The latest Pokémon games Scarlet and Violet might still be a few months away, but the start of September has brought some exciting news for Pokémon fans: the reveal of a new Pokémon, Grafaiai. This artistic Pokémon uses berry juice to paint colorful patterns on trees, and the reason we know this is through the new reveal trailer for the Pokémon.
Using a nature documentary style to slowly build up to the reveal, the new video from the Official Pokémon YouTube Channel is just the latest to utilize this style, and it's becoming a big hit with the fans. After the Hisuian Zorua and Zoroark found footage trailer for Pokémon Legends: Arceus and the 24-hour stream revealing Galarian Ponyta for Sword and Shield, the nature documentary style seems to be a recurring marketing strategy for the Pokémon Company.
It's a brilliant marketing strategy, to say the least. Pokémon fans are always eager for a new Pokémon reveal, as the popularity of Pokémon leaks can attest to. The added audio in the clip builds up the reveal even further by giving fans some information on Grafaiai's behavior and lore. The narrator explains that this new Pokémon has a specific behavior and how he tracked down the best place to try to film it. Since Scarlet and Violet are intended to be open-world and seem to have the same encounter method as Pokémon Legends: Arceus, this could also double as a clue for trainers seeking this Pokémon. Stumbling across a painted tree in Paldea after watching this video will excite the player, who can anticipate the Pokémon is close by.
The nature documentary also adds depth to the world itself. The fact that someone was able to deduce where a specific Pokémon would be and then set up cameras and motion sensors to catch a glimpse of it is the sort of thing people do in the real world to film animals. That people in the Pokémon world would do the same thing just adds an extra bit of realism to the proceedings. The audio also gives us the pronunciation of the Pokémon's name, thus avoiding pesky issues such as the "Ark-eus" vs "Ar-cee-us" debate. Plus, this makes Grafaiai seem like a real creature -- something that people could conceivably encounter.
Additionally, it's a lot easier to enjoy this particular video than the past two examples. The Hisuian Zorua video suffered a bit from the timing, with the cleaned-up footage releasing not long after the original footage aired. A longer wait time would have built up more intrigue. Not only that, people are still unsure if the character filming actually survived his encounter with the Hisuian Zoroark, which casts a bit of a pall on that particular reveal. As for the 24-hour stream reveal of Galarian Ponyta, while it was accurate as to how real filming of wild animals can be -- a long wait for a very brief glimpse of the creature -- it was still a lot of video to watch for only a few minutes of actual Pokémon sighting.
This clip, on the other hand, is nice and tight at a little under two minutes long, and the only confirmed casualty was the narrator's camera. It's quick and to the point, and is a much more intriguing way to reveal a new Pokémon. With this being the third such video produced, there's hope that this improved way to show off new Pokémon to the fans is here to stay. At the very least, it definitely did its job of hyping up Scarlet and Violet.