The player begins the game as a new student at either Naranja or Uva Academy (the name depends on which version you purchase) in the Paldea region. It’s clear that this baseline plot hook boasts quite a bit of relevance to the game’s charm, and I love how quirky the side characters are. Also, if you’re worried about evolution spoilers, I can confirm that this trailer is free of them and thus safe to watch. The trailer offers a brief glimpse of an interesting discovery tool that lets the player hover over the map with a magnifying glass that has four colors in each cardinal direction. Green for north, yellow for west, blue for east, and red for south. There’s also an arrow occupying the north indicator, but we’re not sure what it’s for. It could just be a fancy way to show where north is, or it could be leading the player in the direction of interesting discoveries. We also get to meet the school’s troublemakers, Team Star, a group of rebellious kids who we need to defeat in Pokémon battles to assert dominance (seems kind of messed up, but oh well). We also get to see Klawf, the Titan of Stony Cliff, who seems to just be a big, funny-looking crab with googly eyes. As always, the trailer gives us a brief glimpse at the Gym Leaders and our upcoming battles against them. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet launches on November 18 for Nintendo Switch.
