5 things in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet that will differ from Legends: Arceus (& 5 things that will be the same)

With the release of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet inching closer with each passing second, trainers worldwide are getting ready for their next adventure. However, many fans have started drawing parallels between these upcoming titles and the recently released Pokemon Legends: Arceus.

This title often comes up when discussing the upcoming set of games due to Legends being the first in the series to change the standard Pokemon formula. Rather than guiding players through linear routes and taking them to eight gyms, Legends takes a semi-open world approach with a set story.

With the series returning to the standard formula with Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, many players have noticed a few features that have been carried over from the prior game. There have also been some features that players have noticed are unfortunately missing.

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5 features from Legends: Arceus that won't be present in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

1) Overworld catching

It has been confirmed that the feature to catch Pokemon straight from the overworld will not be returning in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. Given how seamlessly the mechanic made Pokemon Legends: Arceus, it is understandable if players are displeased at the thought of having to drop everything they will be doing just to battle a wild Pokemon.

This means they will need to sit through the animation of both creatures readying for battle before another menu shows up, prompting them to throw a Poke Ball.

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2) Multiple ridable Pokemon

From what has been seen so far, only one ridable Pokemon will be available in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.

While the game's mascot Legendary will be ridable, there will be no other creatures players can use to assist them with travel during their journey. Even then, leaks have reported that the Pokemon will only be available for transportation in the late-game.

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3) Upgradable home base

While a minor feature, some may have found it satisfying to have a home village they can return to after every expedition. Like getting home from a long day of work, players would leave the wilderness and return to the Hisui region's slice-of-civilization, Jubilife Village.

More importantly, they can upgrade the various businesses and gardens around the village by completing sidequests. Given the true open world Pokemon Scarlet and Violet will have, this feature will no longer be present.

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4) No trade evolutions

With Pokemon Scarlet and Violet no longer taking a solely single-player approach to its gameplay, it can be inferred that the existence of items that make trade evolutions possible by one player will no longer be present.

This means that they will need to once again give their trade evolution Pokemon a special held item before sending it off, rather than just being able to use the item on their traveling companions like in Legends. While not the end of the world, its still disappointing that this quality-of-life feature will be revoked.

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5) Fast battling UI

One of the man things that led to Pokemon Legends: Arceus being looked upon so fondly in the franchise's community is the focus on making the game faster. To make this so, every animation and scroll of text that would play after the battle was changed to only be shown as pop-ups once the opponent was defeated or caught.

Factors like experience gains and move learning were done either in an optional second screen or shown in a small progress bar in the corner. Forcing players to sit through the process of learning new moves and watching the experience bar slowly progress grinds the game's pacing to a halt, making it a boring experience.

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5 Pokemon Scarlet and Violet features that are returning from Legends: Arceus

1) Hisuian Pokemon

Hisuian Pokemon from Legends have been confirmed to make a comeback in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. When Pokemon Home integration is implemented for the upcoming titles, players will be able to transfer their friends between the games. While many question why these extinct variants are in the new titles, many are just happy to have them back.

It is also entirely possible that their presence may be justified in the upcoming games given their themes of the future and the past. However, the only way to know for sure is to play the titles and watch the story unfold.

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2) Crafting

A screenshot from the Pokemon Scarlet and Violet gameplay trailer (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Though not to the extent of being able to make your own Poke Balls and Potions, it was confirmed in the latest trailer that players will be able to make their own technical machines to teach their Pokemon. It was also confirmed that these will require ingredients collected from defeated wild Pokemon.

Given how recently this new feature was announced, every little detail surrounding TM Crafting is yet to be released.

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3) Large boss Pokemon

A screenshot from the recent Pokemon Scarlet and Violet gameplay showcase showing the new Titan Pokemon (Image via The Pokemon Company)

In Pokemon Legends: Arceus, the main objective to progress the story is to battle and calm down the Noble Pokemon of the Hisui region. They are large creatures that oversee one of the many areas of the map. While no longer called "Noble Pokemon," the Titans of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet appear to carry over this philosophy.

Much like the title prior, these games will have the quest to conquer all of the new Titan Pokemon as one of the three main stories for players to complete.

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4) New regional variants

Official imagery of Paldean Wooper in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Not only will Hisuian Pokemon make a comeback in these new titles, but completely original Paldean variants will be arriving as well. While it started with only Paldean Wooper, new forms like Farigiraf and Wiglett will be coming to the titles as well.

While regional variants have been a part of the franchise for a couple of generations now, it is always nice to see fan-favorite features making a return. Now, if only we could see the return of Mega Evolution.

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5) Character customization

A screenshot from the recent Pokemon Scarlet and Violet gameplay showcase featuring character customization (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Finally, it has been confirmed that in-depth player customizaiton will be present in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. While it has been a staple of the main series since the sixth generation, this level of personalization has improved with each title. Not only can players customize their clothes, but their eyes and hairstyle as well.

For new additions, they will be able to customize their avatar's finer features such as their lips and eyelashes to name a few.

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Overall, there is a ton of new and returning features for players to be excited about. Trainers will be able to pick up these new titles on November 18, 2022.