Pokémon Scarlet and Violet (2024)

Game

Quote “You make me feel, Like my troubled heart is a million miles away... You make me feel, Like I'm drunk on stars and we're dancing out into space... Celestial... Celestial...” — Celestial by Ed Sheeran

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Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are role-playing games for the Nintendo Switch as the first installments of the ninth generation of Pokémon games. The games were first revealed in a Pokémon Presents presentation on February 27, 2022.

Gameplay[]

Scarlet and Violet have open worlds which include urban areas and open wilderness without borders between the two. The games introduce three new Starter Pokémon: Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly; and two new Legendary Pokémon: Koraidon and Miraidon. The game's setting is Paldea. Paldea also had Regional forms such as Wooper. A group of Pokémon called Paradox Pokémon is also featured in the game. Paradox Pokémon are Pokémon from the past or future counterparts to modern Pokémon.

Scarlet and Violet introduce the Terastal Phenomenon, which gives Pokémon a crystalline appearance, as well as changing a Pokémon's type to match that Pokémon's "Tera Type", as well as unlocking special moves such as Tera Blast, which, when used by a Terastallized Pokémon, becomes a move of the same type as the Pokémon’s Tera Type.

The game also features four-player co-op multiplayer, and is the first to do so.^[1]

Setting and plot[]

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are set in the Paldea region of the Pokémon universe, which appears to be loosely based off of the Iberian Peninsula. The colors used for the names of the games, Scarlet and Violet, may also be a reference to the flag of the Second Spanish Republic, since Spain forms part of the Iberian Peninsula. The player visits the Naranja (in Scarlet) or Uva (in Violet) Academy in time for the annual Treasure Hunt, where the rival character, Nemona, encourages the player to explore Paldea and find their own treasure. From there, three stories open up for the player to experience. Starfall Street has the player facing off against a gang of rebellious students called Team Star, the Path of Legends storyline has the player team up with Arven to explore the Paldea region to fight giant Pokémon and obtain the Herba Mystica, and Victory Road follows the series tradition of fighting the region’s eight Gym Leaders in order to face the Champion and become the best Pokémon Trainer. Unlike previous titles in the mainline games, there is no set order for the player to face the Gym Leaders.

Music[]

Main articles: Celestial and Biri-Biri

Toby Fox confirmed that he composed a few tracks for the game,^[2] while Ed Sheeran released a song in collaboration with The Pokémon Company called Celestial, played in the games' credits.^[3]

To celebrate the game's first anniversary, Yoasobi and The Pokémon Company released a song titled Biri-Biri. It was inspired by the game-based short story After the Rain with You, written by Ayano Takeda.^[4]

New Pokémon[]

Main article: List of Ninth generation Pokémon

A total of 103 Pokémon are added to the base game. Walking Wake and Iron Leaves were added in an update. 15 more Pokémon (7 in Teal Mask and 8 in Indigo Disk) are added to the DLC, with the total of 120 Pokémon.

Wooper and Tauros gained Regional forms, while Ursaluna recieved a new form, called Bloodmoon Ursaluna.

Development[]

Marketing[]

A special edition Nintendo Switch OLED Model with themed artwork was released on November 4, 2022.^[5]

On 11 November 2022, eight days before the games come out, a Splatfest themed around the three starter types will be held on Splatoon 3.^[6]

On January 12, 2023, The Pokémon Company released a video to commemorate more than 1,000 Pokémon.^[7]

DLC[]

The games will receive an expansion pass known as The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero, comprised of two parts. The first part, The Teal Mask, releasing in September 13, and the second part, The Indigo Disk, released in December 14. The game will have the player go on exchange trips to the land of Kitakami and attending Blueberry Academy in an interconnected storyline featuring the sibling pair of Carmine and Kieran. The DLC will include 230 Pokémon from previous games. An epilogue to the DLC, Mochi Mayhem, releasing on January 11.

In Part 1: The Teal Mask, the players will be taking part in an outdoor study program and enjoying the festivals of Kitakami. The player will encounter the Pokémon of folk tales (Ogerpon and the Loyal Three) of the area. In Part 2: The Indigo Disk, the player goes to Blueberry Academy, a newer school focused on battling with Terapagos playing an important role. Starter Pokémon and Legendary Pokémon from previous generations will return. In Mochi Mayhem, players will return to Kitakami to catch the Mythical Pokémon Pecharunt. It was implemented along with The Indigo Disk, but it is only unlocked with the unreleased Mythical Pecha Berry key item.

Reception[]

The game got mixed to favorable reviews. The games were praised for their gameplay and story, while also being criticized for the heavy graphical and technical issues present at the games' launch. The open world gameplay was praised. GameSpot writer Jeff Dekker regarded the non-linearity of the games as their "strength", while Nintendo Life described the experience as capturing the "real magic" of the first Pokémon games, Pokémon Red and Green. The latter also praised the story as "wholesome" and offering "genuinely tender moments".

Sales[]

According to The Pokémon Company, Scarlet and Violet are the most pre-ordered titles in the series' history. The game sold 10 million copies worldwide, including 4.05 million in Japan. It was the highest software sales on a Nintendo platform in the first three days and the best launch of any console-exclusive game in history. Scarlet and Violet were the best selling video games in Japan in 2022. By December 2023, the games had sold 24.36 million copies.

Other media[]

Main articles: Pokémon Horizons: The Series, Pokémon Paldean Winds, and After the Rain With You

A new anime series of Pokémon the Series titled Pokémon Horizons: The Series premiered in Japan on April 14, 2023. Ash Ketchum and Pikachu are no longer the main protagonists, instead, Liko and Roy take their place, along with a new Pikachu named Captain Pikachu and the three Paldean Starter Pokémon Sprigatito, Fuecoco and Quaxly. Several characters from the game made appearances in the series such as Nemona and Brassius.

Pokémon: Paldean Winds is an animated miniseries based on Pokémon Scarlet and Violet set in the Paldea region. It consists of 4 episodes. The series was announced on Pokémon Presents on August 8, 2023 and premiered on September 6, 2023 on YouTube.

After the Rain With You is an original short novel based on the games that was released to commemorate the first anniversary of the games' release. It was written by Ayano Takeda, who is best known as the author of Sound! Euphonium.

References[]

External links[]

• Pokémon Scarlet and Violet at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• Pokémon Scarlet and Violet at Bulbapedia, the Pokémon wiki.
• Pokémon Scarlet at GameFAQs
• Pokémon Violet at GameFAQs
• Pokémon Scarlet and Violet at TV Tropes