Pokémon is a series that over the years has taken small leaps with each new generation. While one could argue that this was a byproduct of being a dedicated Nintendo handheld franchise, once the Switch came onto the scene, many of us were excited about the possibilities this piece of hardware would provide. Despite the commercial success of Sword and Shield, a part of the fan base was disappointed at how low risk these games were. To this was added the bad taste in the mouth of Brilliant Diamond Y Shin Pearl, which were not the remakes we expected. However, with the release of Legends: Arceus, we saw The Pokémon Company take a risk and come up with something never seen before for this property. It is so with Scarlet & Violet In the distance, which are described as the first open world games for the series, expectations are once again quite high.
In this way, I recently had the opportunity to play in advance pokemon scarlet. Not only was I able to enjoy a small section of the game before its official release on November 18, but some of my doubts were answered, and other questions arose along the way. Considering this generation will be doing something completely new to the series, I’m sure you still have a lot of questions about this installment. If this is the case, don’t worry, here I tell you how the next generation of Pokémon looks
distractions
After what Pokemon Legends: Arceus It gave us the opportunity to explore different areas in a totally free way, the next step for the series was logical, although it took us by surprise. Although many thought that Scarlet & Violet they would go the way of Sword and Shield, in the sense of providing an online adventure with a couple of places to explore without restrictions, the generation that will start next month will offer us a completely open world. This is something that I had the most doubts about. How will an adventure work where the order is chosen by you? Will the structure that we already know be completely eliminated? Let’s go by parts.
In the session that I had the opportunity to participate in, I had access to a certain part of the map, the south of Paldea to be specific. Although on the general map everything I could visit seemed little, the reality was different, and in that initial area there were a good number of tasks to do, and distractions to participate in. I’m not just talking about the different narrative lines you can do, but there were a couple of towns, battles against trainers, different items to collect, and more. One of the areas that I loved the most was the main city.
Unlike other big cities in the world of Pokémon, the capital of Paldea feels alive. Not only does the size of this location exceed what we saw in Motostoke and Hammerlocke in Galar, but there are a huge number of venues. From those focused on the customization of the protagonist, where we find an extensive list of clothing options, as well as hair and face arrangements, as well as a market to buy food that is used in picnics.
Similar to other activities that have evolved since X & Y, Scarlet & Violet they have a way to interact with all your pokémon, and in this case we have picnics. Here it is possible to play, bathe and raise the friendship level of your companions, as well as prepare meals that provide a series of benefits ranging from increasing the power of your allies, to improving your chances of encountering a certain type of wild creature. The fun comes in the form of creating sandwiches, although they actually look more like cakes. For this, it is necessary to obtain material, either in stores or on the road, and you have to participate in a small minigame where it is possible to make combinations with different meats and condiments. It’s so much fun, and I can’t wait to see all the options the game has for us.
the road to victory
Now, the main adventure is divided into three main narrative lines. We have Victory Road, which asks us to travel across Paldea to defeat all eight gym leaders. For its part, in Path of Legends we will have to look for and face different pokémon of great status, such as the totems of Sun&Moonor the noble encounters in Legends: Arceus. Last but not least, we have Starfall Street, where the antagonist team in turn awaits us. As you have probably already noticed, these are tasks that we would usually have to carry out on a mandatory basis in any other installment. However, in Scarlet & Violet you build your path, so you can choose to only do one of these three adventures, or two, or all three, in any order you like.
In my case, and due to the limited time I had, I could only carry out one Victory Road mission, that is, I faced the first gym leader. taking notes of Sword and Shield, not only can you fight against this powerful trainer and that’s it, but you have to participate in a specific challenge that gives great variety to each chapter in this story. Once completed, the traditional combat takes place, and this is the best time to talk about this section.
Although the system of rock, paper and scissors that we know so well is still in place, and Scarlet & Violet not only is it in charge of including new movements, abilities and pokémon never seen before, but here we are presented with the Terastallize transformations. Similar to Mega-Evolutions, Z-Moves and Gigantamax, this is the great mechanic of this installment. On this occasion, each creature has a certain type, Pikachu is always electric, for example. However, with this transformation, Pikachu can now become a Flying-type, and not only make use of more powers, but also remove one of Pikachu’s weaknesses.
The interesting thing is that the transformation of Terastallize is already determined and, at least as far as I know, it is impossible to change this, so it is also possible to have a fire pokémon that has access to a fire change, which only does Make your moves more powerful. While this is sure to make several fights in the campaign very interesting, I can’t wait to see how the competitive community reacts to this new addition that will take mind games to a new level.
Open world?
With each installment, Pokémon makes clear its intention to make its experience much more friendly to new players. This is not only limited to making some mechanics more accessible and easy to understand, but in this case we can see it with the open world. Not only do you have the opportunity to fulfill each of the three narrative lines in any order you wish, but the exploration has been substantially expanded. As you probably already know, in Scarlet & Violet we can make use of the legendary, Koraidon and Miraidon, to go through all of Paldea. These creatures allow us to climb mountains, swim in oceans, run across fields, and soar through the skies. It’s a great feeling to have the opportunity to travel through areas that we traditionally have to walk, or bike, in a way that has become an industry standard. Best of all, the map offers us several surprises.
One of the best moments I had in this early access was launching off a hill and slowly descending while I saw some special things in the distance, and my curiosity immediately took off. The journey from point A to point B is a thing of the past, and it’s quite easy to be enthralled by some of the surprises the game has in store for us.
On top of all of this, my session culminated in a raid battle, where, in the company of two other players, we battled, and eventually lost, to a large pokémon. Similar to Max Raid Battles, Scarlet & Violet They allow us to face giant creatures with the help of up to three friends, to obtain a pocket monster with a specific Terastallize. The interesting thing is that here the battles are in real time, and not in turns. That is, there is a certain time to defeat the opponent, and in that period you can attack or use a command that provides a benefit to your teammates. In case of being stunned, you will have to wait a couple of seconds before returning to action.
I can’t wait anymore
In the blink of an eye, my session was over, and I had a hard time letting go of the controller as I wanted to keep playing, exploring, and fighting. This session managed to answer some of my questions related to exploration, but I still don’t have a clear answer to certain topics. For example, will gyms and other matchups scale in difficulty as we progress through the adventure? However, it became clear to me that Pokemon Scarlet & Violet are the most ambitious games in the series.
Terastallize looks like a breath of fresh air for the combat system. Additional activities, such as the picnic, will occupy several of my hours in Paldea. The exploration and open world don’t just feel new for the sake of it, they work together to strengthen the feeling of encountering something unexpected along the way. I can’t wait any longer, I already want to have the complete game in my hands and explore every corner of this region. Pokemon Scarlet & Violet They will arrive on the Nintendo Switch on November 18, 2022.