Following the culmination of the 2022 Pokémon Worlds tournament in London, Game Freak has teased the next generation of competitive monster battling with a fresh Pokémon Scarlet & Violet trailer showcasing new items, abilities, and a Pokémon reveal. These new additions, as well as the recently announced Pokémon Scarlet and Violet terrestrial Pokémon, mean that the multiplayer meta is going to get a serious shake-up when the next generation of Pokémon arrives.
So, if you haven’t caught the news, we’re here to catch you up on the in-game effects of the new Pokémon Scarlet & Violet items and abilities. Of course, there’s a new Pokémon too in the form of Cylclizar, a speedy dragon/normal-type with a striking resemblance to the box art beasts Koraidon and Miraidon, and this monster shows off one of the new abilities in Shed Tail, allowing you switch out while dropping a substitute on the field.
If you’re a competitive Pokémon player, your mind probably just blew on reading about Cyclizar’s insane suped-up version of substitute, but the new items make the possible meta look even more interesting. Mirror herb is a game-changing held item, mimicking an opponent’s stat boosts if they use a move like belly drum or dragon dance, while loaded dice powers up multistrike moves to guarantee more successfully landed attacks.
These items, as well as Cyclizar’s ability, add an extra layer of strategy to Pokémon’s already nuanced battle mechanics, but the changes don’t stop there. The new tera forms found in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet are type-changing mechanics, making it so you can deny your opponent a super-effective attack by shifting your Dragonite from dragon-type to grass, for instance, and in the trailer below you can see a Tryanitar benefiting from a changed typing.
With that, you’re up to date with the new Pokémon Scarlet & Violet items and abilities. For more on the next generation of Game Freak titles, check out our Pokémon Scarlet & Violet new Pokémon guide.