Ooh, now it's on.
Years of these releases have jaded me somewhat. I didn't get very hyped from the initial reveal trailer. I think it was because, essentially, it didn't show us anything we didn't already know.
I mean, we could have deducted back in 2013 that Gen IX was going to be a thing, and that it would have Grass/Fire/Water-type starters. And that was, essentially, everything the reveal trailer showed us. Practically everything else about Gen IX was unknown in 2013, and it still is. Well, perhaps not the graphics, but after Legends Arceus, we sort-of had an idea about where in the ballpark those would land too.
I think pre-release information generally falls into four categories, before the game is out:
- First, there's the "known knowns" - the stuff we already have pretty good knowledge about, and we know it will be in the game. For instance, we know Pelipper will be in the game, and we already know what to expect from Pelipper. Likewise, the fact that there would be a trio of starters was another known known (for all practical purposes). We know how a trio of starters work, we knew Gen IX would have one, and it's really not possible to draw discussion any further than that.
- Then there's "unknown knowns": Stuff we are familiar with already, but we don't know if it will be in the game. Say, Blastoise, or a character like Cynthia. We know how they work - or at least, we have a quite good idea what to expect from them - but whether they will be present at all is a mystery.
- Third, the "known unknowns": Stuff we know will be in the game, but we don't know what it will be like and we don't have any details. For instance, the evolutions of the starters and their typings. We know they will evolve and probably have a secondary typing, but not which. Although my money is that at least two of them will have one of Fighting/Psychic/Dark/Ghost/Fairy/Steel, for reasons I've gone into elsewhere long ago.
- And finally, the "unknown unknowns". We don't know what it is, and we don't know if it will be in the game. Say for instance the hypothetical Pokémon Squaffle. Will there be a Squaffle, or at least a Pokémon somewhat like it? What will it look like? Typing? Moves? Will it have a Rainbow Ability? What is even a Rainbow Ability? No idea. At that point, we're discussing abstract concepts, not the upcoming Pokémon games. Or perhaps just using the games as a vessel for wishlisting.
For practical purposes, most speculation and discussion (that isn't wild and untethered wishlisting) pre-release will revolve around the known unknowns. Stuff we can expect in general terms, but don't know the exact nature of (sometimes literally so). Like again, the evolution of the starters. But that's pretty much the only "hook" they've given us. As in, a way to attach the unknown to the known, and build speculation.
At the moment, there are just too many unknowns and no knowns - or at least, no ways to tie the knowns to the unknowns. If they were to say "some Pokémon will get a regional form", that would be a good hook, because then we could start filtering the knowns and wonder which of them would be the lucky ones. If they were to say "Mega Evolution is back, and there will be new Megas" - likewise. There would be something concrete to theorize about.
But now, there just isn't much. It's the three starters, everything else is too abstract. We might as well discuss Gen XI instead of Gen IX, because we know pretty much the same about both. And that's not much more than what we could have surmised ten years ago. The previous trailer, effectively, only confirmed what we already expected, and put some faces to the inevitable starter trio.
And that's why I'm so hyped for this next trailer. Because the new information will involve more "hooks", however small. Hopefully, there will be something to build speculation upon, some context to frame the knowns in a new light, anything. I think it's quite unthinkable that we'll get
nothing of substance. In a way, the trailer itself is a "known unknown". Yesterday, I was fairly ambivalent, because I knew nothing about Gen IX. Now I'm hyped, not because I have learned anything more about the game, but because I know when I will know something. Now there are
expectations.