The Pokemon World Championships took place this past weekend, featuring Pokemon GO for the very first time and seeing the best Pokemon players from around the world battling it out. While the Pokemon World Championships were primarily focused on competitive play, the event also saw a new trailer for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet drop, one focused on the game's competitive battles.
The new Pokemon Scarlet and Violet trailer gave fans their first look at some of the new moves that will be featured in the games. It also showed the Terastal phenomenon in action. The Terastal phenomenon, for the uninitiated, is the Pokemon Scarlet and Violet gameplay gimmick. It allows Pokemon to power-up specific types or in some cases, change their type completely. Various Tera types are shown off in the latest Pokemon Scarlet and Violet trailer, with fans getting their first-ever look at the Ghost-type version of the Terastal phenomenon.
In the trailer, Pokemon fans can see Tyranitar Terastallizing into a Ghost-type. Like other Tera forms, the Ghost-type Tera outfits the Pokemon in gem-like armor, and it also gives them a headdress to indicate the type it represents. The Ghost-type representation of this seems to be a generic image of a ghost at first glance, but it actually appears to be a throwback to the very first generation of Pokemon games.
As pointed out by Reddit user thefirefreezesme, the Ghost-type Tera form is near-identical to the ghosts that Pokemon Red and Blue players once encountered in Lavender Town. In Lavender Town, Pokemon Red and Blue players visit the Pokemon Tower, a burial ground for dead Pokemon that is infested with ghosts. Pokemon players see these Ghost-type Pokemon as actual ghosts until they get the Silph Scope, which allows for proper encounters with them.
While it could be a coincidence, this is likely a purposeful callback on the part of Game Freak. After all, Game Freak often makes reference to classic Pokemon games, and even the early days of the Pokemon anime. Various quirks in the old-school Pokemon anime have appeared in video games, so it's clear that Game Freak has a soft spot for the Generation 1 Pokemon games and its associated media.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet will undoubtedly have Ghost-type Pokemon for players to catch, though it's unclear which ones will make the cut. Neither Game Freak nor Nintendo have revealed the full list of Ghost-type Pokemon in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, so fans will have to wait and see on that front.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet launch November 18 for Nintendo Switch.
