Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Officially Reveals New Pokemon

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet has officially revealed Grafaiai, a new mammalian Pokemon who likes to paint on trees. Grafaiai uses berries to mark on trees, which serves as both a way to mark its territory and lure other Pokemon into traps. The color that Grafaiai uses on its markings depends on the color Berry it eats. Grafaiai is a Poison/Normal-type Pokemon that’s described as the “Toxic Monkey” Pokemon. It has poisonous saliva and its Abilities are Unburden and Poison Touch. You can check out the teaser for Grafaiai below: 

Grafaiai appears to be modeled after the Aye-Aye, a long-fingered lemur native to Madagascar. The Aye-Aye is an endangered species who notably taps on trees to find grubs, one of only a few species that uses “percussive foraging” as its primary way of gathering food. 

The Pokemon was teased in social media posts earlier this week with pictures depicting distinctive ring-like markings on trees. These trees were based on the Oba Forest, a famous piece of modern art located in the Basque region. Interestingly enough, the equivalent region to Basque appears on the official map of the Paldea region, with a thick forest of trees.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet will be set in the brand new Paldea region, which is based on the Iberian Peninsula in Europe. The new games are the first open-world Pokemon games, with players able to explore the region without any set routes to follow. The games will also feature the Terastal phenomenon, a new battle gimmick that crystallizes Pokemon and boosts their attack power related to one specific type of attack. While most Pokemon will have a “Tera Type” that matches one of their two Pokemon types, some Pokemon will have alternate types, which opens up a world of possibility in battles.