Pokemon ScarletandPokemon Violetare now only a month away. Fans around the world are gearing up for what may be the most ambitious mainlinePokemontitles yet. After mixed reception forPokemon XandYandPokemon SwordandShield, it seems likePokemon ScarletandVioletwill finally fulfill the promise of an ambitious 3DPokemonadventure. After a requisite prologue sequence to put players on the right path, they will be let loose into the Paldea region and can explore in any direction while tackling three different story lines. Complete with freeform take on cooperative multiplayer,Pokemon ScarletandViolethave opened the door to so much more in thePokemonfranchise.
They didn’t get there on their own, though. Ever sincePokemonmade the jump to the Switch, it has gradually been building towards whatPokemon ScarletandViolethave become. The Wild Areas inPokemon SwordandShieldgave way to the giant maps inPokemon Legends: Arceus, and have finally merged into a true open world in the newest games. Cooperative play was experimented with inPokemon Let’s Go!andPokemon SwordandShield, and has come to fruition inScarletandViolet. Evencrafting has made the jump fromPokemon Legendsto the new games. Much of the Ninth Generation ofPokemonis built on what came before it, potentially including some obscure details involving how the player deals with Team Star.
RELATED:How Pokemon Legends: Arceus is Seemingly Influencing Scarlet and Violet
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Owe A Lot To Pokemon Legends
Pokemon ScarletandVioletinherit a number of mechanics and ideas fromPokemon Legends: Arceusthat have evolved in interesting ways. For one, all battles take place in the world map, and not in a separate battle screen. Every area that a battle takes place in is visible and present in the world, as are all the characters and Pokemon within it. This combines with an enhanced version of something thatPokemon Legendsexperimented with: follower Pokemon. These have been in the series for a long time, but often in a limited capacity.Pokemon Legendsallows players to throw out Pokemon to gather resources, andScarletandVioletwill allow the same. Those who want a preview of how the new games will play out should familiarize themselves withPokemon Legends.
However, there are a couple new wrinkles that turn the old mechanics on their head. For one, the player’s lead Pokemon can seemingly stay in the field indefinitely. This means true follower Pokemon are available much earlier than in some other titles, although the limits are not yet known. Second, and more importantly, this Pokemon can do more than just gather items. When a player tells it to move out with the “Let’s Go!” command, it can run into wild Pokemon itself. The two Pokemon will get into an abbreviated fight without the player’s input, and the normal rewards for winning will apply. AnAuto Battle should alleviate grinding for levelsand crafting materials, but it’s also a key part of the Team Star experience and is just a taste for the new elements therein.
RELATED:Pokemon Scarlet and Violet’s Team Star Continues a Devolving Trend
How Team Star Subverts Normal Pokemon Battling
The villain team inhabitingPokemon ScarletandViolet’s Paldea region is Team Star, elementally themed bands of students who act like G-rated biker gangs. They’re not particularly threatening from a narrative standpoint, but unlike every other villain team inPokemon, they gang up on the player. Assaulting a Team Star base requiresclearing out hordes of Pokemonreleased by throngs of enemy trainers. The player is able to use multiple Pokemon to Auto Battle at once, and must do so to sufficiently impress the team within an allotted time. Afterward, the local gang leader will emerge for a final fight.
The only boss trainer seen so far is Mela, boss of the Fire-oriented Schedar Squad. She looks to be a fairly tough fight for the early game, even though she is only seen with a couple Pokemon in a gameplay preview. Player Pokemon will seemingly be healed in between horde and boss fights, butPokemon Legendshas shown that Game Freakis willing to play a little rougher than usual. While unconfirmed right now, this could culminate in recreations of an entirely new battle format only seen in a boss capping offPokemon Legends: Arceus’ postgame questline.
Starmobiles May Have A Surprise Relationship With A Legendary Pokemon
After the player clears the main story ofPokemon Legends, they get to work filling out the rest of their Pokedex alongside Plate-collecting missions with the enigmatic merchant Volo. After this is finished, the playermeets Volo on top of Spear Pillar, where he reveals that he intends to steal the elemental Plates and contact Arceus himself. After a tough fight against a recreation of Champion Cynthia’s team, Volo pulls out his ace-in-the-hole. His mad quest was provoked by the sealed Giratina, which immediately engages the player after Volo is defeated. Furthermore, when the player seemingly wins, Giratina regenerates and powers up into its Origin Forme. This makes for a stunning eight-Pokemon boss fight, the longest in the series by far.
Players who have reached Volo came away with good impressions of the fight, so Game Freak may attempt to add this format to other games. Gym leaders and Totem or Titan Pokemon won’t work well with it, so a rule-breaking villain team is the best bet. There has been no obvious indication of Team Star pulling this trick out, but fans have noticed something odd about the first team leader. Mela’s Starmobile vehicle has an engine that is clearly a Pokemon, but even though marketing material has clearly shown it, it has never been addressed. It may be that this creature will jump out to become the player’strue final opponent after Mela falls, and this will become a pattern in all Starmobile challenges.
Promotional material has stated that players will need to defeat the Star bosses’ Starmobiles themselves, which could mean that the bosses will always have at least one more Pokemon than the HUD claims they do. Alternatively,Pokemon Legends’ real-time boss fightscould return in the midst of an otherwise normal fight. It remains unclear how this will play out, but with an exciting mechanic to extend battles laying on the table, it would be a mistake for Game Freak not to use it.
Pokemon ScarletandVioletwill be released on November 18 for the Nintendo Switch.
MORE:Pokemon Scarlet and Violet’s Free Exploration Seems Less So By The Day
