Pokémon Presents August Recap

The Pokémon Company unveiled many new games within the most recent Pokémon Presents. Consisting of many updates of varying levels of content to many pre-existing titles like Pokémon Unite, Sleep, Cafe Mix, and Masters EX, while there was not much in the way of genuinely new announcements there was still a lot there for Pokémon fans.

There was not much in the way of genuinely new announcements

Detective Pikachu Returns (2023) and receives a new overview trailer and release date. Coming out October 6th 2023, the sequel to the 3DS sleuthing adventure sees the titular, coffee-loving Detective Pikachu and his partner Tim Goodman solve the mysteries of Ryme City and continue their search for Tim’s father. Using Tim’s ability to communicate with humans, and Pikachu’s with Pokémon; the two work together to find clues and breaks in the case.

*Detective Pikachu* (2016) received a film adaptation in 2019

Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) fans received new content in the form of a brand new animated series. Pokémon: Path to the Peak sees a young girl join her school’s Pokémon club and work her way to the top to become a master TCG player alongside her partner Oddish. Moreover, Pokemon Trading Card Game (1998) that was released for the Gameboy Colour is arriving on the Nintendo Switch Online Gameboy application, with Pokemon Stadium 2 (2000) coming to the Nintendo Switch Online N64 application.

Easily the biggest new announcement of the Pokémon Presents was more information for the upcoming downloadable content (DLC) for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Released in two parts, The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero expands on the Paldea region, introducing both new and old Pokémon to the games, alongside new stories and areas for players to explore.

The Teal Mask takes place in Mossui Town in Kitakami

The new area and story takes inspiration from traditional Japanese culture

The first part of the DLC, The Teal Mask, releases on September 13th 2023. Taking the player to Kitakami under the guise of a school trip, the story of this expansion is based around the folk-tale about the new Pokémon Ogerpon, which can achieve a new form through Terastallization. As part of this the player also meets Okidogi, Munkidori, and Fezandipiti, a new trio of monsters referred to as ‘The Loyal Three’, as well as Dipplin, a third-branch of evolution for Generation 8 Pokémon Applin.

The new area and story takes inspiration from traditional Japanese culture and the story of Momotarō which Ogerpon is directly based on. With this, and what is seen in the trailer, it can be expected that there will be a lot of Pokémon introduced in Generation 2 within the DLC as the Johto region has a similar basis.

Okidoki, Munkidori, Fezandipiti form the trio ‘The Loyal Three’

The second part of the DLC, The Indigo Disk, is still set for a general winter release date. Taking place at The Blueberry Academy, the sister school for whichever academy is present in the version of the game being played, the expansion tests the battle ability of the player in a tournament of trainers. The DLC also sees an introduction of the mysterious new Pokémon, Terapagos, which appears to have some relation to the Terastallization phenomenon, as well as Archaludon the evolution of another Generation 8 Pokémon, Duraludon.

With new Pokémon content being confirmed for the rest of the year for all of the currently available games, there is a lot of variety for Pokémon fans to look forward to in the coming months.

Watch the August Pokémon Presents here: