As the graphic above taken from the latest promo trailer shows, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are have gotten cover arts, and are available for preorder on Nintendo’s eShop, which is great for those who have already made their minds up.

But as for the promo itself, here it is:

Okay, honest opinion: I’m somewhat underwhelmed. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still looking forward to the next games. It’s that this trailer didn’t get me as excited as the first one. However, it seems my opinion isn’t the popular opinion, as typical Pokémon fans seem to be gushing over the newest promo spot. It does have it’s great qualities.

For one thing, I might be imagining it, but the character models look a lot better, particularly the outfits. I remember that the models for the Pokémon themselves looked great in the first trailer. Also, it’s great to see more natural movements for the human characters.

Speaking of human characters, we have two new professors. They both seem pretty cool, and they seem to have different themes: one is a cave woman, and the other wears a futuristic getup. Also, is that calculus on their dry-erase boards?

The trailer shows 4 different player characters taking off in different directions, showing that as many as 4 players can interact in the same field at a time. This also shows that there will be plenty of customization options for physical features such as skin tone, hair style, and hair color. There are also a handful of clothing options, but I’m still not impressed with them. Something like a studded jacket or round shades would be cool.

The trailer also showed a few new Pokémon, including a pig-like critter named Lechonk, a new Pikachu look-alike named Pawmi, and an adorable little olive named Smoliv. Of the three, I think I like Smoliv more. Maybe because olives are tasty.

The trailer briefly shows a battle scene with the typical options. Apparently, the battles are going to be turn-based, but it’s not clear whether it’s traditional turn-based RPG fare like Pokémon has traditionally done, or something more akin to Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Between the two, I don’t have much of a preference, though Pokémon’s traditional battle formula is pretty well-tested, while the one in Pokémon Legends: Arceus still seems experimental.

After that, we see some trainers running about in environments populated by Pokémon. The environments are great as far as something stylized goes, but certain features might still need work. After all, as we’ve already seen, Pokémon fans can get pretty picky about how well the trees are detailed!

But then, we see the perspective speed along some environments, as though to take us to see some far-off features. If you would have guessed that we’d get to see some new legendaries, you’d be right:

The new mascot legendaries are named Koraidon (the scarlet one) and Miraidon (the violet one). Apparently the themes of these games are past and future.

The models for these Pokémon are pretty well-textured. Also, check out Miraidon’s eyes.

Overall, it’s not a bad trailer. I was a bit underwhelmed, but that’s just me. I suppose it’s only natural that a second trailer for a Pokémon game would reveal more about the region, lore, and characters, and save the nerdy stuff like gameplay elements for another time.

However, those gameplay elements do matter. It’s going to make a big difference, especially to competitive players, whether elements from previous games such as Dynamax, Mega Evolution, or Z-Moves make a return. So far, we haven’t seen a sign of any of that, or of a new battle mechanic.

But I suppose that a Pokémon game that allows for free exploration rather than confinement to linear routes might be a sufficient selling point for me. After all, I’ve been wanting to see this in a traditional Pokémon game for a long time, and Pokémon Legends: Arceus nearly pulled it off.

But as far as the community as a whole is concerned, it seems that GameFreak has done a great job with this new trailer. Here’s looking forward to the next one.