It has been a little over a month since the official announcement of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, Generation 9 games that will release in late 2022 for the Nintendo Switch. Little is known about the latest installment of the series, but Game Freak supposedly started working on this project a few years ago, so Pokemon Scarlet and Violet could take inspiration from recent releases. Among them, Pokemon Legends: Arceus is probably the most interesting because of its success and the fact that it managed to freshen up the tested Pokemon formula in many ways.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus doesn't change everything that makes up a Pokemon game, and it did pick up both older and more recent threads and gimmicks. This includes Pokemon Outbreaks, which are different in Pokemon Legends: Arceus than they were in other games, both in terms of how they work and when they become available. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet could take some notions from this system, as well as the concept of Alpha Pokemon introduced in Pokemon Legends: Arceus, in which some huge critters run amok and can attack careless players.
Outbreaks and Alphas Would be Good for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet
Outbreaks have been a feature in mainline Pokemon games for a while now, and they typically allow players to go to a specific location to find waves of a Pokemon species. This is mostly useful for two reasons: the first is to complete the Pokedex by seeing or catching rare species; the second is tied to shiny hunting, which is all the more valuable if the species experiencing an Outbreak is one that players are looking for. However, Outbreaks are typically post-game activities, which also held true for Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus makes Outbreaks available earlier in the game, and they function differently. Players can save prior to seeing all the Pokemon that appear in a given Outbreak and reset if there is no shiny critter among them, repeating the process multiple times if desired. This is possible because Pokemon Legends: Arceus has several semi-open areas where monsters can be found, and they spawn in a given predetermined order that players can only break through multi-battles. A similar version of Outbreaks could be beneficial to have in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, rather than limiting them to the post-game.
Alpha Pokemon are even more interesting as a mechanic, and that's because they can be menacing to face if the players' party is underleveled or at a type disadvantage. Battles against Pokemon Legends: Arceus' Alphas tend to be tense, and players can either choose to defeat the massive critter for extra experience and drops or try to catch it. Alpha Pokemon also retain their increased size in the overworld, and they make for a very rare spawn on some occasions, with Alpha shinies being some of the rarest Pokemon around.
The sheer size of Alpha Pokemon and their rare shiny forms could be beneficial to have in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, even if they are tied to the post-game. Because being able to catch different sizes of any Pokemon species could extend the longevity of Gen 9 before DLC becomes a thing, with players trying to get their favorite critters and others in all shapes and forms because it would be noticeable in battle and the overworld. Both Outbreaks and Alpha Pokemon could be a great addition to Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, even if the catching mechanics remain identical to mainline Pokemon games rather than taking elements from Legends: Arceus.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are scheduled to release in late 2022 for Nintendo Switch.
