At long last, we got a bunch of new updates about Pokemon Scarlet & Violet. Better yet, they were actually from official sources this time, with Nintendo able to reveal a few things that the leakers hadn’t got to first.
From new Pokemon forms to a good look at the Paldea region, here are the most important things we learned about Scarlet & Violet this week.
Pokemon Scarlet & Violet Shows First Look At New Paldea Region
The region we’ll be running around in Scarlet & Violet finally has a name: Paldea. Sticking with the Spanish theme, Paldea looks like a sun-drenched paradise, and sports a mysterious crater in the very centre of the region. It will be completely open world, and you can do its Gyms in any order. The Legendary Pokemon will be used for transportation, so don’t worry about traversing the whole island on foot.
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Pokemon Scarlet & Violet To Feature Legendaries That You Can Ride Right From The Start
Oh, and that means you’re getting access to the Legendaries from the very start of the game. This might be the biggest departure from previous games in the series in some time, and suggests that we’ll really need them to help us get around. Miraidon and Koraidon will help us explore Paldea by land, sea, and sky, making them incredibly versatile. While this isn’t too surprising (they’re both literally shaped like motorcycles), it is a little weird that Koraidon gallops on foot, rather than use the huge wheels coming out of his chest and butt. Oh well.
Pokemon Scarlet & Violet Introduce New Terastralise Evolution Mechanic
Scarlet & Violet will be introducing another evolution gimmick - teratralising. This will turn Pokemon into a crystal form, charging up their moves and ‘boosting’ their type. It’s not clear what the whole boosting thing means, but it’s possible that it means your ‘mon will be even more effective against types it is strong against, and defence against those it is typically weak too. Every Pokemon will have a Terastralise form too, so no one’s left out.
Pokemon Scarlet & Violet Makes Paldean Wooper First Poison Ground Type Since Gen 1
Wooper will be one of the Pokemon to receive a new regional variant this time around. Even better, it will make it the first Poison/Ground-type since Red & Green all the way back in 1996. Previously, Nidoqueen and Nidoking were the only ‘mon to carry this dual typing, but that will change for good once Scarlet & Violet launches. It’s also incredibly bloody adorable, which is a nice bonus.
Pokemon Scarlet & Violet Seems To Be Missing Some Quality Of Life Features From Legends: Arceus
It isn’t all good news though, I’m afraid. As hyped as fans are for Scarlet & Violet, it was hard not to notice that the games are missing some of the improvements brought in by Legends: Arceus, despite launching almost a year later. For example, even though Scarlet & Violet will be even more open world than Legends: Arceus, it looks like you can’t gain XP outside of battle. Instead, you’re brought to a halt after the battle to watch the XP go up. You’ll also have to sort out new moves as soon as the ‘mon can learn them, rather than be able to do it at your leisure. Perhaps the biggest disappointment, however, is that you once again have to start a battle with a Pokemon to catch it - you can’t just get into a hiding spot and lob some Poke Balls.