‘Pokémon Scarlet & Violet’ has a VTuber gym leader

techcrunch.com:

I didn’t know we needed a VTuber Gym Leader in the Pokémon universe. Then, we met Iono.

Last week, Pokémon released a 14-minute trailer about the upcoming “Pokémon Scarlet & Violet” games, which will mark the ninth generation of the iconic franchise’s main series installments. So this morning, when Pokémon unveiled another teaser for the upcoming games, some fans expected that they’d learn about more new Pokémon species as exciting as Wiglett or Farigiraf. Eager trainers woke up in the wee hours of the morning, waiting for the big reveal.

Instead, they got a three minute video of a bubbly, electric-type trainer jumping around her set, asking her legions of fans at home to guess her partner Pokémon. The Pokémon Company describes her as an “influencer, streamer, and Gym Leader.” We stan a multi-hyphenate queen!

If Iono is as powerful as she is fashionable, then we’ll have a tricky gym battle on our hands. Unfortunately, these games are made for children, so you’ll probably be able to take her out with a solid ground Pokémon… just know even if you beat her in combat, she will likely destroy you with her runway walk, so who’s the real winner here?

— seiishin/izzie @ 428 shibuya scramble (@heart_tailed) October 12, 2022

— Hawk (@hawks_hideout) October 12, 2022

Iono’s characterization screams “VTuber,” or “virtual YouTuber,” the Japanese streaming genre in which creators inhabit a virtual persona, who they animate by using AR face-tracking or motion capture suits. Since Iono already exists within an