Highlights

  • Players can ride Legendary Pokemon like Koraidon and Miraidon, offering versatile travel options with evolving abilities.
  • Scarlet and Violet eliminate the need for HMs and HM slaves, enhancing the gameplay experience.
  • The next Pokemon generation should innovate with mountable Legendaries and avoid reverting to older, less dynamic transportation methods.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet features time travel and the powerful Paradox Pokemon from the past and future. Unlike many prior Pokemon games, players encounter and befriend the Legendary Pokemon early on. This allows players to start forming a bond with the Legendaries quickly.

Most interestingly, the Legendaries can be ridden, making it a breeze to explore Paldea. Gen 10 should not take a step back and return to previous forms of transport, many of which require the use of HMs. Instead, it should take notes from Pokemon Scarlet and Violet and have Pokemon that can transport players anywhere.

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Riding Legendary Pokemon in Scarlet and Violet

In Scarlet and Violet, players can ride the Legendary Pokemon Koraidon and Miraidon. The Pokemon are extremely versatile and can ride over water and glide down from heights. At first, the Legendaries can’t do much but as they eat Herba Mystica sandwiches, they gain more abilities. The Pokemon aren’t just for traversing, however, and Koraidon and Miraidon can be used in battle.

Having players ride the Legendary Pokemon was a good move by Game Freak. It gives players the chance to spend time with the Legendary Pokemon, which allows players to bond with them. Furthermore, it eliminates the need for HMs which can be annoying to use, and it eliminates the need for an ‘HM slave,’ which is a relatively weak Pokemon that most HMs are slapped onto. Such a Pokemon is used for getting past obstacles instead of battling.

Transport in Past Pokemon Games

In past Pokemon games, players have been able to get around with various means including rollerblades, bicycles, the Rotom Bike, and Ride Pokemon such as the Tauros from Sun and Moon. These are good ways to get around the different Pokemon regions. However, none of them are as good as riding the Legendaries of Scarlet and Violet.

Why Gen 10 Shouldn’t Fall Back Into Old Habits

The old mounts and transport methods from past games were fun, but they did come with downsides. They couldn’t glide or climb up mountains, which is something Koraidon and Miraidon can do when they’ve fully powered up. Additionally, the old traversal methods required HMs to get past trees and dark caves. This requires wasting a Pokemon’s move slot on an HM that isn’t particularly viable in battle.

The next generation of Pokemon needs to find a way to reuse Scarlet and Violet’s ability to ride Legendaries, but it has to be done in a smart way that doesn’t feel like a repetition of Gen 9. Going back to old forms of transport would be a bad move, especially after the convenience of Scarlet and Violet’s mounts.

Scarlet and Violet introduce an interesting way to get around while switching up the formula of how Legendaries are encountered. The next generation should also feature Legendaries that serve as mounts, but it needs to be done uniquely. Returning to old means of transport would feel too stale. The next Pokemon game is Pokemon Legends: Z-A, and players may see how Game Freak is expanding on the ideas present in Scarlet and Violet.