New Pokemon Scarlet & Violet gameplay mechanic possibly hinted at in Gen 9 trailer

Pokemon fans believe that Game Freak has given hints about Pokemon Scarlet & Violet’s main gameplay gimmick. Could the reveal trailer have given a glimpse at the new Gen 9 gameplay mechanic? 

While Pokemon Scarlet & Violet have been officially announced, there is still a lot we don’t know about the upcoming 2022 RPGs. Besides being open-world, Game Freak has been tight-lipped about what to expect.

Eagle-eyed fans have spotted some interesting clues in the reveal trailer that could give us our first look at the series’ next gameplay gimmick following Galar’s Dynamax feature in 2018’s Sword & Shield.

Pokemon Gen 9 gimmick teased in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet trailer?

Game Freak likes to introduce a unique gameplay gimmick each generation. In 2013’s X & Y, it was the wildly popular Mega Evolutions, and 2016’s Sun & Moon was Z-Moves. Sword & Shield, of course, had the popular Dynamax and Gigantamax features.

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While the new gimmick was not officially shown off during Pokemon Scarlet & Violet’s reveal trailer, fans noticed that the Nintendo developer has left a few clues.

In previous titles, the game’s official Japanese logos have always included the symbol for the game’s mechanic. Interestingly, Gen 9’s logo includes a six-sided star.

Where it gets really interesting is that the town featured in the trailer also has a star circle in the middle of the plaza. Each Pokemon type is featured, alongside a multi-colored Poke Ball in the center.

Pokemon fans on the r/PokeLeaks forum picked up on the imagery as well and it kicked off a wave of speculation as to what the gimmick for the 2022 RPG will be.

One user shared their interesting theory and explained, “Maybe this new gimmick has something to do with type changes or move type changes. My personal theory at the moment is it could be like a Z-move item and change the selected move’s type. Example: Hydropump -> fire item -> fire hydropump”

Another player backed up this idea and wrote, “Scarlet logo is infrared and Violet’s is Ultraviolet. So the logo is light-themed. In the plaza’s art, there’s a rainbow-colored Pokeball at the center, from which all the types radiate, suggesting they have some common source. I will take my chance and say the new gimmick will be playing with the typings, especially employing the concept that the types are on a spectrum.”

While all of this is speculation, the symbol featured on the Japanese logo could certainly be a reference to Pokemon Scarlet & Violet’s new mechanic if past generations are anything to go by.

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Only time will tell what the Gen 9 gimmick actually is, but the trailer certainly has already given fans plenty to comb through.