The Pokemon franchise in general isn’t one for hugely cinematic trailers. The hype for new Pokemon games is more commonly seen in the release of designs for new creatures, and it has been rarer throughout the history of the many games in this world to see a trailer that does much beyond that in terms of exciting fans.
More recently, the Pokemon franchise has had to adapt to the hype-building manner in which most video games deal prior to their release. Since it has become more common to showcase the games better in these trailers, it makes sense that there have now been some truly great trailers in the recent history of the Pokemon franchise. Even if Pokemon doesn't always make sense, it can still be amazing.
6 Pokemon Platinum Trailer
In 2008, it was still uncommon to get such an in-depth trailer for a game as this. The Pokemon Platinum trailer was one of the very first to really focus on which aspects of the game were being improved from previous installments in the franchise. Instead of being merely a TV commercial like most trailers before this, this trailer was a great example of an early trailer that showcased gameplay and made a big deal out of this game instead of generating general hype for the franchise.
Pokemon games had just been showcased previously to this as “the next one” in the franchise in a very lackluster fashion. It was about time for the franchise to start working towards providing an exciting update on what new features would be available in the newer versions of their games. This went double for a game like Platinum, set in the same generation of Pokemon games as the previous releases and in need of an exciting marketing boost to help sales.
5 Pokemon Legends: Arceus Trailer
One of the most completely different games in the Pokemon franchise, setting Arceus in the past when Pokemon and humans didn’t live in quite such harmony was a bold move. The beautifully cinematic in-game shots that were depicted in the trailer for Legends: Arceus was therefore massive in hyping fans.
The stealthier way that trainers could sneak up on wild Pokemon, the bigger focus on in-game graphics which was obvious, and the nice hand-drawn interludes at the beginning and end made for a quiet, but fascinating trailer that ended with the epic appearance of Arceus, God of Pokemon, himself.
4 Pokemon: Sword/Shield Trailer
Sword & Shield was one of the most recent Pokemon releases, and these games had some problems leading up to release, mostly because of the reduced Pokedex size. The focus in this music-focused trailer was on the idea of the central tournament in the game. The cinematic style of the trailer was an exciting aspect.
The trailer also chose to end with the reveal of the three new starters for this generation, which was an adorably fun way to close it out. The three new starters are always the focus of much excitement leading into a new generation of Pokemon games, so this was always going to be a strong finish for such a trailer. It also began to showcase the deep lore of Sword & Shield, which was seriously impressive.
3 Pokemon Scarlet/Violet Trailer
An intriguing choice was made for the most recent generation of Pokemon games, that of bringing back a live-action piece to the trailer that featured a security guard getting blinded by a TV before beautifully cinematic shots of the new games began. While the opening may be strange, the trailer itself showcased a wide variety of Pokemon, which helped with fan criticisms from previous games and managed to show off the beauty of the open world available in-game, which was a first for the franchise.
Again, the trailer chose to end with a brief look at the three new starters and the title reveals, which was a strong choice. The beauty of the new world was apparent immediately, and this was a huge part of making Scarlet and Violet the biggest Nintendo game launch in history, and the DLCs could be just as big.
2 Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver Trailer
Heart Gold & Soul Silver were the second set of remakes in Pokemon franchise history, and it was intelligently done with some cinematic shots of the legendary Pokémon from the second generation to invoke some nostalgia for those particular games before the upgraded graphics were showcased on the Nintendo DS.
This made for one of the best early trailers in the franchise, keeping it short and to the point while also striking with some graphical excellence to entice players of the previous games back into the franchise for an even better version of an experience they had already loved previously.
1 Pokemon: Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee Trailer
Pokemon: Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee utilized one of the last trailers for the franchise to blend a little live-action and animation, as a Pikachu was shown guiding a person toward their TV to play. The focus on Nintendo Switch mechanics in this trailer, as well as the beautiful graphical gameplay that was a definite step upward for the franchise, helped to boost these installments for sure.
Keeping an upbeat piece of music playing instead of going for much narration, and even showing off the ability to catch Pokemon with a real-life Poke ball as the controller, made for some very cool updates for families to play together. All of this was shown rather than just talked about, which is part of what made this trailer one of the very best that the Pokemon franchise has managed to date.