Nintendo just released a brand new trailer for Pokemon X and Pokemon Y into
the wild, and you know what that means! It's time to start up the old analysis
machine and see what secrets it might be hiding.
Now I know we say this a lot, but the trailer itself really doesn't actually
show that much, but fortunately Nintendo also released some more information,
including a picture of the world map that we'll also be analyzing.
And to do so, we again consulted our resident Pokemon Master Derrick Bitner
to uncover every secret Pokemon X and Y might be hiding.
And with that, let's get started
The trailer opens up with another look at the game's main city, which
Nintendo has revealed is known as Lumiose City, in the region of Kalos, and it
appears to be larger than any city in any of the previous Pokemon games
And if we take a look at the regional map, we can see the city is located
pretty much smack-dab in the middle
And that's for good reason, as it appears the region was designed using the Hub and
Spoke model as a base, with routes that radiate outward from the city center toward
different destinations along the region's perimeter
In fact, if you've been to Disneyland, then you already know how this works.
And Lumiose City even has its own version of Disneyland's castle at the very
center, in the form of an iconic tower
So based on this, it appears you'll be visiting Lumiose City frequently
throughout the adventure, as you'll likely pass through it on your way to many
of the region's destinations.
Now we've already mentioned in our previous analysis that the tower bears a
suspicious resemblance to the Eiffel tower, suggesting a heavy French, if not
general European influence, and this is reinforced by most of the city's
citizens wearing berets, which are commonly associated with france and other
European countries.
And if we compare the region's map to that of France, we can see the two look
remarkably similar in shape, right now to the Ocean on the left and land to
the east
Interestingly, in a recent press release, Nintendo referred to this region as
also being in the shape of a star--albeit a crudely drawn one.
Now what's interesting about this is that a Star has 5 points. And if we look
at the Lumiose city, it appears to have 5 circular areas that might mark 5
different routes that radiate outward
And if we take a look at this gameplay clips from the trailer, we can
see the trainer entering the city through what appears to be one of those
paths.
But did you notice the number on the wall designating it as path 5? That might indicate
that not only are there 5 paths in total, but it also might be referring to the route
number, meaning routes 1-4 might all lead from the city as well
Now let's get back to that map, as it reveals a ton of potential details
about your journey through the Kalos region.
Some of which are kind of obvious, like this giant desert just west of town.
But did you notice this is the same desert revealed in the previous trailer,
right down to the three dome-structures?
Now before we speculated this might be some kind of lab or research facility,
and while that may still be true, the map hints at something else.
Because it appears that one of those dome structured appears to be built on
top of a lava pool--maybe it's harnessing it for geothermal energy? And those
wind turbines sure do seem similar to those used in real-life to generate
electricity
Could we be looking at a power plant? Or maybe a research
lab that requires vast amounts of energy?
Regardless of what it is, at least we know where it is. And that's not the only scene
from the previous trailer we can place on the map.
Remember this riverside clip? Well, based on the placement of the flowers, it
appears to take place here in the southwest.
And then there was this clip of the same girl leaving a large mansion. Based
on the bridge, we think that's taking place at this southeastern location.
But it's not only the old locations we can place. In the new trailer, we got
a glimpse of a small town area with a fountain. Which appears to take place
just southeast of the city, by the similarly colored buildings, and yes, even
a fountain in the center.
So that about covers it for the locations shown so far that we can
confidently place, but what about all the locations on the map that we
haven't seen yet. We think we have some ideas of what they have in store for us.
First up, let's take a look at this tiny town to the north. We have a
sneaking suspicion that might just be where you start your game, based on
its tiny footprint and isolated location.
If we're right, you'd probably start in one of these 4 buildings and then meet with the
Professor at his lab in what could be the northern building here to get your first Pokemon.
And by the way, did you notice the large tree here with a giant clock built into it?
We can't help but wonder if that clock might actually display the real time, meaning that
the real-time clock from past games might be returning as well, where the world would
change depending on the time of day you were playing at
But one thing we don't think is returning are seasons, and here's why.
Did you notice this area appears to be themed to the autumn season? Well, if we look around
the map, we can see the other 3 seasons are represented too.
We have summer with the desert and beaches, winter with the snow-covered area to the east,
and spring in the flower-rich southwestern area, which is a level of diversity we haven't
seen before outside of actual seasons, which would make their presence a little redundant,
if not confusing.
Okay, but that's enough about seasons--let's look at some more of nearby areas.
There appears to be a windmill in that winter area we just mentioned. Could that be home
to the Ice Gym?
And if we look at the opposite side of the map, we can see a cathedral-like structure
that bears a suspicious resemblance to the notre dam. We can't help but wonder if this
might be where this clip from the first trailer takes place, due to the high ceilings--could
this be the fire gym?
And just south of that is a strange stonehenge-like structure on the Westside, which further suggest
France won't be the only European influence on the game's world.
Now let's take a look at this mysterious mountain castle to the east--could this be the location
of the Elite Four? It's pretty out of the way, and this path leading up to it might
just be Victory Road. But we're really just guessing.
Finally, if you look close, you might have noticed a bunch of caves throughout the map,
but did you the one here along the shoreline? If that indeed is a cave, then that likely
confirms that the Surf ability, which allows you to ride a water-type Pokemon is back too.
And speaking of riding Pokemon, one of the clips in the trailer shows the trainer riding
one of the newly announced ones, Gogoat, through the city.
Now according to a recent Nintendo press release, it seems like you'll only be able to do this
in specific parts of the city. But why? After all, the first trailer already confirmed you'll
have roller skate shoes to get around faster--what's the purpose of riding Pokemon? Maybe you'll
need to ride a Pokemon to get to certain points in the city? Or maybe there are events that
require that you ride them, like a race? We're not really sure.
But it seems that riding Pokemon through town isn't the only change in how you'll
be getting around!
If we take a look at some of the latest screenshots, we can see that trainer
appears to be facing diagonally--which if you've played previous games in the
series, is a pretty mind-blowing addition, as you've always been locked to a
grid and only able to move in the four primary directions.
In fact, if we take a look at this scene from the trailer, we can see the
trainer adjust his running path every so slightly, further suggesting that you
might finally have full freedom of movement.
And that's not the only thing you might have more control over.
Now we've already pointed out in our previous analysis that the camera
appears to be far more dynamic than before, but the new trailer hints at the
fact that you might actually have some limited control over it too
Take the opening scene for example, where the camera starts on your profile,
but then eventually pans upward. In Pokemon Black and White, the camera only
changed when you moved between areas or during specific situations, so it's
possible it's actually actually being controlled by the user here
Especially because many of the camera angles featured here appear to be far
too cinematic to actually be playable--look, that poor girl's going to be run
into something because the player can't even see where she's going! Which
means these probably aren't automated.
But did you notice how the girl eyed the coffee shop as she walked past? It
seems that trainers will automatically look toward points of interest, similar
to Link in the Zelda games, which is a cool addition.
Okay, that's enough about the city--let's talk the new Pokemon themselves!
First up, we have the three starters that we knew about before: Chespin,
Fennekin, and Froakie.
But thanks to the new images, we now know a little more about them:
specifically, their starting moves and the moves they'll be learning early on.
It looks like the moves that Chespin will starting with, or learning early on
are Tackle, Growl, Vine Whip, and Rollout
Simialrly, Fennekin's set up is Scratch, Tail Whip, Ember, and Howl
And then we have Froakie with Pound, Growl, Bubble, and Quick Attack.
So that covers it for the old new Pokemon, but let's take a look at the New
New Pokemon.
First up we have, the normal/electric-type Helioptile. Who we see using
Parabolic Charge, which is a new move that attacks everything nearby and then
restores Heloptile's health by half of the amount of damage inflicted
Next is Fletchling, a normal/flying type, who we see here using Flame Charge,
which not only inflicts damage, but makes him faster each time
Then there's the adorable Pancham, a fighting type, seen here using Parting
Shot, which decreases your opponent's attack and special attack effectiveness,
while also allowing Pancham to swap out with another Pokemon during the
battle.
And finally, there's the Grass Type Gogoat, not to be confused with the
delicious-type, GoGurt. Here we see him using Horn Leech, which allows him to
deal some pain, while recovering half of that damage back as health
And that covers it for all of the actual Pokemon shown in the trailer, though
did you notice the statue in the fountain in this clip appears to be of
Roselia? Yup, seems she'll be back too as well as her evolution types.
And while we're on this image, is that a gym in the background? Oh, and if we look at this
artwork, we can see that it appears Marill will be back as well
Now even though she wasn't shown, there is still one more new previously
announced Pokemon I want to talk about: Sylveon, which is a new Eevee
Evolution.
And the reason I want to talk about her is because she's so damn
mysterious--after all, the official website hasn't even listed her type yet.
But we think we have an idea, and it might have some deep implications.
It's been theorized by some fans that she's actually part of a brand new type
of Pokemon: the Fairy type. She is pink after all.
But we think we now have some solid evidence
If we take a look at every other eevee evolution, we can see their names all
follow the same structure: Descriptive term+eon. The fire one's Flare-eon, the
water one Vapor-eon, the grass one Leaf-eon, and so on and so forth.
But what about Sylveon, what could the Sylve part actually mean? Nothing as
it turns out. It's not actually a word.
Buuuut, it sure sounds like another word that's spelled pretty similarly, and that word is
Sylph. And its definition is a mythological elemental being that inhabits air, and has
even been referred to as fairies of the air.
Sounds to us like we might have our first new Pokemon type since Gold and Silver!
And we're not done yet. Let's take a look at that map again.
Do you see that weird pink structure on the east side? Its colors look similar to Sylveon,
don't they--almost fairy like. And what's that icon on the front--sort of looks like
a Pokeball, could this be the fairy-type gym?
Okay, we're nearly done here, but as usual, there's still just a few final
details left.
First up, is your trainer. Now we already knew you could play as a boy or a
girl, but according to the recent screenshots, it seems you'll also be able to
choose from one of a few different styles for each one.
And as we speculated in our previous analysis, it's now been confirmed that
you can indeed customize your trainer, by trying on new outfits and
accessories.
And speaking of the trainers, if we take a look at this screen with the boy
trainer, we can see someone who looks suspiciously like the girl trainer in
the background even down to the pink bag hanging off her right arm. The only
thing she's missing is her hat. Perhaps the trainer you don't choose goes onto
become your rival, or factors into the story in some way?
Then we have the screenshot, where the black button icon confirms that pokemon
accessories and ribbons are back too.
And if we zoom in on the corner of this screen, we can see that
you'll once again find Pokeballs out in the field that contain items--which
isn't entirely unexpected, but it's nice to know.
Finally, there seems to be a pair of odd-looking things in the background here--they almost
look like baby GoGoats. Could these be their pre-evolution form? Or is it just a weird
planterbox thing--it's really hard to tell
And with that, we're done covering everything we could dig up on Pokemon X &
Pokemon Y.
As usual, let us know if we missed anything by posting in the comments.
Thanks for watching and make sure to stay tuned to GameXplain.com for more on Pokemon
X & Y and other things gaming too!