Pokemon Scarlet & Violet Trailer Had Sneaky Reference to Pokemon Black & White

Pokemon released an updated look at the latest installment of the Pokemon series Scarlet & Violet, bringing an exciting new adventure filled with novel Pokemon and easily-missed references. The trailer was released as part of August 3rd’s Pokemon Presents, showcasing the game as its release date draws ever closer.

Scralet & Violet’s trailer gave more details on new Pokemon forms and types along with shots of Paldea’s sprawling environments. Bright and sunny, the new region invites players to traverse its open-world. The game will delve deeper into the open-world RPG genre, giving a Pokemon experience that fans have never seen before.

However, amongst all the shiny new content, a few eagle-eyed Pokemon fans spotted a reference to an older Pokemon game. One NPC in the trailer had a recognizable logo on his shirt that hints back to Pokemon Black & White’s Pokestar Studios.

Pokemon Scarlet & Violet NPCs Reference Pokemon B&W

Pokemon Black & White first released back in 2010, marking the start of the series fifth generation. Placing players in the region Unova, the game brought a number of new features to the franchise: triple battles, fully animated sprites, and Pokemon movies.

Players could create short, cute Pokemon films at Pokestar Studios, located just above Virbank City. Expanding upon Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver’s commemorative photos idea, these films gave players a chance to interact with their favorites outside of battle. These films weren’t just posing minigames – they were battles where players were meant to pick the moves that matched their desired script.

Unfortunately, Pokemon fans have yet to see Pokestar Studios return; however, a few fans spotted the Studios’ logo in the new Scarlet & Violet trailer.

This NPC appeared for just a brief moment, but fans were quick to spot the logo on his shirt. The three-pronged crown looks near-exactly like the Pokestar Studios logo. The original logo is bright yellow and more jester-like, but the similarities are undeniable.

While this NPC may simply be a of Pokestar Studios movies, fans were quick to theorize what it might mean. It may just lend itself to a fun new Pokemaniac NPC design, giving a little nod to Pokemon Black & White. Others are hoping this might hint at a Pokestar Studios return, though Pokemon has not mentioned anything reflecting this. Either way, it’s a sweet way to pay homage to a game that changed a lot for the franchise!

Pokemon Scarlet & Violet is set to launch for the Switch on November 18th, 2022.