The Pokemon Company has introduced a brand new Pokemon in the form of Poltchageist.
The Grass/Ghost-type, which will make its debut in the upcoming Pokemon Scarlet and Violet DLC, is seemingly either a variant or an evolution of the Generation 8 Pokemon Polteageist.
It was introduced via a rather neat trailer that mixes live-action acting with gorgeous animation. The trailer takes the form of a story called "The Haunting Tale of Poltchageist".
In the trailer, we meet a tea master who has dedicated his life to "perfecting the art of the tea ceremony". The tea master is strict and difficult, and during one ceremony, his teapot is cracked. He quickly repairs it, but shortly afterwards, he faints from exhaustion, and it's implied that he passes away.
After that, his tea caddy passes between different owners, until finally, "after many years of neglect", the caddy seemingly develops a spirit of its own. Shock horror, it's Poltchageist! You can see the trailer right here; we can't embed it, but it's worth a watch.
Newly suffused with Poltchageist's mischievous spirit, the tea caddy covers a woman with matcha dust, which "sap[s] some of her strength" as it returns to the caddy.
Poltchageist then flies throughout the world, looking for cracks to heal with its matcha. These include headlights, phone screen cracks, and even Tinkaton's hammer.
It's not currently clear whether Polteageist evolves into Poltchageist or whether a Sinistea must be evolved to get it, but it could also be a convergent species along the same lines as Pokemon like Wiglett or Toedscool.
Either way, the ghostly little critter is quite adorable, and it seems you'll be able to meet it in the upcoming The Teal Mask DLC, which launches for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet on September 13th.
Other new Pokemon that will be introduced in the two-part DLC include the Paradox 'mons Raging Bolt and Iron Crown, as well as Duraludon evolution Archaludon and legendary trickster Ogerpon.
Stay tuned for more on all things Pokemon. Hopefully we'll get to meet a few more new critters before the DLC arrives.