As the ninth generation of main series Pokemon games, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are expected to be a major turning point for the franchise. Following Pokemon Sword and Shield, which received some criticism for being too similar to previous titles and not doing enough to change the formula, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet has been confirmed to be a fully open world Pokemon game, and it's the first non-spinoff title to do so.
With such a large world to explore, the still unnamed, potentially Spain-inspired region of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet should offer more for fans to do than simply catch Pokemon, defeat Gym Leaders, and earn badges. Focusing solely on the traditional gameplay loop could lead to a world that feels empty and a game criticized for being too short and not offering enough unique objectives. One way to counter this potential concern would be the return of the Medal Rally system from Pokemon Black 2 and White 2, which rewarded players for engaging with the game in a variety of different ways.
What Are Medals in Pokemon Black and White?
As the second set of games taking place in the United States-inspired Unova region, Pokemon Black 2 and White 2 struggled to stand out from the original Black and White in many ways. The Medal Rally offered some uniqueness; it challenged players to collect Medals for performing various tasks. Players could earn medals by reporting completed tasks to the Medal Master, who can be found in any Pokemon Center. After earning enough Medals, players can then visit the Medal Office in Castelia City to increase their Rank. A player's Medal Rank is visible to other Trainers via the Pokemon Global Link system.
Medals in Pokemon Black 2 and White 2 were divided into categories: Adventure Medals, Battle Medals, Entertainment Medals, Challenge Medals, and Special Medals. They rewarded players for tasks ranging from walking a certain number of steps or saving the game a certain number of times to completing Funfest Missions and successfully making PokeStudio movies. In particular, Challenge Medals provided players with plenty of late-game content, offering rare medals for battling in the Black Tower and White Treehollow and defeating the Elite Four and Champion while using only certain types of Pokemon. Dedicated medal collectors would find themselves needing to spend time engaging with everything Black 2 and White 2 had to offer, like trading, battling, playing mini-games, and seeking out hidden items.
Medals Are Perfect For an Open World Game
While the Medal system did not return in Pokemon X and Y, Pokemon Sun and Moon, or Pokemon Sword and Shield, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet seem like the perfect opportunity to bring back this long-missing feature. Having medals to earn could encourage players to explore the large world and interact with everything possible, leading them to discover places, items, quests, or mini-games that they might have missed. In addition, it would make the world feel more full by including elements such as hidden items that must be found or obstacles that need to be overcome using particular Pokemon or abilities.
Similar large collection quests have been present in a number of recent open world games, most notably the several hundred Korok seeds available to find hidden across Hyrule in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. These help keep players engaged and exploring even after the game's main quest has been completed. Medals in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet could serve a similar function, ensuring that the game does not simply end once the Champion is defeated. Medal collection would also provide a break from the battle-centric gameplay of Pokemon by including unique new goals and tasks.
The connection between medals and travel would also be a great way to emphasize the open world nature of Scarlet and Violet and just how much space players have to explore. The Medal Rally was inspired by stamp rallies, a common Japanese event where people can collect stamps by visiting certain locations, such as shrines, monuments, or rest stops, and then later exchange those stamps for rewards like clothing, food, and travel-themed goods. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet should definitely introduce something that encourages players to visit every corner of the map and travel great distances, such as the Medals awarded for walking a certain number of steps in Black 2 and White 2.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus Paves the Way for Medals to Return
Recently released spinoff title Pokemon Legends: Arceus, which took players to the ancient Hisui region, drew strongly from the open world genre by introducing a number of explorable areas that players could traverse on foot or by enlisting the aid of Pokemon such as Wyrdeer, Basculegion, and Hisuian Braviary. The game's developers clearly understood that a game with so much space to explore would require gameplay elements beyond catching Pokemon and completing the main story, which involved calming frenzied Noble Pokemon and identifying the source of the chaos.
Legends: Arceus achieved this by introducing research tasks for players to complete as a member of the Jubilife Village Survey Corps. While some research tasks were simple and merely involved battling or catching Pokemon, others called for specific scenarios like witnessing Pokemon use certain moves in battle or investigating appearance variations among certain species. It also featured a "collection quest" mechanic in the form of Wisps, which were hidden around the map and needed to be collected in order for players to summon and capture the rare Ghost-type Pokemon Spiritomb.
So far, trailers for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet have not shown off the return of Medals or any similar system. In fact, very little has been shown regarding the games; only a handful of new Pokemon and some non-player characters such as the two new Pokemon Professors have been revealed. However, there are still several months remaining before Scarlet and Violet's November release, and it is likely that more trailers will be released with more information about the gameplay, possibly including something like Black 2 and White 2's Medals or Legends: Arceus' research tasks and wisp gathering.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet will release on November 18, 2022 for the Nintendo Switch.
