Pokémon announces new games

During this week’s Pokémon Presents video presentation, Tsunekazu Ishihara — president and CEO of The Pokémon Company — announced the new three new video games: Pokémon Brilliant Diamond, Pokémon Shining Pearl, and Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Pokémon Shining Pearl will launch in late 2021, and Pokémon Legends: Arceus will launch in early 2022. All three games will be available exclusively on the Nintendo Switch.

In 2006, Trainers were introduced to the Sinnoh region with the release of the Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl games on the Nintendo DS. Players can once again visit the Sinnoh region in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Pokémon Shining Pearl, which are remakes of two iconic Pokémon games. Pokémon Legends: Arceus will introduce fans to the Sinnoh region of old—before the existence of Pokémon Trainers and Pokémon Leagues. It’s in this long-gone era that players will embark on an entirely new adventure to create the region’s first Pokédex.

“Trainers caught their first Pokémon in 1996 and began an adventure that has lasted 25 years,” said Ishihara. “Through eight regions, many different platforms, and countless Pokémon encounters, they have strived to ‘be the very best’. We hope that fans of all ages will enjoy creating new memories while exploring the Sinnoh region in these new games.”

More details about the highly anticipated Pokémon Snap game were also shared in the video presentation, in addition to information about special in-game events taking place in celebration of Pokémon’s 25th anniversary.

Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Pokémon Shining Pearl

Developed by ILCA, and directed by Junichi Masuda (Game Freak) and Yuichi Ueda (ILCA), Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Pokémon Shining Pearl enable fans to experience the original story and game features from Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl in a fresh way.

The original games have been colourfully revitalised for Nintendo Switch. The sense of scale of the towns and routes has been carefully preserved, and fans who played the original games will recognize many familiar places. These games are updated with the easy-to-understand, player-friendly conveniences introduced in recent Pokémon core series video games, in addition to up-close-and-personal Pokémon battle scenes.

Trainers will choose either Turtwig, Chimchar, or Piplup to be their first partner Pokémon before setting off on their journey. Along the way, they will be able to encounter the Legendary Pokémon Dialga in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and the Legendary Pokémon Palkia in Pokémon Shining Pearl.

Details about the in-game Pokémon were provided by The Pokémon Company:

Turtwig
Category: Tiny Leaf Pokémon
Height: 1’4″
Weight: 22.5 lbs.
Type: Grass
Ability: Overgrow

Made from soil, the shell on Turtwig’s back hardens when it drinks water. Turtwig lives along lakes, and the leaf on its head will wilt if the Pokémon is thirsty.

Chimchar
Category: Chimp Pokémon
Height: 1’8″
Weight: 13.7 lbs.
Type: Fire
Ability: Blaze

Chimchar lives atop craggy mountains and can agilely scale sheer cliffs. Even rain can’t extinguish its fiery rear end, which is fueled by gas made in its belly.

Piplup
Category: Penguin Pokémon
Height: 1’4″
Weight: 11.5 lbs.
Type: Water
Ability: Torrent

Because it’s very proud, Piplup hates to accept food from people. A skilled swimmer, its thick down protects it from the cold as it dives for over 10 minutes while hunting.

Dialga
Category: Temporal Pokémon
Height: 17’9″
Weight: 1505.8 lbs.
Type: Steel/Dragon
Ability: Pressure

Dialga appears in Sinnoh-region myths as an ancient deity and has the power to control time. It is said that time began to move when Dialga was born.

Palkia
Category: Spatial Pokémon
Height: 13’9″
Weight: 740.8 lbs.
Type: Water/Dragon
Ability: Pressure

Described as a deity in Sinnoh-region mythology, Palkia has the ability to distort space. It is said to live in a gap in the spatial dimension parallel to ours.

For more information about Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Pokémon Shining Pearl, visit https://diamondpearl.pokemon.com/en-us/.