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Old-school Pokémon Champions Red and Blue return in latest new Pokémon Sun & Moon trailer 【Video】

Krista Rogers Oct 31, 2016
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Ash–I mean Red, have you been liftin’, bro?

‘Tis the season of Pokémon hype, as the Generation VII core games, Pokémon Sun & Moon, are set to go on sale worldwide less than a month from now. Since these latest installments were first revealed earlier this year, the Official Pokémon Channel has been dropping YouTube teasers with sneak peeks on an almost weekly basis, along with new episodes of Pokémon Generations, a series of web shorts spanning the game generations (if you haven’t watched it, get on that NOW).

The channel’s latest trailer for the upcoming games is packed-full with exciting new revelations, including the final evolutions of the three starter Pokémon, an introduction to the four Guardians of the Alola Region, a new Pokémon Cosmog, a new Alola Form of Persian, and even an appearance by Generation I characters Red and Blue (Red and Green in the Japanese version) themselves!

Catch the more-or-less identical trailer in either English or Japanese below (the Japanese version is bit longer), then scroll down for a brief explanation and some fun internet reactions.

▼ English trailer

▼ Japanese trailer

Part of Sun & Moon’s gameplay involves the construction of the Alolan League on the summit of Mount Lanakila, the region’s highest peak. Champions of this League will also be allowed to take on the strongest trainers from around the globe in the new Battle Tree, including Sinnoh League Champion Cynthia, looking sharp as ever, and our old-time friends Red and Blue, who look like they’ve perhaps grown up a teensy little bit!

True to form, Blue can’t help needling Red in the trailer, who remains stubbornly taciturn as in all of his game incarnations. But let’s cut him a little slack this time because maybe he’s just going through some teenage angst, especially since his official Alola artwork update shows that the young trainer definitely seems to have hit puberty at the very least. At least it’s heartwarming to see that Blue’s still sporting his trusty Alakazam in battle, and Red’s got his faithful sidekick–who else, Pikachu–by his side!

Regarding the comeback of fan-favorites Red and Blue, both Japanese and English internet commentary had slightly different directions. First, here are some English YouTube comments:

“Wait, isn’t that Gary from the first anime? I suppose the other one is Ash.” ⇒ [in response] “God, this comment. I am so old.”

“What age would you guess Red and Blue are? I think in their twenties.”

“I cannot believe Red and Blue got married! Wonderful!” (Writer’s note: A joke, but they do seem like an old couple at this point.)

Meanwhile, the Japanese-language comments remained strongly focused on Red’s new appearance:

“Red looks like he’d be popular with foreigners.”

“Red: Now a macho man with thick eyebrows.”

“Is that a 96 on Red’s shirt? That’s the year the Pokémon games first went on sale.”

Pokémon Sun & Moon will be out globally on November 18, except for in the EU with a release date of the 23rd. Longtime Pokémon fans will no doubt feel a little pang of nostalgia when they encounter Red and Blue in the games after all these years!

Source: Pokesoku
Top image: YouTube/Pokémon Official YouTube Channel
Insert images: YouTube/The Official Pokémon Channel