The Pokemon franchise has had a track record of releasing a new game after a minimum span of one year and a maximum span of two years for the past decade. While it has been great to have so much Pokemon content over the last few years, it has led to some serious drawbacks for the games on the technical side of things. Where other JRPG franchises have been evolving exponentially and improving both in their gameplay and visuals, Pokemon games have barely been able to keep up due to not being given enough development time.
This case has become more evident with the recent release of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, which fans are claiming is riddled with bugs and glitches. Though these games are a step in the right direction for the franchise, there have been many questionable decisions that have been made throughout the development of these games. With the hype surrounding the new Pokemon games, Scarlet and Violet were bound to become the center of many memes as a direct consequence of the choices made by their creators.
7 Graphical Comparison
Fans of the franchise were ecstatic to finally be getting a mainline Pokemon game with an open world where they could encounter Pokemon in the over-world. However, the open world that they received was nothing special compared to other Nintendo titles.
The meme above draws a comparison between the recently released Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and its gorgeous open word with PokemonScarlet and Violet's lackluster excuse for one. The graphics of the game are comparable to a PlayStation 2 game at best, and the frame rate is a mess as well, causing NPCs and Objects to move around with less than 10 FPS at times.
6 Wiglett
Many memes have targeted the new Water-type worm Pokemon, Wiglett, and its appearance, comparing it to Generation 1's own earthworm Diglett. Although the design of both these Pokemon is very similar, Wiglett just comes out on top due to being more derpier.
With its wiggling body and white skin, Wiglett became a fan favorite as soon as it was showcased in a trailer leading up to the launch of Scarlet and Violet. The meme above is of the best ones highlighting the superiority of Wiglet over Diglett.
5 Starters
The starters are always the first bunch of Pokemon to be showcased when the announcement of a new generation of Pokemon games is made. This time was no different, with Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly making the rounds on the internet when the first reveal trailer for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet was released. These three Pokemon have since been the center of many memes and speculation.
In the meme above, the starters are hilariously being compared to other characters, with Sprigatito just being called a new Meowth, Fuecoco looking like a character skin from Among Us, and Quaxly just being a smaller version of Donald Duck.
4 Paradox Forms
By far the most surprising thing about these new games was the reveal of Paradox Pokemon forms, which essentially meant that some Pokemon would be getting new forms. A Paradox Pokemon is an alternate version of a presently existing Pokemon that either hails from the past or lies in the future.
The first Paradox forms that were revealed belonged to Donphan and consisted of an ancient-looking mammoth Pokemon called Great Tusk and a mechanized elephant called Iron Tusk. The meme above throws shade at the three relatives, as they are simply the same Pokemon but from different eras in time.
3 Dividing the Fans Base
The recent games have brought forth tons of new ideas and mechanics, making the gameplay feel refreshing and more fun than it has ever been. However, its constant performance issues, low frame rates, and awful graphics truly hold it back from being ranked one of the best games in the series.
Fans have never been more divisive over a Pokemon game than with these recent ones. The meme above perfectly portrays the frustration of players, who, on the one hand, want to praise the game for its ideas and gameplay but on the other hand, cannot stop criticizing it for being messy and rushed.
2 Themes
Mainline Pokemon games always come in pairs, usually with an underlying and alternating theme. Older games of the series had these themes centered around colors, like Red and Blue, and Black and White, but recent generations have been introducing more creative ones. The most recent pair of games, Scarlet and Violet, though also color based, focus on the themes of past and future, respectively.
The meme above puts things into an even better perspective by highlighting these themes with relevant cartoons. As fans would remember, The Flintstones is a series set in an ancient era, whereas The Jetsons live in a futuristic one.
1 Spoilers
Pokemon being one of the biggest media franchises out there is bound to attract people who are bent on exploiting the new games of the series every time they are about to be released. Such has also been the case with Scarlet and Violet, as people who received an early copy had already started putting out spoilers everywhere on the internet.
The Pokemon, the Pokedex, the areas, the gym leaders, the story, everything has been made public before the official release date of the games. Pokemon games always end up being spoiled by anonymous fans, making it harder for others to enjoy these games to their fullest. This case has been perfectly highlighted by the meme above.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are available now on Nintendo Switch.