Nintendo, The Pokemon Company and Game Freak made a surprise announcement for Pokemon Day and the 26th anniversary of the series on February 27, and announced Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, Gen 9 coming to Nintendo Switch, here is which country it is based on and the hints that reveal this detail.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet was announced on the Pokemon Day showcase with a reveal trailer that initially featured live-action segments, so many fans watching the Pokemon Day stream initially thought it was a new Detective Pikachu project. However, Gen 9 is real as the trailer moved on to show gameplay footage of a brand new region.
Furthermore, the trailer had many hints revealing which real country is Pokemon Scarlet and Violet based on, and we detailed some of these hints below.
Which country is the region of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet based on explained
The new region appearing in Gen 9 and Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is based on Spain in Europe, and there are several hints pointing it out in the reveal trailer.
Hints pointing out that Gen 9 is based on Spain found out by fans
You can find several Spanish cultural symbols in the reveal trailer as pointed out by the Spanish Pokemon community of Centro Pokemon:
The trailer also partially shows a map of the region of Pokemon Violet and Scarlet found in the protagonist's house. If you take a look at that map, it looks strikingly similar to the shape of Spain.
The main town shown in the trailer also looks very similar to Gaudi art, and the giant building shown in the trailer was definitely inspired by the Sagrada Familia.
You can spot many more hints for the Gen 9 region in the gameplay part of the trailer, which we included further below.
Gaudi is pretty much the most beloved Spanish icon in Japan, and his works are often referenced in Japanese media. I'd personally like to cite Takehiko Inoue, the creator of Slam Dunk, who is a huge Gaudi fan and even made a history book based on the artist.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet will be released in late 2022 on Nintendo Switch. What are your thoughts on the fact that we're getting our first Pokemon Spain game after Japan, France, USA, and UK-inspired regions? Let us know in the comments section below!