Despite the fact that some Pokemon fans had already guessed Generation 9 was coming this year, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's announcement took the Internet by the storm. Very little is currently known about what Pokemon Scarlet and Violet will entail in terms of new critters and gameplay mechanics, though there are clues about the fact that Generation 9 is likely not going to adopt Pokemon Legends: Arceus' catching system, but will stick to the series' original battles. While Pokemon Legends: Arceus was a small revolution in itself, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet could be an even bigger one.
For starters, Gen 9 is going to be the first time that Pokemon games are getting the full open-world treatment, with Pokemon Legends: Arceus only getting open-world areas across a bigger map with loading screens in between. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are going to have one fully connected world, and even Pokemon Centers are likely going to be out in the open wilds to avoid loading different zones at all times. For this reason and others, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet could get the same treatment as Pokemon Black and White, which acted as a soft reset for the entire video game series.
Pokemon Black and White's Reset, and How it Could Work in Gen 9
Pokemon Black and White were a soft reset for the Pokemon series, as the cycle of Japan-inspired games came to an end and overseas regions began - starting with Gen 5 being inspired by the United States, particularly around the New York area. Similarly, the Mythical and Legendary Pokemon included in games stopped being mainly inspired by Japanese culture in order to better fit their generation's setting. Not only that, but Gen 5 came with a different approach to design as a whole, such as difficulty settings in Pokemon Black and White 2 and the original Black and White Pokedex including only Unovan species before beating the game.
Pokemon Black and White's Pokedex was a great way to handle a soft reset, with the regional Pokedex containing exclusively the 156 new critters introduced for Unova. This is part of what made Gen 5 a lot like Pokemon Red and Blue, which were the first Pokemon games ever and came with a similar number of Pokemon: 151.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet could tackle the issues brought forward by the Pokemon community since the announcement of Pokemon Sword and Shield's cut national Pokedex, and that solution could be another soft reset with a regional Gen 9-exclusive Pokedex (though returning monsters like Magnemite and Seviper do appear in the games' trailer). This would be a good way to reboot the series in a way, with a soft reset that could lead to more interesting gimmicks overall. All modern Pokemon games come with a defining gimmick that was also a way for the critters to become more powerful in battles, such as Mega Evolutions or Dynamaxing.
Many fans are now expecting Pokemon Scarlet and Violet to check the same boxes that past games did through modern releases, but that wouldn't necessarily be what the series needs. Pokemon Legends: Arceus showed that changing the core gameplay loop can be beneficial for Pokemon games, and Scarlet and Violet could take that lesson and run with it. Ultimately, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet already feel like a huge departure from what the series has accomplished so far, and Game Freak should capitalize on that.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are scheduled to release in late 2022 for Switch.
