Pokémon: Let’s Go! gives Team Rocket a starring role

Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee! draw heavily from the early history of the franchise — including the original anime. Ash Ketchum and Gary Oak may be absent, but one of our favorite trios will make an appearance instead. The Pokémon Company revealed that Team Rocket, composed of Jessie, James and Meowth, will show up to antagonize your trainer throughout their adventure.

To be clear, Team Rocket is much larger than these three bumbling minions. It’s run by Giovanni, who — spoiler alert for a billion-year-old game — appears in Pokémon Red, Pokémon Blue and Pokémon Yellow as the eighth and final gym leader. He’s posted up at the early stop Viridian City, bringing the journey to catch ’em all full circle at the end of the game.

But Giovanni doesn’t have that same popularity and recognition as Jessie, James and Meowth do to this day. Meowth was the first human language-speaking Pokémon to ever be seen in the franchise, and the anime went in-depth with both its backstory and James’. (Jessie is a little bit more mysterious.)

Let’s Go! features a faithful representation of the pair, based on the trailer above. It’s nice to see the gang rendered in high-def Nintendo Switch graphics — just like Vermillion City, the third gym stop on the quest that is also introduced in the preview.

Last but not least, the Pokémon Company confirmed one more thing: Mega Evolutions for each of the traditional starter Pokémon will appear, carried over from the mainline Pokémon X and Y. That’s a substantial difference from Pokémon Yellow, the title that the Let’s Go! pairing is based on.

Maybe this is just a minute-long trailer of news drops, but we’ll take even the scraps we can get until the Let’s Go! games launch on Nintendo Switch on Nov. 16. Pore over some new art and screens below.

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