Scarlet and Violet Get New Competitive Play Trailer – New Pokémon, Moves & Items

Can't wait for Scarlet and Violet to drop? Well, now you have something new to marvel at in the meantime.

With just under three months until the release of Scarlet and Violet, Nintendo, Game Freak, and The Pokémon Company have amped things up with a new trailer. Or, to be more specific, a new competitive play trailer. 

Who's That Pokémon?

Meet the Mount Pokémon, Cyclizar. A Pokémon that has lived in many Paldea region households since ancient times, it’s common to see people riding Cyclizar!

Fun fact: It can sprint at over 70 mph while carrying a human! #PokemonScarletViolethttps://t.co/4aXR8qx58p pic.twitter.com/2jzUBYecRH

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) August 21, 2022

The trailer reveals a brand-new Pokémon, the Dragon/Normal Type Cyclizar. With the reveal of this bicycle Dragon came to reveal of a new move: Shed Tail.

New Moves and Items

Image Source: The Pokémon Company

Essentially Substitute and Teleport in one, Shed Tail creates a Substitute and switches out your Active Pokémon to one of your Bench Pokémon. A move that allows for a safe switch-in has high meta potential. It does appear to take more HP than a traditional Substitute, so there is definitely a risk to using it. 

The new trailer showcases several other new additions to the series, including an item called the Mirror Herb. The Mirror Herb mirrors any of your opponent's stat increases when consumed. While this item likely isn't worth using for a mere +1 boost, it does make plays like Belly Drum or Dragon Dance riskier.

The second new item showcased in the new trailer is one that would make Bandit Keith proud: the Loaded Dice. 

Image Source: The Pokémon Company

Pokémon with multistrike moves should hold the Loaded Dice to have an increased chance for said multistrike moves to hit more times.

While not shown in the trailer, the website for Scarlet and Violet mentions a third new item: the Covert Cloak. With the Covert Cloak equipped, a Pokémon gains protection from the additional effects of moves. That means no more free damage from moves like Fake Out.

True Pokémon Crystal 22 Years Later

I don't think Jesse Anderson will be in Scarlet or Violet, but the Paldea region's exclusive Terastallizing mechanic is turning Pokémon into crystal beasts. 

Image Source: The Pokémon Company

Terastallizing is sure to shake up the competitive meta, giving Trainers the ability to completely warp their Pokémon's types in the heat of battle. It's going to be a while before we understand the full benefits of Tera Types. 

Image Source: The Pokémon Company

Speaking of Tera Types, they come with their own exclusive move: Tera Blast. Learnable by TM, Tera Blast is a Normal-type move that turns into the type of whatever Terastallized Pokémon that uses it. In a way, it's similar to Silvally's Multi-Attack. 

While this all sounds like a potential gamechanger defensively, it does beg the question as to what it will do to a Pokémon's offense. Completely warping your type to shake off a weakness is good, but losing all your STAB effectiveness is not.

We've got three months to theory craft on how the meta will turn out come release day of Scarlet and Violet. There will be plenty of experimenting to do and tons of fun to be had. Mark your calendars.