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Pokémon Presents | 8.18.21

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Sinnoh’s past just got a full open-world makeover, and Pokémon fans got the receipts in one 28-minute broadcast.

The Pokémon Company dropped its August 18, 2021 “Pokémon Presents” livestream at 6:00 a.m. PDT, and it wasted no time. In roughly 28 minutes, the broadcast moved through deep-dive trailers, mobile roadmap updates, and anniversary bonuses spanning nearly every corner of the current Pokémon lineup. The headline act was a structural breakdown of Pokémon Legends: Arceus, paired with fresh details on the Sinnoh remakes Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.

• Pokémon Legends: Arceus was revealed as an open-ended action RPG set in the ancient Sinnoh region, now called Hisui, with wild capture mechanics, action-based battles, craftable items, and new forms like Hisuian Growlithe and Wyrdeer.
• Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl confirmed the return of the Grand Underground, Secret Bases, Pokémon Super Contests, Poké Ball capsule customization, and the Style Shop.
• Pokémon UNITE was confirmed to launch globally on mobile on September 22, 2021, with pre-registration rewards and incoming roster additions Mamoswine and Sylveon.

Hisui Rewrites the Rules for Sinnoh

Legends: Arceus is the centerpiece, and the presentation made clear it’s not a remake in the traditional sense. Set centuries before Diamond and Pearl, the game drops players into an untamed version of Sinnoh — branded Hisui — where the region hasn’t yet been mapped or settled by humans. The trailer detailed an open, explorable structure built around catching wild Pokémon directly in the field rather than through the standard turn-based encounter loop, alongside an action-oriented battle system that breaks from decades of series convention.

New and altered Pokémon forms were a major focus, with Hisuian Growlithe and the stag-like evolution Wyrdeer standing out as concrete evidence the game isn’t simply reskinning old Sinnoh assets. Crafting was also confirmed as a core mechanic, letting players build items in the field rather than relying solely on purchases from towns.

Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl Bring Back the Classics

While Legends: Arceus pushes the series in a new direction, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl leaned hard into nostalgia. The broadcast confirmed the Grand Underground and Secret Bases are returning, along with Pokémon Super Contests and the ability to customize Poké Ball capsules through the Style Shop — all features Diamond and Pearl veterans will recognize from the original 2006 Nintendo DS releases, now rebuilt for Switch.

Pokémon UNITE launches globally on mobile September 22, 2021 — with Mamoswine and Sylveon confirmed as the next fighters joining the roster.

The Mobile and Live-Service Roadmap

Outside the two Switch releases, the presentation devoted a chunk of runtime to the mobile side of the franchise. Pokémon UNITE, the free-to-play team battler, was confirmed for a global mobile launch on September 22, 2021, complete with pre-registration reward tiers. Pokémon Café Mix is getting overhauled this fall under a new name, Pokémon Café ReMix, bringing fresh puzzles and additional Pokémon to the coffee-shop puzzler. Fans looking for more trailer breakdowns of this kind can find similar gameplay deep-dives in the Apex Legends: Defiance gameplay trailer.

Pokémon Masters EX marked its second anniversary with a chunky bonus package — 100 free scout pulls for players — plus a new story arc centered on the villainous Team Rocket boss Giovanni. Pokémon GO, meanwhile, got confirmation that Galar region Pokémon are on the way, including Wooloo, Skwovet, and Falinks, alongside the Legendary mascots Zacian and Zamazenta.

HOME Compatibility Locked in for 2022

The Pokémon Company also closed the loop on a lingering question for collectors: Pokémon HOME compatibility for Brilliant Diamond, Shining Pearl, and Legends: Arceus is slated to arrive in 2022, meaning players will eventually be able to move creatures caught in the new Sinnoh titles into the cloud-storage app alongside their existing collections. For fans who enjoy seeing the wider Pokémon universe collide in different formats, the Gigantamax Pokémon battle royale collab is worth a watch for a very different take on the same roster of creatures.

None of the four titles teased in this broadcast — UNITE, Café ReMix, Legends: Arceus, or the Sinnoh remakes — had a firm release date beyond UNITE’s September 22 mobile launch, so the next real marker on the calendar is that global rollout. Everything else, Hisuian forms included, stays locked behind future trailers.