Pokemon Scarlet and Violet have already shown fans how the next generation will reinvent the series, with one change to be introduced being the shift from League Cards to Profiles. While many players' focus has been on longstanding traditions broken by Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, like adding auto battles or two version-exclusive Professors, they will also rework the League Card feature introduced in Pokemon Sword and Shield, and this new feature could greatly expand the creative freedom that prior Cards limited.
League Cards added a fresh dimension to customization when it came to engaging with the online community, but there were a limited number of poses, expressions, backgrounds, and more. Naturally, players gravitated toward rarer, better-looking effects, defeating the point of having choices when it came to sharing with friends. Profiles in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet will not only include most of what League Cards offered, but also allow players the freedom to pose where and whenever they like for a photo, even including their favorite Pokemon in the Profile.
Why League Cards Were Introduced
Fundamentally, League Cards were introduced in Pokemon Sword and Shield as a proxy for the Trainer Cards seen in earlier games. Both fulfill the same function of showing how much the player has progressed and related details, but ultimately League Cards were more versatile for online sharing. It added an option for player customization, something Trainer Cards didn't offer beyond basic cosmetic items. The new dimension to League Cards gave players the opportunity to show their personalities and encouraged playing with others by letting players collect other League Cards.
The change to League Cards was likely influenced by Pokemon Sword and Shield's region, which focused around the in-universe equivalent of British soccer through details like massive Pokemon Gyms mirroring stadiums. Paralleling Pokemon's popular trading card game, soccer also has trading card games that show athletes' statistics much like League Cards. Just as athletes pose for their cards, so can players pose for their League Cards. But as Game Freak has seemingly recognized, the League Cards were a good idea that ultimately offered limited player freedom.
How Scarlet and Violet's Profiles Improve Over League Cards
While Profiles appear to be a return to the Trainer Card format that scrap the regional inspiration of League Cards, they seem to be a best-of-both-worlds compromise. Profiles will once again assume the function of letting players broadcast details such as how long they've played or how complete their Pokedex is, but players will also be able to customize how their trainer looks for the Profile and take pictures anywhere across Paldea, including with their favorite Pokemon if they desire.
Going by its namesake, it seems Game Freak is approaching the need for Trainer Cards as if it were a social media platform, capitalizing on the online connectivity of the Switch and giving each player a "Profile" to represent their characters online. It makes sense that Game Freak recently unveiled Scarlet and Violet Gym Leader Iono as a streamer, reinforcing the game's new relationship with online communities and cultures. In fact, Profiles could prove so successful in letting players express their creativity that it may spawn an internal Pokemon social media network for fans.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are set to release on November 18 for Nintendo Switch.
