Tag: violet:
PSA: Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Spoilers Have Begun to Leak
Pokémon Scarlet & Violet spoilers have made their way into the wild
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As first spotted by the folk over at VGC, Pokémon Scarlet & Violet spoilers are currently doing the rounds, over a week prior to the game’s release.
The Pokémon Company is particularly strict when it comes to protecting its games from being leaked far and wide, not wishing for the experience to be spoilt for any player. That said, someone seems to always find a way to do just that.
In just January of this year, Pokemon Legends: Arceus was released. Yet, the game found itself in the hands of multiple players prematurely via piracy, and various streams and content regarding the game were out there long before the game officially released. While nobody has started to stream Pokémon Scarlet & Violet early, it’s sadly no exception when it comes to leaks.
Beware: Pokémon Scarlet And Violet Leaks Early | GameSpot News
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Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Gimmighoul Story Trailer
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Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Gimmighoul Reveal Trailer
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Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is brilliantly ambitious, but possibly too much for the hardware it has to run on.
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^Stay tuned for our extensive video preview with brand new footage!
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is a return to the mainline series, but it brings over a lot of elements from the Pokémon Legends Arceus spin-off which came out at the start of this year, including the open-world flourishes that many compared favourably to Breath of the Wild.
Our resident jRPG and Nintendo fanatic Alex Donaldson had an extensive hands-on session with the new game and found a compelling, active world to explore full of series innovations alongside more traditional touches. Classic Pokéball catching makes a return, and so do Pokémon Centres, but these are also dotted arouind in the field in the form of outside kiosks. Modern convenience! Read his full preview here.
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet hands-on: Monster catching remixed
Over the course of Pokémon’s first eight generations, the number of catchable monsters is nearing 1,000. And yet in that same time, the basic formula for the series’ gameplay has largely stayed the same (aside from some small tweaks or offshoots like Legends: Arceus). But after getting the chance to preview Pokémon Scarlet ahead of its official release in November, it feels like GameFreak has remixed a ton of longstanding tropes in a way that brings a new spark to its next release.
Starting off with the Paldea region (which draws inspiration from the real-world Iberian peninsula), Pokémon Scarlet and Violet expands on previous games (most notably Legends Arceus and the Wild Area in Sword and Shield) by offering a fully open-world design. This means there’s no set path when it comes to taking down gyms, which gives you much more freedom to choose where you want to go and in what order. On top of that, to help traverse the world, you get access to the game’s legendary Pokémon (either Koraidon or Miraidon, depending on which version of the game you choose) very early on, instead of having to wait until endgame to catch them like in previous titles.
Even the gyms themselves have gotten an update, with the trials that you need to pass in order to battle Brassius (the leader of the Artazon gym) taking place around town instead in a single room or building. The impact of this is that the world of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet just feels more vibrant and lived in, which adds a new dimension to how you experience the game.
Of course, there’s much more to Pokémon than just gym battles, as riding your legendary Pokémon lets you literally run, jump and fly across the landscape. As you explore Paldea, you’ll encounter wild monsters roaming the region, which you can choose to battle or avoid as you see fit, though you’ll run into some random battles as well. There are even rare Titan Pokémon that you need to battle multiple times to best as you try to complete your Path of Legends, which is a separate story branch from your gym battles and run-ins with Team Star. And while you’re out exploring the world, if you don’t feel like directing combat yourself, you can bring out your lead Pokémon to find items or auto-battle other nearby monsters (with the fight taking place off-screen).
Scarlet and Violet’s open-world design also means there are more places to run into Team Star (this generation’s Team Rocket equivalent). During one event, I had to break my way into a barricaded compound while using the new auto-battle system to take down 30 different monsters before my team ran out of HP. After that, I had to battle one of Team Star’s leaders while she rode a huge vehicle, which had a massive health bar to match. Meanwhile, standard combat still consists of turn-based battles with each monster having access to four different moves. And when it comes to catching wild Pokémon, your best bet is still to whittle down their health with attacks and status ailments before tossing a Pokéball at them. There’s no need to aim your throw like in Legends: Arceus.
But for Scarlet and Violet Gamefreak has added a new twist called Terastallizing, which allows a Pokémon to change their normal type to its hidden Tera Type. Take for example Tyranitar, which is normally a rock/dark type but changes to ghost type when Terastallized. This unlocks new ways to punish your enemy’s weaknesses while also giving you access to the new Tera Blast TM so you can take full advantage of your Pokémon’s more powerful altered state.
Alternatively, for people who like more cooperative fights, there are four-player Tera raid battles that allow you to team up with friends to catch Pokémon with rare Tera types. And unlike traditional combat, there’s no turn order to follow. You can spam moves to your heart’s content and if you get knocked out, you can cheer on your fellow trainers while you wait to be automatically revived. As someone who has long thought Pokémon’s core combat system has needed an update, raid battles are a lot of fun as a break from the main story, even if they do feel a little button mashy.
And these are just some of the bigger changes. Gamefreak has tweaked a lot of other mechanics in a way that makes the whole franchise feel fresh again. So let me list a bunch here rapid-fire style. Instead of the standard eight gym badges to collect, now there are 18. Character customization is way deeper and can be changed at any time from the standard menu screen. Also, other trainers won’t initiate a battle on sight as they have in the past, you actually have to walk up and engage them on purpose. There’s even a new auto-heal feature that uses potions from your inventory to recover HP after battle, which saves you time sifting through menus over and over again. And what could have the biggest impact on Pokémon battles in Scarlet and Violet is that now you can now craft your own TMs.
So while I only had a little more than an hour to play Pokémon Scarlet during my preview, I’m really happy to see Gamefreak mess around with its traditional format. The world is big and beautiful, there are now three main storylines that you can complete as you choose and there are a lot of other remixes and quality-of-life changes that make the series feel like it’s gotten a reno and a fresh coat of paint. And we haven’t even talked about all the new Pokémon yet.
I normally always go with the plant-type starter, but this time around I already know I’m choosing Fuecoco. There’s something about his goofy toothy grin I just can’t ignore. Then there’s Lechonk, which is a masterful play on words, and one of your rival’s main Pokémon Pawni is so cute and fluffy that I almost can’t handle it.
Honestly, I can’t remember the last time I was this excited for a new mainline Pokémon game. My only small concern is that I did notice a bit of frame-rate choppiness in some areas, which could indicate that Scarlet and Violet’s new open-world design is really taxing the Switch’s horsepower. However, since my time with the game was in a development build created for this preview and not a full retail version, it’s difficult to say if we should expect similar performance upon release. Regardless, I can’t wait to play more when Pokémon Scarlet and Violet officially go on sale for the Nintendo Switch on November 18th.
Pokemon Scarlet & Violet hands-on: Lessons from Legends & Returning Traditions make this a fascinating, revolutionary new entry
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Pokemon Scarlet & Violet are the follow-up to Sword and Shield, the first entry in a new generation. But in learning lessons from Legends Arceus, a fantastic new take on the series emerges.
Pokemon Scarlet & Violet, the flagship games of a new Pokemon generation, find themselves in an interesting spot. A new Pokemon generation is always time for introspection, consideration, and gentle evolution – but earlier this year, a mere Pokemon spin-off tipped expectation of what the series can be upside down. The question that Scarlet & Violet face is easily asked, but challenging to answer: what does the next evolution of Pokemon look like, with all the tradition-disrupting ideas that Legends Arceus put forth taken into account?
That question is an interesting invitation for the Pokemon series to evolve, and Scarlet and Violet do appear to have a firm, full-throated answer. In how it cherry-picks ideas from Legends, from Sword and Shield, from series tradition and also yes, anew out of thin air, it’s arguably the most significant generational Pokemon reset in the history of the series. And that’s exciting.
Nintendo’s new Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Edition OLED Switch is available for pre-order now
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TL;DR: The Nintendo Switch – OLED Model: Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Edition is available for pre-order at Amazon and Target for $359.99 as of Oct. 11. Its official release date is Nov. 4.
A buzzy fall gaming season continues with the release of a new special-edition Nintendo Switch console.
Initially announced in early September, the Nintendo Switch – OLED Model: Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Edition is officially up for grabs as of Oct. 11. So far, it’s only available to pre-order at Amazon and Target, but expect to see it at Best Buy, GameStop, Walmart, and the My Nintendo Store as the official Nov. 4 release date approaches.
At the time of writing, the new Switch is going for $359.99 — that’s $10 more than the standard OLED Switch, which comes in white and Neon Blue/Neon Red.) This is Nintendo‘s second special-edition OLED Switch after the Splatoon 3-themed variant.
Inspired by Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet, two new open-world RPGs that will launch on Nov. 18, the console’s dock comes decked out with images of a Poké Ball and the two games’ respective stars: the Legendary Pokémon Koraidon and Miraidon. Per the last Pokémon Presents stream, players will be able to ride these massive antennaed dragons like motorcycles and form biker gangs with up to three other friends. (Vroom vroom!)
The back of the system itself features special illustrations of Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly, your three starter options for the games, as well as symbols from elsewhere in the Pokémon series. The two Joy-Cons that come with it sport the emblems of Naranja and Uva Academies, the two schools players can attend.
Note that the Scarlet and Violet games themselves are sold separately from the special-edition console. You’ve got the option of buying them for $59.99 apiece or as part of a $119.99 double pack, which includes a download code for 200 bonus Poké Balls.
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Nintendo Switch – OLED Model: Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Editio
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