Credit: Unsplash

The Pokemon Company has revealed the 9th generation of Pokemon games.

Yesterday, February 27, was Pokemon Day, the official anniversary of the release of the first mainline Pokemon video games. To celebrate this day, The Pokemon Company held a brief livestreamed presentation to outline some new features for their existing mobile and console Pokemon games. The real big news came at the very end, however.

At the end of the presentation, The Pokemon Company revealed the upcoming release of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, the newest games in the mainline Pokemon series and the official games of the 9th generation. The games are slated for release on the Nintendo Switch some time in late 2022, most likely around the holiday season.

According to The Pokemon Company, Scarlet and Violet will feature an “open world where various towns with no borders blend seamlessly into the wilderness,” adding that “Pokemon can be seen everywhere in this wide-open world – in the skies, in the sea, and on the streets.”

The Pokemon Company has announced that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, a brand new mainline Pokemon adventure, will be released in late 2022. https://t.co/e1fuaK68Z6 pic.twitter.com/IC8GRGGc5o

— IGN (@IGN) February 27, 2022

The starter Pokemon were also revealed in the trailer: the cat-like Grass type Pokemon Sprigatito, the duck-like Water type Pokemon Quaxly, and the unusual Fire type Pokemon that looks like a cross between an alligator and a pepper, Fuecoco. Based on the names of these starters, as well as some of the architecture and imagery used in the reveal trailer, fans have theorized that the new region in this game will be inspired by the culture and architecture of real-life Spain.

It has not been divulged what the precise extent of differences between the two versions will be, though it has been announced that the player character will have a different starting outfit based on the version.