Everything We Learned From August's Pokemon Presents

There is no shortage of content when it comes to the "Pokémon" franchise. Throughout the media giant's history, fans have been treated to an assortment of content, ranging from television shows, to card collections, events, and of course video games. With such a broad range of news to share, the "Pokémon" franchise is worthy of its own big event akin to other events such as E3 or PlayStation's State of Play. This is achieved periodically with the "Pokémon Presents" stream, a one-stop shop for any and all important news regarding the future of the franchise.

The most recent iteration of this event occurred on August 3, 2022, which packed in a lot of information about upcoming "Pokémon" content. 2022 has been a great year for "Pokémon" fans, having already experienced the release of the critically acclaimed "Pokémon Legends: Arceus." But as it turns out, there is still plenty more in store for fans of the franchise before the calendar year is up. Here is everything we learned from August's Pokémon Presents event.

While August's Pokémon Presents event packed a whole lot into its 19-minute presentation, by far the biggest development that emerged from it was the new trailer for the upcoming "Pokémon Scarlet and Violet," set for release on November 18, 2022. With the pair of games being open world RPG titles, the new trailer puts an emphasis on the scale and diversity of the locations the player will encounter on their journey throughout the Paldea region. The locations players can explore in Paldea vary greatly, ranging from snow-covered mountains, to a bustling metropolis.

The new trailer for "Scarlet and Violet" was followed by a more detailed gameplay overview that shows off the cast of characters and Pokémon creatures they will encounter along the way. As described, players can progress through the story at whatever pace they find appropriate — and in whatever order. Following your character's enrollment at either Naranja or Uva Academy (depending on which version of the game you're playing) and embarking upon an independent "Treasure Hunt," you will be able to fight against 8 gym leaders in whatever sequence you wish. In addition to this conquest, two other stories will are also said to be available, though not much is known about them at this time.

No "Pokémon" game is complete without its signature creatures, and given the new generation's role of ushering in the all-new ninth wave of Pokémon, many new creatures — or new forms of preexisting creatures — will be unveiled in the latest mainline "Pokémon" title. Previously, players were introduced to the brand-new starter Pokémon: Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly. But these three adorable companions aren't the only Pokémon making their debut.

Both "Scarlet" and "Violet" will contain their own individual Legendary Pokemon that players have access to — Koraidon in "Scarlet" and Miraidon in "Violet" — and for once, they will likely be available from the early parts of the game. However, these two new Legendary types aren't just for battling. Instead, they will simply serve as mounts that players can ride around through Paldea. Each has the ability to transform into whatever shape players need them to for quick traversal, be it across land, sea, or even through the sky. Yeah, that's right — you can even ride these Pokémon like a motorcycle. And with these Legendaries also having the ability to climb vertically, there truly isn't any place in Paldea players won't be able to explore.

One of the new and interesting innovations "Pokémon Scarlet and Violet" will be making is with the Terastal phenomenon. Essentially, this new technique can be defined as encasing the Pokémon you catch throughout your journey in crystal-like shell, adding both a unique aesthetic to your creatures and a performance boost as well. These performance boosts should be significant as the gameplay overview shows even the starter Pokémon, which are typically on the weaker side, easily dispatching of lower level foes with ease. Even better, apparently any Pokémon can be "terastallized."

Terastallizing a Pokémon can have other effects as well. Depending on its "Tera type," certain Pokémon can possibly even change types when given the Terastal treatment. For example, Eevee — typically a normal type Pokémon — can transform into a grass or fire type depending on what its Terastal evolution is. The overview also hints at rare Tera types, which could provide extra incentive for players to catch many of the same Pokémon creatures that might have different upsides when it comes to their terastallized forms.

Of course, not everything that was announced at the event was pertaining to the highly anticipated release of "Pokémon Scarlet and Violet" as there are plenty of other exciting happenings on the horizon for The Pokémon Company. Several different championship series' spanning various "Pokémon" games have been announced for 2022, collectively known as the 2022 Pokémon World Championships. These competitions will also provide tons of range when it comes to different age groups. On top of that, a stunning new trophy featuring "Pokémon" fan-favorite Pikachu will be awarded to the winners of the championships.

For the first time in three years, "Pokémon GO Fest" events have been held in person throughout 2022. Events in Berlin and Seattle were both held in July, while one in Sapporo, Japan was held in early August. With three events now in the rear-view, the "Pokémon GO Fest" finale event is scheduled to take place on August 27 between 10:00 AM and 6:00 PM local time. The event will be accessible from anywhere in the world and will offer "Pokémon GO" players access to Ultra Beasts such as Nihilego, Buzzwole, Pheromosa and Xurkitree no matter where they are. Mythical Pokémon Shaymin will also be available should players complete certain research tasks.