One fan of Nintendo and Game Freak’s hit Nintendo Switch titles Pokemon Scarlet and Violet found a unique way to pay tribute to the games’ Legendary Quartet, creating animated sprites for each of the creatures in the style of Gen 5 Pokemon. Fans feeling restless after having explored everything the pair of titles has to offer may soon learn more about new content coming to Paldea if recent leaks about Pokemon Scarlet and Violet DLC are to be believed.
While gamers unfamiliar with the franchise may assume that the creatures gracing the covers of the various Pokemon games are the star attractions, for dedicated franchise fans one of the biggest challenges throughout the series is discovering the non-mascot legendary Pokemon hidden in each title. Dubbed the Ruinous Quartet, details of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet’s Legendary Quartet leaked ahead of the game’s release late last year, ruining the surprise for some players eager to discover the rare Pokemon for themselves. With their unusual appearances, the Ruinous Quartet stand out even among some of the stranger Pokemon familiar to long-time fans of the franchise.
A short video shared to the r/Pokemon subreddit shows user R3dd1t_D4v1d’s unique take on Pokemon Scarlet and Violet’s version of the Legendary Quartet, depicting the 4 powerful creatures as animated sprites in the style of the Gen 5 Pokemon games. Bristling with detail even in their pixelated forms, each member of the Ruinous Quartet looks like it would be perfectly at home in one of the Nintendo DS Pokemon titles. While short, the video does a great job of showing off both R3dd1t_D4v1d’s impressive artistic skills and their love for the Pokemon franchise.
Fans of both Pokemon Scarlet and Violet and the franchise’s earlier entries were impressed with the adorable animation, with one Redditor stating that the video “perfectly captured the Gen 5 style.” Feeling nostalgic for the DS-era entries in the hit Game Freak series, another response wistfully offered up their opinion that the Gen 5 Pokemon games represented the peak of animation for the franchise. Even one user who admitted that they typically hate the Gen 5 sprites “with a passion” complimented R3dd1t_D4v1d on their impressive work adapting Pokemon Scarlet and Violet’s Legendary Quartet to Gen 5’s decidedly more low-res style. Aside from some minor criticisms about the coloring and animation of some of the creatures, the adorable animation received near-universal praise from the r/Pokemon posters.
When a franchise has been around for as long as Game Freak’s Pokemon series has, it only makes sense that some fans would want to see the latest titles as they would have appeared in days gone by. This charming animation does a great job of honoring the series’ history and is sure to please fans of the old-school Pokemon games, and anyone else who enjoys a good Gen 5 Pokemon makeover.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are available for the Nintendo Switch.
