100 New Pokémon Minimum
Adding new Pokémon in each generation is the driving force behind selling millions of copies. Fans eagerly await the announcement of the next generation of the Pokémon franchise because they want to go on a new journey, with Pokémon that they’ve never seen before. That’s why the gaming world is going crazy about Scarlet and Violet.
Gen 5 had a whopping 156 total new Pokémon. Then Gen 6 dropped to less than half of that figure with only 72 new Pokémon. Following that, Gen 7 had 88 and Gen 8 had 89. So, Game Freak is coming off 3 straight generations of less than 100 new Pokémon. It’s time to crank that up to at least 100 for Gen 9.
At Least 35 Pokémon with Evolutions
One of the common criticisms of Gen 7 is that many Alolan Pokémon don’t evolve. A huge part of the thrill in beginning a new Pokémon game is not knowing what the little creatures caught early on will become. Many fans go so far as to abstain from watching any trailers because they want every Pokémon to be a surprise. If the minimum for total new Pokémon is 100, then let’s add that 35 of that 100 should evolve at least once.
Fountain depicting a Dratini.
Between 5 and 7 Never Before Seen Type Combinations
Never before seen type combinations are exciting to find in new Pokémon games. Many times, they aren’t shown in trailers, so they end up being a fun surprise mid-game. A good example is Toxel becoming the first Poison and Electric type in Gen 8. So, let’s hope for between 5 and 7 never before seen type combinations in Scarlet and Violet. That leaves plenty of room for future generations to use more. Looking at this list of unused type combinations one that stands out as particularly intriguing is the Bug and Dragon type combination.
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet player running.
Open World Elements
The official Pokémon Scarlet and Violet webpage describes these games as open world. They will likely share many elements with Pokémon Legends: Arceus.
With these new titles, the Pokémon series takes a new evolutionary step, allowing you to explore freely in a richly expressed open world.
So, what open world elements will go into Gen 9? Perhaps side quests to compliment the traditional linear story of main series Pokémon games. Side quests could award rare Pokémon, which would be a fun way of distributing them. It would also be interesting for the gyms to be non-linear. Being able to challenge the gyms in any order would maintain the traditional objective, while adding a new piece to it.
Swablu perched in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.
A Diverse Setting
One thing that fans love in Pokémon Legends: Arceus is the richness of the Hisui Region. A huge part of making good open world games is loading the setting with diversity. Skyrim is a great example of a game with a diverse setting. If an average Skyrim player were to close their eyes, fast travel to a random location, then open their eyes, they’d have some idea of where they were. Sometimes they’d be able to point to themselves on a map, and at the very least they’d have some idea of what hold they’re in. That’s because the setting is so rich that every single area of the map is unique. Hopefully Game Freak will give fans a Pokémon version of that experience in Scarlet and Violet.
Those are just 5 hopes for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Fans around the world must be patient until late this year for the next generation of their favorite series.
(Video by The Black Rose.)
