Now it's getting serious

So it looks likely that Pokémon X & Y will be a bit of a success on 3DS. Something to do with the start of a new generation of one of the highest grossing gaming franchises in the industry, so we imagine that Nintendo, developer Game Freak and The Pokémon Company International are preparing bigger cash vaults and planning some money fighting sessions.

Yet everyone wins, because from a fan's perspective this new entry promises much, with a new graphics engine and features that look set to utilise the 3DS in exciting ways. There'll be new 'mon to enjoy, including new types, as well as additional characters. During E3 we brought you the news from the latest CoroCoro magazine on the latest additions, but today The Pokémon Company International has released that same news but with subtle Western variations. The details are largely identicle, but as you can see in the press release excerpt below, some of the names are slightly different.

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More details have been revealed for the newly discovered Kalos region. We now know that Pokémon X and Pokémon Y begins in Vaniville Town, where players will meet four new friends – Shauna, Tierno, Trevor, and Serena (if you play as a boy) or Calem (if you play as a girl).

Also in Kalos, players will encounter the first Gym Leader, Viola, in Santalune City where they will also meet her older sister, Alexa.

  • Litleo is a young, hot-blooded Pokémon that is always ready for a battle. A Fire- and Normal-type Pokémon, Litleo’s red mane blazes with heat during battle, which burns hotter when it battles very strong opponents. Litleo knows a new Normal-type move in Pokémon X and Pokémon Y, Noble Roar. Useful against strong opponents, Noble Roar intimidates targets and lowers their Attack stat.
  • Debuting as a Fairy-type Pokémon along with Sylveon, Flabébé lives atop a flower that it chooses soon after it’s born and will care for its entire life. Players may see different Flabébé holding flowers of different colors when encountering them in the wild. Flabébé is able to draw forth hidden powers that lie within its flower and use those powers in moves while battling. Flabébé knows Fairy Wind, a Fairy-type move debuting inPokémon X and Pokémon Y that summons a wind that blasts an opponent as it attacks. Like all Fairy-type moves, it’s super effective against Dragon-type Pokémon.
  • As Pokémon evolve, they take on new appearances and learn new moves. Pokémon X and Pokémon Y will introduce the Bug-type PokémonScatterbug. Scatterbug knows String Shot, a Bug-type move that can lower the Speed stat of opposing Pokémon. Scatterbug evolves intoSpewpa, another new Bug-type Pokémon that can withstand half-hearted attacks due to its stiff, fur-covered body. Use the Normal-type move Protect at a beginning of a turn to protect Spewpa from moves used against it on that turn. The final evolved form of Scatterbug, which was revealed earlier this week, is the new Bug- and Flying-type Pokémon Vivillon. It’s said there’s a secret behind the colorful decorative pattern on Vivillon’s wings, which it uses to scatter its scales or create a strong wind to attack. Vivillon can learn Struggle Bug, a Bug-type move that lowers the Special Attack of any opposing Pokémon it hits, so the move not only causes damage but also reduces the damage inflicted on Vivillon from certain moves during battle.

You can check out similar details and some scanned images of the 'mon in our original article for the Japanese reveal, and below is an all-new trailer that shows these characters in action. Let us know what you think in the comments section.