The ninth generation of Pokemon has been revealed to be Pokemon Scarlet & Violet. Here’s everything we know so far, including release date, location, and starters.
Scarlet & Violet is the ninth generation of Pokemon games and was revealed earlier this year. The announcement was a pleasant surprise for fans, as many were expecting additional DLC content for Pokemon Legends: Arceus rather than Gen 9 arriving so soon after.
Trainers will have a lot to digest in the games, including a new open-world region, three original starters, and new Legendaries. In terms of gameplay, it looks like Pokemon Scarlet and Violet will have a lot in common with Pokemon Legends Arceus by continuing Pokemon’s transition into a more open-world RPG adventure.
Here’s everything we know about Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.
Contents:
- Is there a release date for Pokemon Scarlet & Violet?
- Trailers and gameplay
- Open world
- Four-player co-op
- Starters
- Sprigatito
- Fuecoco
- Quaxly
- Pokedex
- Gen 9 region & location
- Pokemon Scarlet & Violet characters & version differences
- Legendaries
- Pokemon HOME connectivity
Is there a release date for Pokemon Scarlet & Violet?
Both Pokemon Scarlet and Violet will be released worldwide on November 18, 2022.
This isn’t too surprising, as Pokemon games usually release around October/November time. As usual, both games will be Nintendo exclusives, released solely on the Nintendo Switch family of consoles.
Pokemon Scarlet & Violet trailers and gameplay
Scarlet & Violet’s reveal trailer from February 27 featured a glimpse at the sprawling landscape of the new open-world region, giving players insight into what the Gen 9 location will look like during the day, in the evening, and at nighttime.
It’s filled with lush greenery and wild Pokemon galore, with the Hisui region’s Hisuian Zoroark confirmed to be in the game, as well as fan favorites from other generations like Lucario, Larvitar, and Seviper.
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A city is also shown, with a giant tower in the middle, as well as the male protagonist and their house and bedroom.
A trailer released during August 2022’s Pokemon Presents revealed that this region is called Paldea. It also gave a first look at the new Terastallizing ability and some rather Legendary motorbikes.
This time, Trainers will be able to create their own TM moves using the TM Machines stationed at each Pokemon Center. TMs can be crafted by trading in League Points that can be earned in-game.
Trainers will also be able to have picnics that appear to be Scarlet and Violet’s version of camps. Here players can play ball with their Pokemon and make sandwiches for lunch.
They can make a variety of sandwiches with different ingredients in a minigame. Sandwiches can then be fed to Pokemon who, if they like the taste, will receive a variety of status benefits, such as extra experience. Sandwiches can also be fed to wild Pokemon to make them easier to catch.
The Terastal Phenomenon will serve as this Generation’s combat mechanic, following in the footsteps of Mega-Evolution, Z-Moves, and Gigantamaxing. It will see Pokemon develop a crystal coating that boosts the power of certain attacks and allow some to change types when they transform.
As for the Legendary motorbikes, the Pokemon Presentation in August 2022 confirmed that the game’s Legendary Mascots, Koraidon and Miraidon, are able to transform into motorbikes and flying machines. This is essentially an enhanced version of the riding Pokemon mechanic from earlier games but takes it so much further.
Players will be able to traverse the vast open world on the back of their Legendary companions and even use them to compete in races online against other players.
The second trailer revealed a lot more:
And you can watch the trailer from August 2022’s Pokemon Presentation below:
A new trailer was also shown during the Pokemon Championship 2022 closing ceremony with a focus on battle mechanics and a new Pokemon.
The October 2022 trailer showed off some new gameplay details, including cooking and making your own TMs.
Pokemon Gen 9 is open-world
In a first for the series, The Pokemon Company has confirmed that Pokemon Scarlet & Violet will have full open-world gameplay.
While Legends Arceus had large sections split into maps that trainers could warp between, Scarlet and Violet will be “seamless.” This means no loading screens for different areas – it will all load in as one.
“Various towns blend seamlessly into the wilderness with no borders,” said The Pokemon Company. “You’ll be able to see the Pokemon of this region in the skies, in the seas, in the forests, on the streets—all over!
“You’ll be able to experience the true joy of the series—battling against wild Pokemon in order to catch them—now in an open-world game that players of any age can enjoy.”
Four-player co-op
For the first time in the Pokemon series, gen 9 will feature four-player co-op, allowing players to explore and battle wild Pokemon together.
While the details are yet to be fully revealed, the second trailer shows four players, with three of them using the game’s starters and a fourth using Pikachu. Interestingly, Pikachu features prominently at the end of the trailer too.
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This could suggest Pikachu is obtainable early in the game. The electric mouse was considered a fourth starter of sorts during the first Generation of Pokemon games.
New starters in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet
The three new starters for Scarlet & Violet were also shown off in the trailer on Pokemon Day: Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly.
| Pokemon | Type | Ability |
|
Sprigatito |
Grass | Overgrow |
|
Fuecoco |
Fire | Blaze |
|
Quaxly |
Water | Torrent |
A 4chan leak that has been circulating on Reddit suggests that Sprigatito will evolve into a Grass/Electric saber-toothed tiger Pokemon with lightning bolt-shaped fangs.
It goes on to say that Fuecoco will gain a more serpent-like body form and will be Fire/Dragon. Finally, it states that the last evolution of Quaxly will resemble some sort of navy admiral and use feathers as swords, it will be Water/Fighting type Pokemon.
While we’re often skeptical of 4chan leaks, it’s worth pointing out that many of the Pokemon Sword and Shield leaks were accurate. All the same, take it with a pinch of salt until we know more.
Scarlet & Violet Pokedex
Like every mainline Pokemon title, Gen 9 will include a full Pokedex with a number of new additions for trainers to complete. The Paldea Pokedex features many ‘mon from previous generations including the Kanto, Johto, and Sinnoh regions, as well as a number of new creatures exclusive to Paldea to catch and train.
At the time of writing, the full Paldea Pokedex has yet to be revealed, but we’ll be sure to update this page as soon as more information is released.
Pokemon Gen 9 region & location
The name of the new Pokemon Gen 9 region is Paldea, a land shaped very similar to the Iberian Peninsula, home to Spain and Portugal. The gameplay and locations also have a distinctly Mediterranean vibe when compared with earlier Pokemon adventures.
There were also several references to Spain in the trailers, namely a huge building that looks like the Sagrada Familia temple, the Plaza de Espana, and the Sanabria Lake. The architecture in the trailer also resembles the plazas of many Spanish cities.
Pokemon Scarlet & Violet Gen 9 characters & version differences
As ever with two Pokemon game releases in a single Generation, there will be some differences between the Scarlet and Violet versions.
In a first for the mainline series, both games will feature a pair of different playable characters, depending on which one you choose. They’re very similar to each other, with contrasting outfit colors: Scarlet’s protagonist wears red and blue while Violet’s is dressed in purple and white.
Each game will also get its very own Pokemon Professor, with Scarlet getting Prof. Sada and Violet receiving Prof. Turo. Each Professor will also wear attire fitting to their version.
The leak that originated on 4chan and was later shared on Reddit suggested that “The region will have two main schools that will play an important role in the plot, depending on the version the characters come from different schools.” Based on the clothing above, we’d guess that the two schools are connected to the game’s versions, Scarlet and Violet.
The leak also suggests that the game’s token rival character will be from an opposing school. Again, take this all with a pinch of salt until more official information arrives.
However, the Pokemon Presentation trailer confirms that the protagonists will be in some form of school. The inclusion of the two separate Pokemon Professors also lends weight to this theory.
Naturally, each game will also feature exclusive Pokemon, meaning players will need to trade with those who own the opposite version to complete the Pokedex.
New Legendaries in Scarlet & Violet
Some of the Legendary mascots for Pokemon Scarlet & Violet, have also been revealed in the second game trailer:
| Pokemon | Type | Ability |
|
Cyclizar |
Dragon/Normal | Shed Tail |
|
Koraidon |
Possibly Dragon/Fighting | Unknown |
|
Miraidon |
Possibly Dragon/Electric | Unknown |
Both Koraidon and Miraidon appear in the trailer at the end, perched on top of a tall structure. Koraidon appears to be a Dragon/Fighting-type Pokemon with Miraidon being a Dragon/Electric-type, but this isn’t confirmed yet.
A pre-evolution for the Legendary duo was revealed during the Pokemon World Championship 2022 closing ceremonies. While Koraidon and Miraidon are mythical beasts, Cyclizar is fairly common and can be found in most households around Paldea.
Chances are, we’ll get to catch Koraidon in Pokemon Scarlet and Miraidon in Violet, and will need to trade with someone who owns the other version to obtain both Legendary beasts.
As both Miraidon and Koraidon will also serve as transport in the game, we’re likely to meet these Pokemon fairly early in our adventure. This means any final climactic battles will be against some new, so far unseen threat – also likely to be a Legendary Pokemon.
Pokemon HOME connectivity with Gen 9
On The Pokemon Company’s official press website, it was confirmed that Pokemon Gen 9 will have Pokemon HOME compatibility.
“After their release, Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet will be able to link with Pokemon HOME, a service that allows Trainers to keep their entire Pokemon collection in one place,” it reads.
“By linking these games with Pokémon HOME, Trainers will be able to have Pokémon from other regions adventure alongside them in [the games].”
Home has now arrived on Pokemon Brilliant Diamond, Shining Pearl, and Legends Arceus – but it wasn’t available at launch. Instead, it required an update before both sets of games could connect to the platform.
So far, we still don’t know if Pokemon Scarlet and Violet will receive day one access to the service. It’s also unlikely that Pokemon from Gen XI will be transferable to older Pokemon Games.
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