The ninth generation of Pokémon is finally upon us with Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet. 

This game is a true open world, as you explore the Paldea region, you can go anywhere and do anything in any order you wish. There are three main storylines to follow, the first being Victory Road, which is the traditional gym badge collectathon that ends with challenging the Pokémon League.

Then there’s Starfall Street, a questline that sees you taking out the bases of Team Star, the evil team for this generation.

Finally, there’s the Path of Legends, where you fight Titan Pokémon, large and powerful Pokémon that are made even stronger by the mysterious Herba Mystica. These herbs are said to grant incredible healing powers, but they also boost the stats of the Titan you are fighting, leading to a fun and intense battle.

This generation’s new battle gimmick is Terastilization, a mechanic where your Pokémon sparkle like gems and receive a boost in any attacks that match their Tera type. It should be mentioned that some Pokémon have a different Tera type than their standard typing. 

For example, Eevee, which is usually a normal type, could have a Tera type of fire. Upon Terastilizing, this means Eevee is no longer a normal type and is now a fire type. This ability to change a Pokémon’s typing in a fight shakes up battles as you constantly have to plan for fighting a type you didn’t expect to, the mechanic really breathes some fresh air into the series.

Of course, an open world game can only be as good as the world you can explore and the Paldea region delivers. Filled to the brim with strong and unique Pokémon, I have had a blast so far just wandering around and catching all the cool Pokémon I see. There’s also some great landmarks scattered through the land, so stopping to explore these areas is a welcome break from questing and Pokémon catching.

If you need a break from all the exploring and catching, you can also stop and have a picnic with your Pokémon. While picnicking, you can wash your Pokémon, play ball with them and make sandwiches. Making sandwiches is great fun, I’ve loved buying random ingredients and seeing what culinary masterpieces I can cook up. 

All of the newcomers to the Pokédex are a delight as well. I’ve been using a team made up solely of generation nine Pokémon and they have carried my team through some tough fights.

I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about the starter Pokémon. I ultimately chose Fuecoco and all I will say about its final evolution is both wonderfully designed and incredibly powerful. Quaxly and Sprigatito are both cute and evolve into some truly strong Pokémon. You cannot go wrong with whichever starter you end up picking.

The presence of Legendary Pokémon has also been changed in this generation. Instead of being a late-game encounter, they act as your main method of traversing Paldea. They are filled with personality and are integral to one of the main storylines (although I will not say which one). It’s great to see the Legendary Pokémon acting as agents in the story rather than a shiny mascot for their respective games.

These games also have some stand out music. Whether I’m exploring the overworld, battling, or playing a cutscene, the music added so much life and fun. The Pokémon soundtracks have always been stellar, but Pokémon Scarlet and Violet completely knocked it out of the park with banger after banger. 

These are also some of the best looking Pokémon games released to date. The Pokémon feel like they actually exist in this world, rather than being 3D models superimposed on the world. The designs of the towns are also great, they feel like they are lived in and have culture and history behind them, something I found to be lacking in previous series entries. 

While Pokémon Scarlet and Violet do have some issues, mostly with the lack of level scaling and the framerate and performance problems, they are fun games nonetheless. These issues were never game-breaking for me, so if you can look past them, you are in for a treat. 

Categories: Arts & Entertainment