Pokémon Scarlet and Violet will be released on November 18, as revealed in a new trailer. The game will feature a new open world structure, and four-player co-op for the first time.
The trailer (below) shows off a lot of the new mainline Pokémon game’s world, and introduces two new legendary monsters, Koraidon (who appears in Scarlet) and Miraodon (in Violet). “These two Pokémon are said to have powers that far surpass those of other Pokémon,” reads a description on the Pokémon website, “but details about Koraidon and Miraidon are still shrouded in mystery.”
We’d already gotten a look at the game’s starters – the Grass Cat Sprigatito, the Fire Croc Fuecoco, and the Water Duckling Quaxly – but this trailer reveals a number of new regular monsters too, including a teary-eyed truffle pig called Lechonk, a a grass/normal type based on an olive called Smoliv, and Pawmi, a new electric mouse Pokémon.
The trailer also included a look at two new Pokémon professors Sada and Turo – who appear in Scarlet and Violet respectively. We also got a look at Nemona, the player-character’s new friend, who is an “experienced Pokémon Trainer and serves as a reliable guide for you on your adventures.”
As previously announced, these will be the first fully open world Pokémon games in the series. However, what we didn’t previously know was that Scarlet and Violet would see a very different structure too. The site confirms that the games include “a world that you’re free to explore at your leisure and not in an order dictated by the story.”
We also learned that the games would include 4-player co-op alongside the normal trading and battling multiplayer options.
While we see Pokémon out in the wild, the trailer does suggest that we’ll be returning to traditional catching mechanics after Pokémon Legends: Arceus offered a new way to snare monsters.
Scarlet and Violet were announced in February (but may have been teased as far back as Sword and Shield). Preorders are open now.
Joe Skrebels is IGN’s Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.