Can Pokemon Scarlet and Violet breathe fresh life into the decades-old series?

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are coming hot on the heels of the latest entry in the franchise, Pokemon Legends: Arceus. While Pokemon as a franchise is fun, what makes it truly special is how the RPG series continues to grow and evolve.

That being said, over the years, things have gotten a little stale, a little stagnant. Thanks to the technological advances and changes made in Pokemon Legends: Arceus, it’s looking like Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is going to change the series in some massive ways.

While fan reception is always going to be mixed when it comes to change, the improvements made in 2022’s entry to the series is going to breathe some life into Pokemon, and give it some much-needed updates.

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Pokemon Scarlet and Violet has created the adventure fans have always wanted

At the end of the day, Pokemon has been about a few things. The idea is that an adventurer leaves home, makes friends, and captures a number of Pokemon, in order to catch them all. The vast majority of these games, despite having a few multiplayer features like online battles, have felt very solitary.

In Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, players will be able to experience this world in a group of 4, and though it isn’t known if this will be available offline, the idea that Pokemon trainers can come together and experience the same world at the same time is a brilliant idea. It’s a vast, open world, which has its roots in Pokemon Sword and Shield, as well as Pokemon Legends: Arceus.

The ability to play with a group of friends, and not have to stress about what progression the other players have/have not made, is a major move. Why is that an especially big deal? Because there is no set order when it comes to the gym challenges.

In addition, players will be able to group up and explore the world at their own will, thanks to starting with a vehicle that can traverse any terrain. Players will be able to come together and adventure however they see fit and aren’t likely going to worry about who has done what first.

The notion that you can travel the world in whatever order you want, and acquire the gym badges in no particular set order? Now that’s one of the biggest changes to the franchise ever.

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Pokemon Scarlet and Violet has multiple stories and multiple professors

In the typical Pokemon format, players are tasked with collecting data on all of the region’s Pokemon, defeating all of the gym leaders, and becoming the Pokemon League Champion. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet’s developers decided that was not quite enough.

It’s well known now that the game will have three different stories, and just one of them is the typical Pokemon gym battle storyline. It’s not clear what the other stories will be, but they could be connected to the other professors.

This is because of another major change - Pokemon Scarlet and Violet have two professors, depending on which version of the game a player is tackling. Sada and Turo are the Scarlet and Violet professors, and their names are very interesting.

Sada is based on the Spanish word pasada (past), and Turo is based on the Spanish word futuro (future). This could be, in some way, connected to the alleged Paradox Pokemon, which are based on Ancient/Futuristic Pokemon that can travel through time. However, that’s all based on the word of a leaker, and must be taken with a grain of salt.

This is a change for the better in a few ways. As the players will be taking part in a Pokemon academy, it wouldn’t make sense for there to be only one important professor. This way, each version can feel like its own homeroom or group of students, with their own professor to look up to.

There is also a great deal of chatter that they could be important to the story. In traditional Pokemon games, nobody really cares about the professors or other characters. They're seen at the beginning and end of the games, and forgotten about. The possibility of the professors being key to the stories of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is a genuinely fascinating possibility.

The storytelling for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, for these reasons, feels like it has the potential to be deep and engaging.

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The legendaries are actually useful and encountered early

Legendaries are one of the coolest parts of a Pokemon game, and Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are no exception. In this game, there are Koraidon and Miraidon, each of which resembles a motorcycle.

Koraidon and Miraidon transform so they can transport the player across the water, over the grasslands, up cliffs, and even fly! This eliminates the need for having an HM slave in Pokemon, so players can build a party that they want to have, not a party they need to, just to traverse terrain.

This was also improved upon in Pokemon Diamond and Pearl’s remakes but was changed again. The mount system also came from Pokemon Legends: Arceus and has once again found a way to make this system better and breathe a bit more life into the franchise.

These changes represent more than simply updates to Pokemon as a whole. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet’s changes breathe new life into the series as a whole. They take core concepts about Pokemon that have felt stale and improved them.

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Multiplayer will be improved, the storytelling will be enhanced, and there will be so many things to see and do in the upcoming Paldea region. While players don’t have all of the information quite yet, it has given many fans hope that this will be the definitive Pokemon experience.