Trailer reference:
Images from the official trailer — © Pokémon / Nintendo / Game Freak
Rewatching the trailer I noticed something about the sketchbook scene.
Across those pages, Pikachu keeps appearing in the drawings — and even outside of them.
Once I noticed it, the whole sequence started to feel less like random concept art and more like the trailer briefly flipping through ideas and mechanics the series has used before.
Things like exploration, traversal, and interacting with Pokémon in the world.
With Pikachu appearing across those sketches, it almost feels like the trailer is showing those systems evolving while the partner Pokémon idea stays the constant.
Interestingly, once the trailer switches to actual in-game footage, Pikachu becomes much less prominent. That contrast makes the sketchbook moment feel like a framing device right before the gameplay reveal.
If that reading is intentional, the sketchbook might actually be hinting that this game builds on a lot of those earlier ideas again.
Maybe that means a stronger companion / partner Pokémon system during exploration.
Maybe it points toward a world where Pokémon interact more directly with the environment instead of just battling.
Or maybe it’s simply the trailer showing that the new region is built on systems evolving from what came before.
Either way, once you notice how that sketchbook scene is framed, it starts to feel a lot more deliberate.
by Visible_Welder5613