It doesn’t take long for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, the next mainstream entry in the Pokémon series of games, to hit the Nintendo Switch.
Introducing the ninth generation of Pokémon games, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet will really change the formula of the series when it arrives in November, taking us to the first fully open world Pokémon we can explore in our spare time.
That’s right. The hub-like open areas we saw earlier in Pokémon Sword and Shield and Pokémon Legends: Arceus are gone. In the region of Paldea Scarlet and Violet, You’ll be able to (opens in a new tab) for “free exploration” in a world where cities blend seamlessly into the wild and the Pokémon of the region can be spotted almost anywhere.
And you’ll definitely want to keep an eye on these Pokémon, as Gen 9 introduces a ton of new (and often cute) Pokémon like Fidough and Lechonk, as well as two new legendary lizards.
Want to know more? Read everything we know so far about Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: ready to chase
- What is this? Another entry from the Pokémon series
- When will this end? November 18, 2022
- On what platforms will it be released? Nintendo Switch
- Where will it be set? Paldea region
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet release date
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet will be released on November 18, 2022.
That’s a pretty surprising release date considering many of us are still playing Pokémon Legends: Arceus, which came out in January this year. This means that in 2022 there will be two major Pokémon games, although Arceus is really classified as a spin-off.
It’s no wonder that Pokémon Scarlet and Violet will be released exclusively on consoles from the Nintendo Switch family, including Switch Lite and Nintendo Switch OLED.
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet trailers
Trailer of the competitive game
In August, a new trailer showed the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet competing against each other. This trailer introduced a new dragon / normal Pokémon Cyclizar, as well as new combat items and a new terastalizing movement called Tera Blast.
Look for a treasure trailer
In the September trailer, we had the opportunity to learn a little more about the three Pokémon Scarlet and Violet questlines, one of which is about a new troubling organization: Team Star.
Paldea region
In the August 2022 trailer, Nintendo and Game Freak gave us the best look at the new region of Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet: Paldea. In the trailer below, you can see the game’s fully open world, take a look at some of the new humans and Pokémon you’ll encounter as you explore, and learn a little more about the three (three!) Story campaigns they’ll include.
The second trailer for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
In the June 2022 Pokémon Scarlet and Violet trailer, Nintendo and Game Freak introduced some brand new Pokémon professors who will start us on our journey and It has been revealed that the game will feature four-player co-op. That’s a lot, so check out it for yourself below:
Teaser trailer for Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet
The teaser teaser for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet was revealed on Pokémon Day, February 27, 2022. In the trailer, we got a glimpse of a new, unnamed region, as well as some of the Pokémon that inhabit it.
We can see Pokémon roaming freely around the world, as well as some of the different biomes offered by the region, such as grasslands, wetlands, cityscapes, deserts, and beaches. It goes without saying that players will experience a lot of variety when they catch Pokémon.
In addition to taking a quick look at the region, players can get a first glimpse of the new Gen 9 primers: Fuecoco, Sprigatito, and Quaxly. Check it out below:
The story of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet take place in an entirely new region: Paldea. Your journey to an Iberian-inspired place will begin at school (Naranja Academy if you play Pokémon Scarlet and Uva Academy if you play Pokémon Violet).
In your school, your character is tasked with carrying out a “special, independent research project” known as the Treasure Hunt. This treasure hunt will set you off to explore the Paldea region, where it is located for the first time in the series.There will be three story campaigns you can start by exploring the game’s open world in any order.
One of these campaigns takes a more traditional path for the Pokémon series, asking you to fight eight gym leaders to collect badges and reach the rank of master, although you can face them in any order.
The second plot shows that you are facing the troublesome organization of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: Team Star. The Team of Stars was formed of the most rebellious students from your school and divided into teams. Each team will have its own boss that you will face at bases scattered across the Paldea region.
Finally, there’s the Path of Legends storyline. In this way, you are helping a new character named Arven find ingredients known as Herb Mystica, an extremely rare Paleon herb that “instantly restores health when eaten”. Finding herbs is only part of the challenge though – you’ll also have to fight the Titan Pokémon guarding them, which are “bigger and stronger than regular Pokémon.”
There is also research on the new professors of the game: Turo and Sady from Pokémon Violet and Scarlet.
They are researching a new terastalization mechanic in the game that allows you to “improve your battle strategies by increasing the power of any moves that are of the same type as your Pokémon’s Tera, or by changing your Pokémon’s weakness.” But more on that below.
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet gameplay
Nintendo and Game Freak also revealed a bit more when it comes to gameplay between Scarlet and Violet. First of all, it will be the first fully open Pokémon title in the world. While previous games played in open spaces, Scarlet and Violet will eventually allow players to “freely explore in a richly expressed open world.” In the game official page (opens in a new tab)confirms that players will be able to explore the world in the order they choose and will not be constrained by the storyline.
Moreover, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet will feature multiplayer with up to four players. We saw it in action in the June 2022 trailer along with Nintendo confirmation (opens in a new tab)“Along with the basic series like trading and fighting Pokémon, you’ll be able to explore different locations of the region in these games with other players. You can discover new Pokémon and explore unknown areas with your friends and family. “
Nintendo does Confirmed (opens in a new tab) some handy new gameplay features that will be introduced in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet to curb the grind. The first is Let’s Go. In games, you’ll be able to have one Pokémon from the ball by exploring the region with you. Thanks to Let’s Go, you’ll be able to send this Pokémon yourself, where it “collects items in the area on its own” and can even participate in automatic battles.
Automatic Battle is another new feature that allows the Pokémon you sent to engage in battles with wild Pokémon without your supervision. You can do whatever you want while your pokémon is in auto-fight mode, and if your pokémon wins, it will earn EXP points and maybe even earn some items.
One of the most striking new features in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is new Terastalizing mechanic (opens in a new tab). The Terastal phenomenon is unique to the Paldea region and gives the pokémon an almost crystal-like appearance. It appears to behave similarly to the previous form shift mechanics in the Pokémon series, such as Gigantamaxing or Z-moves.
According to Nintendo, “The main feature of terastalization in battle is that it changes your Pokémon’s type to its Tera type. Pokémon do not externally show what their Tera type is until they terastalize – a fact you can use to surprise your opponents in battle. Combining Tera Types with different moves and skills can open up almost endless strategic possibilities. ”
A Pokémon’s Tera type can be dramatically different from its regular type, with Nintendo giving an example of one Rock / Dark Tera type being a Ghost. The mechanics can only be used once per battle, but can turn the tide of the battle.
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet attachments
The debate over which Pokémon starter is the best has already begun. We took a look at the new companions for the first time, and as always, the starting types of Pokémon players can choose from are Grass, Fire, and Water.
The Grass type starter is called Sprigatito, an attention seeking Grass Cat Pokémon that has an ability called Overgrow. While active, all Grass-type moves will be buffed by 50% if the enemy Pokémon has a third of its health.
The Fire-type starter is called Fuecoco, a laid-back Fire Crocodile Pokémon that knows Blaze’s ability. Again, this means Fire-type moves are boosted by 50% if the enemy Pokémon has a third of its health.
The water-type starter is called Quaxly, a serious and neat Duckling Pokémon that knows the Torrent ability. As before, this means that the power of Water-type moves will be increased by 50% if the enemy Pokémon has a third of its health.
There is no word on the evolution of these primers, but we can be pretty sure that each starter will have two evolutions. It’s been like that with Pokémon since the first game, so expect the same here.
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Legendary
We were also introduced to Legendary Pokémon and cover stars for each of the games, with Koraidon featured in Pokémon Scarlet and Miraidon featured in Pokémon Violet. One of the most interesting things about these new Legendary games is their new form.
Instead of meeting Koraidon or Miraidon at the end of your journey, they will join you and, according to Nintendo (opens in a new tab), they can “change their forms to better suit what they are doing or the terrain they travel over.” By turning into something like living motorcycles, the Koraidon or the Miraidon can enter Ride, Swim or Glide mode to traverse the Paldea region with ease.
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: the new Pokémon
As for the regular, non-beginner, non-legendary Pokémon that are brand new to Generation 9 games, we’ve also looked at some of them! FROM Pawmi (opens in a new tab)electric mouse pokémon it Lechońk (opens in a new tab) Normal type pork pokémon, so far are all cute.
Below we have listed all the new Pokémon confirmed so far, along with their types and exclusive versions, if applicable.
- Sprigatito (Grass starter)
- Fuecoco (fire starter)
- Quaxly (water starter)
- Koraidon (Legendary Pokémon Scarlet)
- Miraidon (Legendary Purple Pokémon)
- Armarouge (Fire / Psychic and Pokémon Scarlet types only)
- Ceruledge (Fire / Ghost and Pokémon Violet only)
- Cetitan (ice cream)
- Cyclizar (dragon / normal type)
- Fidough (fairy type)
- Grafaiai (poison / normal type)
- Klawf (Rock Type)
- Lechonk (normal type)
- Paldean Whooper (Poison / Green)
- Pawmi (electric type)
- Smoliv (grassy / normal)
- Wiglett (water type)
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet news and rumors
Limited edition console
To celebrate the launch of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, Nintendo has also created a limited-edition Nintendo Switch OLED console with games as the theme. The console is currently available for pre-order and costs $ 359.99 / £ 319.99 / $ 549, though it’s worth noting that it doesn’t actually include copies of the games that need to be purchased separately.