grapes in the Scarlet and Violet trailer below:
An update to DDD-HERO hero’s Reddit post includes what’s being seen as another potential reference to the future games, this time in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. In the original Diamond and Pearl, a patch of flowers in the games’ starting town were white, but the remakes change them to a scarlet and violet pattern.
The Pokémon Company announced Scarlet and Violet on February 27 to celebrate Pokémon Day, and even revealed the new starters: Grass Cat Sprigatito, Fire Croc Fuecoco, and Water Duckling Quaxly.
Coming in late 2022, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are promised to be an “evolutionary” step for the franchise set in an “open world where various towns with no borders blend seamlessly into the wilderness.”
Several other announcements came from the Pokémon Presents showcase, including a big new update for Pokémon Legends: Arceus and more. Read all about them in our roundup of the celebration.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale.