{"id":126947,"date":"2022-08-03T19:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-03T19:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/#article-135446"},"modified":"2022-08-03T19:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-08-03T19:00:00","slug":"soapbox-for-a-jaded-pokemon-fan-scarlet-and-violet-is-exactly-what-i-need","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2022\/08\/03\/soapbox-for-a-jaded-pokemon-fan-scarlet-and-violet-is-exactly-what-i-need\/","title":{"rendered":"Soapbox: For A Jaded Pok\u00e9mon Fan, Scarlet And Violet Is Exactly What I Need"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Scarlet<\/a>
Image: The Pok\u00e9mon Company<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For many years now, I’ve been buying the mainline Pok\u00e9mon<\/strong> games primarily out of some twisted sense of obligation. Back in 1999, Pok\u00e9mon Red and Blue<\/a> launched at the perfect time for me; I was ten at the time of its release and had already gotten a good sense of what Pok\u00e9mon was all about thanks to the anime show. Soon enough, my friends and I were completely hooked: we traded together on the playground at school, speculated about what the upcoming Gold and Silver<\/a> iterations would bring to the table, and discussed the latest anime episode in absurd detail – much to the annoyance of our teachers, I’m sure.<\/p>\n

Then something happened. After Pok\u00e9mon Ruby and Sapphire<\/a> launched in 2003 for the GBA, four years after the franchise first got its claws into me, I just… stop caring so much. I can’t quite pinpoint why it happened at that particular moment in time, but I can at least break down my reasoning.<\/p>\n

\"Scarlet<\/a>
Image: The Pok\u00e9mon Company<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After three games (I was never one to purchase both versions of each iteration), the Pok\u00e9mon games just didn’t offer up enough variety to keep me interested anymore. There were new Pok\u00e9mon, sure, a new world to get lost in, and a host of new features like Double Battles and Pok\u00e9mon Natures. But at its core, Pok\u00e9mon was still primarily about tackling a series of Gym Challenges before taking on the Elite Four – woohoo<\/em>. Not only that, but each entry doggedly treated you as if it was your very first Pok\u00e9mon game, thrusting obnoxiously lengthy tutorials in your face before you could really get into the meaty stuff.<\/p>\n

It was very much a case of “been there, done that”.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, I continued to buy the subsequent Pok\u00e9mon titles – Diamond<\/a>, Black<\/a>, Black 2<\/a>, X<\/a>, Sun<\/a>, Ultra Sun<\/a>, and Sword<\/a> – deperate<\/em> for one of them to deviate from the same tired structure that’s formed the foundation of the games since the franchise’s inception. While entries like Sun and Ultra Sun provided a glimpse<\/em> of something different, each game – for the most part – failed to provide the new experience I was looking for. It seemed that Pok\u00e9mon had nailed its approach and wouldn’t be deviating from it anytime soon; it knows its audience and it just didn’t seem like I was a part of it anymore.<\/p>\n

\"Scarlet<\/a>
Image: The Pok\u00e9mon Company<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I missed out on Pok\u00e9mon Legends: Arceus<\/a>, mainly because it just didn’t look like a mainline Pok\u00e9mon game to me, despite the promising features that it demonstrated from the off. For some reason, I just saw it as a spin-off title, which in many ways it is<\/em>. But it wasn’t quite what I was looking for.<\/p>\n

So this brings us onto Pok\u00e9mon Scarlet and Violet<\/a>. When it was initially announced, the promise of a true open world made my ears prick up in curiosity. Okay, this sounds interesting<\/em>, I thought, but it wasn’t quite enough yet to pull me back in. With the release of a brand new trailer and some supporting information during the latest Pok\u00e9mon Presents<\/a>, however, Game Freak may have had my curiosity, but now it has my attention.<\/p>\n

The promise of a complete open world which allows you to tackle the Gym Challenges in any order you see fit<\/a> is tantalising enough on its own, but the fact that this core mechanic only makes up one<\/em> of three potential storylines? Yeah, I’m definitely<\/em> interested. In addition, the games seem to be breaking away from the repetitive “ten year old leaves home to become a Pok\u00e9mon Master” trope by requiring you to enrol at either the Naranja Academy or the Uva Academy – depending on your choice of version – and this simple deviation to the series’ core narrative has piqued my interest more than any previous title.<\/p>\n

\"Scarlet<\/a>
Image: The Pok\u00e9mon Company<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Granted, I can’t say that the whole ‘Treasure Hunt’ and ‘Terastal Phenomenon’<\/a> mechanics do a whole lot for me at the moment, but by and large, Scarlet and Violet’s new found focus on freedom and player choice excites me more than I care to admit. Could these new titles spark a long dormant love for the franchise once again? It’s proabably too early to say at the moment, but for the first time in more than a decade, I’m genuinely excited to see what these new titles bring.<\/p>\n