Another day, another Pokémon Scarlet and Violet trailer, as we hurtle toward its November 18 release. Following yesterday’s clumsy leaks, today’s trailer is a more subtle thing, combining a bunch of elements we’ve seen before with sneaky-peeks and surprise reveals. There are at least three previously unmentioned monsters in there, I reckon, including the new and bizarre Gimmighoul. The catch: you have to sit through Ed Sheeran’s god-awful “Celestial” throughout.
Gimmighoul has had the most peculiar reveal. Showing up first in Pokémon Go over the weekend, the teeny-tiny little creature appeared after Saturday’s Dratini Community Day, when many Poké Stops mysteriously turned golden, with some providing players with unexplained golden coins. On the map, following you around as you played, was this miniscule creature that I thought at first was a tiny bug on my phone screen. The only clue was this atrocious YouTube video, in which PoGo’s Professor Willow, and Scarlet/Violet’s Jacq, have an utterly bemusing conversation about the creature, seemingly voiced by two guys at the Niantic office.
It seems Gimmighoul is a newly revealed Paldean monster, though it will appear in either game in different form(e)s. In Scarlet/Violet, they live inside treasure chests and hide when approached. In PoGo, they have no chest and seem far more mischievous and bold. The related coins in the mobile game are still marked only as “?????? Coin,” and it’s implied that whatever on Earth this is all about won’t be properly revealed until a crossover event sometime next year.
Beyond this, there’s a bunch more to spot in today’s new trailer. My tip: put on Katy Perry’s pleasant Pokémon song, “Electric,” and mute the new video. You’ll thank me.
The first minute mostly contains things we’ve seen before, but then flashes of new start to appear. There’s a nice appearance of the previously-revealed Armarouge and Ceruledge, before a fleeting glance of what might be a new Titan. Following a bit more of a fight with the previously-revealed Titan, Klawf, we see what looks like an enormous Carkoal, suggesting it too will be showing up in that third of the game’s story.
We then we get the most convincing argument yet that the Team Star enormous boss vehicle will prove itself to be either a Pokémon, or many Pokémon, given the way it appears to open a mouth and wave a tongue around on its front spoiler.
Read More: Pokémon Violet Vs. Pokémon Scarlet: The Big Version Differences & Exclusives You Should Know
Then comes my favorite odd little reveal. It appears to be some new forms of Donphan, one prehistoric, one futuristic. This, on some level, makes perfect sense for the game, given what appear to be the differing themes of Scarlet and Violet. Scarlet has a prehistoric vibe to its unique elements, including Professor Sada’s outfit (and name) and legendary Koraidon’ design, while Violet has future-vibes, again with Professor Turo’s name and Tron-like outfit, along with legendary Miraidon’s digital eyes.
We see a sketch in a book of what I’m immediately naming Woolly Donphan, and then a too-close-up shot of its stomping somewhere, followed by a sketch of what I baptize as Robo Donphan, and then a good shot of his robo-face.
Finally, there are some new terastalizing glimpses. There’s a usually Bug/Steel Scizor turned Fire-type, a Dedenne turned Flying-type, a very bling Normal-type Gengar, and an as-yet unrevealed hat on a Drakloak, which if it weren’t already part Dragon-type, would be my guess for their Dragon-type symbol.
Oh yeah, add Dedenne and Drakloak to the Pokédex too!
Phew. I bet I missed so much, too, but you have no idea how many times I heard that awful song trying to get all the screenshots. Let me know if you spotted anything else in the comments.