August 2021 Pokémon Presents: Everything Announced

On August 18, 2021, The Pokémon Company premiered a video detailing upcoming updates and titles in the Pokémon franchise. This included info on Pokémon Unite, Pokémon Cafe Mix, Pokémon Masters EX, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, and Pokémon Legends: Arceus. There was a lot to see, so this post should cover some of the big news all in one place.

linkBrilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl

One of the biggest highlights was a better look at the upcoming Diamond and Pearl remakes. We already knew that the games would be graphical overhauls and updates to the original games, while maintaining a faithful approach to both. Here’s the trailer just for the remakes:

Some of the key additions are Pokémon Super Contests, an expansive Underground, the return of Stickers to customize Poké Ball animations, and the ability to customize the clothes and appearance of the protagonist. Really exciting things!

Character Selection screen for Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. There's a lot more diversity than the original releases.

Sample of the clothing styles, the Leather Jacket Style.

A new feature that’s entirely new to the remakes is the inclusion of special areas in the Grand Underground. Depending on what type of statue you put in your secret base, you can access areas that spawn specific types of Pokémon, for example a fire-type area. Some Sinnoh Pokémon will only spawn in these areas, so be sure to check them out!

The Pokémon spawn on the overworld, which has fans wondering if they’ll appear shiny like in Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee. We’ll have a guide at some point about how to shiny hunt these areas.

The Fire-type Lava area in the improved Undergound.

They’re also launching a limited-edition Palkia and Dialga-themed Nintendo Switch Lite. It looks pretty nifty, but I wouldn’t recommend getting it unless you need another console.

As a bit of speculation, they showed a cinematic with Palkia and Dialga at the end where their bodies started shining. Is this an indication of new Primal forms, like Kyogre and Groudon? Or some kind of new mechanic that will be worked into the story? I guess we’ll have to wait and find out.

linkPokémon Legends: Arceus

The biggest set of information comes from Legends: Arceus. The new trailer that was shown for the game revealed a significant number of new features. I’ll make a bullet point of some of them and include a few screenshots as well.

• The game takes place in the Hisui region, which is the precursor for Sinnoh
• The premise of the story takes place in a time when Pokémon existed separately from humans. Our job will be to research Pokémon and learn their habits and behaviors
• Multiple new forms and evolutions of previous Pokémon were announced.
• • Wyrdeer – evolution of Stantler that is Normal/Psychic type
  • Hisuian Growlithe – a regional variant of Growlithe that is Fire/Rock type
  • Hisuian Braviary – a regional variant of Braviary that is Psychic/Flying type
  • Basculegion – an evolution of Basculin that is Water/Ghost type
• Ride Pokémon will be used to fly in the sky, run across the land, and swim in the water
• Some event will happen that causes wild Pokémon to become enraged
• Jubilife Village is the hub town, and it actually includes a pretty large cast of characters
• Crafting items (especially Poké Balls with Apricorns) makes its debut
• The protagonists are named Akari and Rei
• Professor Leventon will have you complete the (hand written) Pokédex
• Galaxy Expedition Team is who you work for, and they’ve got clear designs similar to Team Galatic from the original Sinnoh games
• Captain Cyleene is the leader of the Survey Corps for the Galaxy Expedition Team
• Commander Kamado is the leader of the Galaxy Team and is an ancestor of Professor Rowan
• We’re going to have to catch a lot of wild Pokémon to complete various challenges and perform studies

Here’s a handful of pictures from the trailer:

Wild Pokémon in the water

Galaxy Team HQ with Captain Cyllene

A store of some kind in Jubilife Village

A set of challenges for completing the Pokédex

The crafting screen, shows a few different Poké Balls

Hisuian Growlithe!

Hisuian Braviary

Wyrdeer, the evolution of Stantler

Basculegion

And then the trailer itself if you want to see what went down:

linkOther News

Here are a few other points in case you’re interested in them:

• Pokémon Unite launches on September 22nd on mobile
• Mamoswine and Sylveon were revealed as the next playable Pokémon in Unite
• Pokémon Café Mix is being updated and renamed to Pokémon Café Remix with new levels
• Pokémon Masters EX will have lots of new legendary content
• Galar Pokémon will start appearing soon in Pokémon GO
• Pokémon HOME will be able to connect to Legends: Arceus and Brilliant Diamond and Shining Peal in 2022
• Ranked battles in the main series games will continue in Sword and Shield

And that’s about it. It’s quite a bit, but it seems like we’re getting lots of really cool stuff in the near future. Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl look absolutely beautiful, and it’s amazing the amount of polish that we managed to get in a few short months. Those launch in November, so get ready! Legends: Arceus looks like a really unique spin on the series and looks so much better than it did. It’ll be interesting to see how things improve in the near future before it releases in January!