7 things you might have missed from the new Pokemon Scarlet & Violet trailer

Pokemon Scarlet & Violet is looking to further redefine the Pokemon formula by following in the footsteps of Sword and Shield and Legends Arceus. We’ve gone through the trailer and picked out some interesting things of note about Scarlet & Violet.

The buzz coming out of the debut of the Scarlet & Violet official Second Trailer was mad with people gushing over the new Pokemon Lechonk, and also being wowed by the addition of four-player co-op in a Pokemon game for the first time ever.

There were plenty of other eye-catching sights in the trailer though, and it’s given us a big indication of what to expect, and also posed some questions that hopefully Pokemon Scarlet & Violet will answer with the game’s release.

Four-player co-op

Let’s begin with something we’ve already touched on as it still feels like such a revolutionary addition to the long-running franchise. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet will allow you to play with up to three players.

• Read More: Undertale creator goes viral with “banger” music for Pokemon Scarlet & Violet

The Pokemon Company had this to say in an official press release regarding the game: “andare the first open-world RPGs in the Pokémon series. Along with series staples, such as trading and battling Pokémon, players will be able to explore the various locations of the region in these games with up to four players.”

We’ve yet to fully understand if it’ll be four-player local co-op on the same TV, if it will apply to online co-op, or both. Either way, it’s another step forward in creating a uniting and immersive Pokemon experience.

The Scarlet & Violet map is huge and expansive

Pokemon Sword and Shield felt like a turning point in the franchise with its shift towards massive open areas to explore. Legends Arceus went one step further by offering a Breath of the Wild-style map to traverse with mysteries and wonders to uncover, and Scarlet & Violet feels like a mix of both.

Arceus was a tremendous amount of fun, but we felt that it was sometimes lacking trainers and life out in the open, whereas Scarlet & Violet looks to possess much of Arceus’ size, whilst also incorporating these missing elements.

Outdoor Pokemon Centers

Merely seconds into the release date trailer and a long-standing rumor about Pokemon Scarlet & Violet is basically confirmed — you’ll no longer have to waste time walking in and out of the Pokemon Center to heal up!

It sounds like such a petty gripe, but the fact is that over many hours, these animations and loading times do become somewhat tedious and repetitive. Having outdoor Poke Centers you can go right up to and use seems like a genius quality of life improvement that will enhance the games’ accessibility and shorten the pit stop.

Explore Scarlet & Violet’s towns & cities in any order

A simple venture over to the game’s official website and under a section titled “The World of Pokemon has evolved” you will find a passage of text that makes for very interesting reading.

• Read More: Pokemon Scarlet & Violet feature rework makes some Pokemon harder to find

It says: “You can experience a new style of adventure, with a world that you’re free to explore at your leisure and not in an order dictated by the story. You will, of course, journey to hone your skills as a Pokémon Trainer, but many more discoveries and stories await you. Meet a variety of people and Pokémon, and adventure in the world of Pokémon the way you want to.”

So it appears that Pokemon Scarlet & Violet are going all-in on the ideology of complete freedom and not keeping your character restricted to a fairly linear progression path.

Legends Arceus’ Pokemon catching system removed?

This aspect is a bit more speculative given that there’s been nothing official yet and we’ve got plenty more trailers and gameplay footage that will inevitably release, but it seems Pokemon catching may be taking a backward step.

One of the reasons players loved Pokemon Legends Arceus was the liberating sensation of being able to catch a Pokemon without triggering a battle or pre-planned sequence, move on, and keep doing it.

The trailer didn’t seem to indicate that that would be the case this time around, and this point might be further corroborated by a previous passage of text on the game’s website: “You’ll be able to experience the true joy of the Pokemon series – battling against wild Pokemon to catch them – now in an open-world game that players of any age can enjoy.”

We’ll have to wait and see on this one, but the old system may be the de facto mechanic.

Pokemon Scarlet & Violet has game-specific professors

Since the dawn of Pokemon games, there have always been two different versions of each new release with certain Pokemon being tied to one game and trainers needing to trade to complete their Pokedex.

However, Pokemon Scarlet & Violet goes one step further by now having two different professors — one for Scarlet, and one for Violet.

Pokemon Scarlet players will be guided by the wisdom-filled hands of Professor Sada, whereas Violet players will be tutored by Professor Turo. We anticipate different dialog from each character, but will there be any additional variables that are specific to each professor?

Gym battles return

The final detail we noticed isn’t too surprising given that Scarlet & Violet are basically a return to the mainline series, but yes, unlike Arceus, it looks like Pokemon Scarlet & Violet will have traditional Gym Battles.

• Read More: How to beat Giovanni in Pokemon Go

The trailer showed a bird’s-eye shot of a distinctive battle arena, so we presume the old badge system is back!