DeNA's Pokémon Masters detailed ahead of Summer 2019, iOS and Android release

The next, big Pokémon mobile game, Pokémon Masters, has been detailed in an eight minute trailer over on the official Pokémon YouTube channel. We get a brief glance at some gameplay, as well as details on how the combat will work.

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Quotes from Ken Sugimori, the Executive Director and Art Director at Game Freak, opened the presentation. They reiterated the important connection between Pokémon and their trainers, stating that trainers are as unique as their Pokémon and inferring that the two are equally essential to the world of Pokémon Masters.

We are then treated to a slightly uncanny animation reintroducing core Pokémon and their trainers from the anime and game series.

After that ended (4:32) The Pokémon Company President & CEO, Tsunekazu Ishihara, then began revealing new information on the game. He explained that Sugimori was behind the Pokémon Masters idea, and that the game was to be helmed by Yu Sasaki of DeNA.

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The setting of Pokémon Masters was revealed to be the man-made island of Pasio. Each Pokémon trainer on the island has only one Pokémon with them. This duo, in the terms of the game, are referred to as a Sync Pair — notable because Pokémon duels now take into consideration the trainer of the Pokémon as well as the Pokémon itself.

In Pokémon Masters' story you travel around recruiting other Pokémon Trainers (and by default their Pokémon) to join you in your quest to become the strongest trainer in the land. Combat is real time and features two battling teams of three Pokémon and trainer. In addition to the normal Pokémon combat, each trainer can also perform moves (similar to in core games when you use items) however this also extends to each having an ability. This means that in addition to the 3vs3 combat you effectively have three support units to each side.

This actually makes Pokémon Masters the closest experience to the Pokémon Anime that the core series has gone. In the anime the trainer's words of encouragement was often the deciding point in larger battles, and loyalty was — subsequently — a much more present thread than in the games.

Pokémon Masters will release on iOS and Android in the summer of this year.