As Pokemon Scarlet and Violet gear up for their encore, with two DLC parts set for release later this year, fan theories are already getting a head start. In particular, many are speculating about the lessons Game Freak could learn for its starters and their evolutions in a tenth Pokemon generation. Just like with Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, new Pokemon games are always the focus of fan speculation thanks to things like the new box art Legendaries or the real-world inspiration behind the region. The player's choice of starters and their final evolutions are also among these discussions, especially when they wind up becoming virtual mascots for the games.
With over nine generations of Pokemon games, and even more final starter evolutions thanks to Hisuian regional evolutions from Pokemon Legends: Arceus, there are many things Game Freak could keep in mind when developing its next game. With Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's starter evolutions in particular, there are various details to consider to either carry forward, adapt, or outright avoid for Gen 10's own final evolutions. Ranging from the choices between single or dual types to how new gameplay gimmicks might affect their design, the starter evolutions of Pokemon's tenth generation should be an improvement over their predecessors.
Learning from Scarlet and Violet's Starter Evolution Designs
When Scarlet and Violet's starters were revealed, fans were quick to point out how similar their inspirations were to previous generations, such as Fuecoco and Totodile appearing to share certain characteristics while Sprigatito was another cat-based Pokemon following Litten. But these similarities weren't limited to just the initial starters, as Scarlet and Violet's final evolutions seemed to lapse into already-seen designs. For instance, Quaxly and Torchic were both bird-based and evolved to have a second Fighting type, while Sprigatito and Litten also gained a Dark type as well. Further, all four final evolutions became bipedal Pokemon, serving as part of an ongoing trend.
The key takeaway from Scarlet and Violet's evolutions when looking back to the series' legacy of Pokemon starters is that Game Freak seems to be revisiting older designs. This could be an unintentional coincidence with Game Freak not limiting itself if it feels it has a good design, but there is the sentiment that revisiting fan-favorite designs is an effort to ensure new starter Pokemon and their evolutions become equally popular. For instance, there has been an increase in humanoid final evolutions as seen with the Galarian starter evolutions, suggesting that these are preferred over more animal-like Pokemon for their marketability.
What Gen 10's final starter evolutions should learn from Scarlet and Violet and beyond is that their designs should endeavor to put some creative distance between them and previous generations. One option would be to explore more abstract and unique influences for these starters and their evolutions, especially since cats, reptiles, and chimps have all featured multiple times. Future starter evolutions could even focus on unusual animals not yet seen within Pokemon, especially when many options have high demand from the fans, such as a kangaroo, narwhal, platypus, or moose.
Learning from Scarlet and Violet's Starter Evolution Typings
One of the biggest fears among fans for the final starter evolutions is best showcased by the cliched Pokemon type combination of Fire/Fighting. Though Scarlet and Violet didn't encounter this specific pitfall, its own starter evolutions are the latest in a new growing trend that Game Freak should rectify before it's too late. Not only did Quaquaval once again add the Fighting type to the starter evolution line-up in Scarlet and Violet, but Meowscarada's Dark-type and Skeledirge's Ghost-type have already appeared before. Despite the availability of eighteen different options, Pokemon's final evolutions keep using these same three types.
There are several pointers that Game Freak should learn from this, with the most obvious being that future final evolutions should explore alternative type combinations, especially types that aren't yet represented among Pokemon starters. While these type combinations are reflective of their design inspirations and effectively balance against each other's strengths and weaknesses, the lack of variety and creativity in player choice could be detrimental. The alternative to this though is whether Game Freak would try single-type final evolutions again, despite the mixed reception its last attempt received in Sword and Shield.
Learning from Scarlet and Violet's Starter Evolution during Gameplay
Speaking of choosing different Pokemon types, one major component of Pokemon's starters is ensuring that all three are equal to one another. This is so that players' choices are purely preference-based and not strategic, as an unbalanced trio could lead players to all make the same decision about which starter to take. For Scarlet and Violet, Fuecoco seemed to make Scarlet and Violet easy, owing to the limited availability of Fire-types early on in the game, early Gyms with Fire weaknesses, and Skeledirge's powerful and useful Ghost-type once it evolved.
Another of Skeledirge's benefits was due to Pokemon's signature moves for Scarlet and Violet's starter evolutions. Not only was Torch Song a strong Fire-type attack, but its additional special attack boost meant Skeledirge only got stronger. When compared to Quaquaval's Aqua Step, though it was equally powerful it only boosted speed, and with weaker defense stats compared to Skeledirge, the disparities between the final evolutions start to show. For instance, Meowscarada's Flower Trick is arguably overpowered in comparison, as it required no accuracy checks and guaranteed a critical hit. Ultimately, Gen 10 needs to carefully consider how it balances not just its starters, but their evolutions too.
One last area that Gen 10's final evolutions would need to learn from Scarlet and Violet is a little more tenuous. However, after previous generational gimmicks such as Mega Evolutions and Gigantamaxing incorporated these final evolutions, Scarlet and Violet missed out on doing the same for their own starters, especially when considering Paradox Pokemon or the rumored Tera forms accompanying the DLC. Though dependent on future Pokemon gimmicks, including starters and their evolutions within these not only helps introduce the concept to players, but adds to the hype around new games and makes these starter Pokemon feel just a bit more unique and special.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are available now for Nintendo Switch.
