The new "Pokémon Sun" and "Moon" trailer may have come out on Tuesday, but it still has fans completely enthralled. What went under the radar, however, was the commercial that came along with it, and it's a pity, as there are quite a bit of potential easter eggs contained within.
Specifically, at the 19-second mark, we see the Japanese boy featured in the trailer being introduced in what is presumably his new school. However, the real action is above him, where viewers may notice eight partial silhouettes posted on the wall.
Did the commercial give us a glimpse of the new gym leaders?
As any Pokémon fan can tell you, every region has eight badges for the player to collect before they go on to battle the elite four. With that in mind, the decision to specifically have eight silhouettes is quite significant. Furthermore, the Pokémon Company is known for including various easter eggs within its trailers, so there is no reason to assume that it didn't do the same in the latest trailer.
If we assume that these are the new gym leaders, then who are they? Four of the eight silhouettes have name cards next to them, which can be assumed to correspond with the person that they are next to. In this case, the first, third, fifth, and seventh ones in the row appear to be named Caitlin, Pablo, Hoku, and Ed, respectively.
This is where things get complicated, though. Pablo and Ed don't raise any flags, but the Hawaiian boy who befriends the Japanese boy at the end of the commercial says that his name is Hoku. This means that it's possible the names on the classroom wall are nothing more than student names. However, the name that should really raise some eyebrows is Caitlin.
As you may remember, Caitlin is a Master Psychic-type Trainer and member of the Unova Elite Four (Gen V), in addition, she is the head of the Battle Castle in the Battle Frontier that appeared in "Pokemon Platinum" (Gen IV) and "Heart Gold"/"Soul Silver" (Gen IV). Having a trainer change positions isn't unprecedented. For example, in Gen II, Koga is member of the Elite Four while Lance is the Champion, whereas in Gen I, they were a gym leader and Elite Four member, respectively. The issue here, though, is that these were essentially promotions, while Caitlin appearing as a gym leader is a clear demotion.
One could make the argument that Blue was demoted between Gen I and Gen II, becoming a gym leader after he served as Champion for a time. However, it's important to remember that he lost the position after Red beat him shortly after defeating the rest of the Elite Four.
Caitlin's appearance as a gym leader in Alola would mark at least two firsts for the series. First is the aforementioned "demotion," and the second is her being the first non-Indigo Plateau Elite Four member to appear in more than two generations (she already made the record when she appeared in more than one).
With all that in mind, it really is possible that Caitlin is simply another student who happens to share her name with a prominent Pokémon character. However, this doesn't seem like an oversight on the Pokemon Company's part, and it appears to be quite deliberate.
Maybe Caitlin is on vacation in Alola? Maybe its a different Caitlin, altogether? We'll have to wait until more info about the gym leaders arrive to know for sure.
