Pokémon Scarlet & Violet: Release Date, Latest News & Leaks

Game Freak has announced the 9th Pokémon Generation for the Nintendo Switch. We couldn’t be more excited, particularly since we’ve already been blessed with games like Pokémon: Arceus and Pokémon Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl.

Nobody imagined that Game Freak would announce another game for 2022. However, this company surprised everyone by announcing Pokémon Scarlet & Violet for the Nintendo Switch. That means three entries into this franchise will have been released within twelve months.

Anyone familiar with the franchise knows that when entering a new generation cycle, there are updated regions and locations to be uncovered. It appears this fictional nation will maintain some similarities with Spain, as you can see roaming landscapes with oceanic views and towering mountains. However, Game Freak hasn’t confirmed the region for Pokémon Scarlet & Violet.

Now that Pokémon Scarlet & Violet has been announced, let’s learn about this upcoming game and everything it offers.

Is Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Coming Out In 2022?

It’s been confirmed by the Nintendo Company that Pokémon Scarlet & Violet will be launching on November 18, 2022.

Players can experience the upcoming game with the following consoles:

• Nintendo Switch
• Nintendo Switch Lite
• Nintendo Switch OLED

It’s expected that Pokémon Scarlet & Violet will cost $69.99 in Canada, $59.99 in America, and €59.99 in Europe. And we cannot confirm this, but we're fairly certain players in the United Kingdom will pay an average of £39.99 for Pokémon Scarlet & Violet.

Game Setting And Everything We Know About Pokémon Scarlet & Violet

Let’s start with the game setting, which has somewhat been covered already. We've already known that Pokémon Scarlet & Violet will take place within a fictional version of Spain. Finally, the August-trailer has confirmed the leaks of the past few weeks and revealed the name of the new region: From November 18th, 2022 we can travel through Paldea!

All new Pokemon in Paldea

Obviously, it’s here that everyone will find their three new starter Pokémon, which include the usual Grass (Sprigatito) and Water-Type (Quaxly) Pokémon. Don’t worry; there’s a Fire-Type Pokémon named Fuecoco as well.

We’d recommend choosing Fuecoco, as this flame-based crocodile will overcome most enemies he faces. But deciding which Pokémon is best for you takes some time and should be taken seriously. At the moment, we can't really tell which Pokémon is the strongest. So far, there's just far too little information about the region and the Pokémon themselves.

Nevertheless, you should definitely take a couple of minutes to think about your decision, because one of these Pokémon will be by your side throughout the journey and will fight for you. Unfortunately, neither the further evolutions of the three starters nor any secondary types are known – so it is pretty difficult to guess which one will ultimately be the fan favorite.

Apparently, Sprigatito's final evolution got leaked. Listen, me and a couple of colleagues here have been incredibly worried about the final evolutions because as cute and nice as some starters are, it so often happens that the final evolution sucks.

Nope, Sprigatito's final evolution is bomb af. Check it out!

4chan No. 50725399 Scarlet Violet Sprigatito Leak from LeaksAndRumors

Now, keep in mind that this is a leak. A leak that originated on 4chan and then found its way on reddit, so not exactly the best sources. Additionally, the video is still up, and we all know how hardcore Nintendo is with stuff like that, so this video might just be fake.

But god, I hope it's real. This Pokémon looks so cool!

Of course, there will also be numerous new Pokémon available for your team, which will be introduced into the franchise with the ninth generation. A few of them have already been shown, we can look forward to a beautiful mix of already known and new Pokémon in Paldea:

• Lechonk
• Smoliv
• Pawne
• Cetitan
• Fidough
• Koraidon (Scarlet)
• Miraidon (Violet)

In addition, the latest trailer has also confirmed a variety of returning Pokémon. If you watched the gameplay clip carefully, you will have seen all-time favorites like Arcanine, Pikachu, Lucario or even Gyarados. A total of over 150 Pokémon have already been confirmed – but we can't say for sure how many Pokémon the National Pokédex will include.

Both Legendary Pokemon Are Motorcycles

Yep, you read that right. You can ride the new Legendary Pokémon Koraidon and Miraidon like a motorcycle. For many, this was just a crazy leak at first, but the feature has actually been confirmed now. It looks like you'll get the two as companions relatively early on in the story.

However, the two Pokémon are not only there to jet speed through the new region. You can also swim with them, climb steep mountains and then fly/glide to the next big city. So it could well be that this will replace the HMs from previous Pokémon games. But can they do all of these things right from the beginning or do you somehow need to unlock them? And what about fighting, can you actually battle with them? To be honest... we currently have no idea.

How To Catch Pokemon In Scarlet And Violet

Dedicated supporters have questioned how they will capture Pokémon in Scarlet and Violet. Most gamers hope that the gameplay mechanics introduced throughout Pokémon: Arceus will formally return to Scarlet and Violet. However, Nintendo hasn’t released any information to suggest those gameplay features are returning.

We’d prefer that Nintendo reintroduce the gameplay features seen in Pokémon: Arceus. It would mean that everyone would have better maneuverability in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet. Moreover, we would be capable of capturing our Pokémon with 3D In-Game Pokeballs. Now wouldn’t that be something for a mainline game in this franchise? We think so.

I wouldn't get my hopes up too high if I were you. So far, we haven't been able to see the player sneaking up on a Pokémon in any trailers. We'll probably have to face wild Pokémon again in battle before we can capture them. Too bad.

Which New Features Are Being Added To Pokémon Scarlet & Violet?

It's rather old features that will be added to the game. Arceus was a wild one. It wasn't the Pokémon game that we're used to. It seems like Nintendo actually listened to some fan feedback because apparently, catching Pokémon will return to the way it was and (as was seen in the trailer anyway) we will get Pokécenters and -shops again.

Thank god. I for one hated the catch-mechanic of Arceus and I hated having a million of the same Pokémon. The immersive feeling was completely gone for me after I saw that.

The Nintendo Company is introducing an updated feature into Pokémon Scarlet & Violet. It’s been confirmed that players can explore the world with three friends. This means we have access to a four-person co-op for the first time in Pokémon’s history.

Everything within the last year suggests that Pokémon is modernizing itself for the younger generations. They want to appeal to the multiplayer component, as these open-world landscapes are perfect for friend-based exploration.

Nobody could’ve imagined Pokémon becoming an open-world multiplayer game on the Nintendo Switch. It’s incredible to think how much has changed within this series throughout the last two months, and everything indicates that those changes aren’t ending anytime soon. We could genuinely witness the evolution of modern-day gaming with Pokémon.

The New Terastal Phenomenon

There has been quite some discussion as to what Pokémon Scarlet and Violet's new gimmick would be. After Game Freak had repeatedly tried something new in the last generations with Mega Evolutions, Z-Moves and Gigantamax, we can officially look forward to a new feature in the ninth generation.

All Pokémon in the Paldea region can terastallize. The name actually sounds more complicated than the whole system actually is. With a special orb, you can trigger the Terastal Phenomenon on your Pokémon during a battle. The Pokémon then shines really bright, gets a little stronger and all attacks of its own type are strengthened.

One pretty neat feature are Pokémon with rare Tera-types. For example, Pikachu is usually pure Electric, but it can have the Tera-type Flight. So if you use the orb during a battle, the type of Pikachu will change to Flying. Could actually be quite useful to compensate some weaknesses.

You can find Pokémon with particularly rare Tera-types in so-called Tera Raids. You already know the concept of these battles quite well from Pokémon Sword and Shield – crystals are scattered all over the surface in the Paldea region, where you can start a raid battle.

Is Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Getting Released On The Nintendo Store?

Few gamers have chosen to download their games directly to the Nintendo Switch, as they’ve found that purchasing a physical copy of Pokémon is more enjoyable. Moreover, the download sizes involved with installing these games onto your Nintendo Switch are extreme. You’ll run through a massive percentage of your memory card, with some estimating that Pokémon Scarlet & Violet could require 8.5 GB of space.

Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl were 6.7 GB to download, respectively. We would recommend purchasing the physical version for convenience purposes.

Will Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Have Gym Leaders?

Yes, what has been expected for a long time has now been confirmed by the new trailer: In Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, the classic gym challenge with eight gym leaders returns. As we all know, Game Freak likes to spice things up a little bit – we think back to Trial Captains from Sun and Moon or Pokémon legends Arceus –, but this time they stick to the original Pokémon formula.

But not only that, because the gameplay we all know an love is only a small part of the "Open World RPG" and is expanded by some new innovations. In Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, there will be three main stories in total – one of them revolves around the Gym Leaders, the other two are not yet known. Many fans assume a treasure hunt and some sort of racing mechanic... maybe with the legendary Pokémon.

At this point in time, we don't know the types the individual Gym Leaders will have. Only Grusha – a former professional snowboarder – has been shown as the Ice-type Gym Leader in Glaseado. His signature Pokémon can also be seen... it's Cetitan, which we already mentioned above. But we assume that the classic Water, Grass and Fire types will most likely get their own Gym as well.

Differences Between Pokémon Scarlet & Violet

[Update, July 8, 2022]

Leaker Riddler Khu recently posted a riddle that started another wave of speculation. Before I jump into that, let me show you what it was:

For those of you who don't know, Titan was the codename of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. In The Lake House, it's all about communicating with the past (Sandra Bullock communicates with Keanu Reeves through a magical mailbox). This brings up the idea that perhaps one version of the game will be set in the future, while the other will be set in the past (that would then also explain my next point better), or that perhaps we will be able to travel into the past/future.

[Original Article]

Like with all other editions before, Pokémon Scarlet & Violet will be different versions of the same game. Usually, what that meant were different edition-exclusive Pokémon and legendaries. This time, however, the story is supposedly different depending on which edition you pick.

Right now, everything points to different professors and different rivals, depending on whether you pick Pokémon Scarlet or Violet. This is a pretty cool change that would definitely give the game a better replay value than simply having edition-exclusive Pokémon.

Game Trailer

We’ve been gifted with the standard trailer you would expect from a Pokémon game. We see our main character running off into the distance as professors and rivals are introduced alongside an assortment of Pokémon.

The second trailer finally confirmed what many fans had hoped for. Pokémon keeps its world-renowned gameplay structure with the arenas, but expands it with an open world and some RPG elements. And to be perfectly honest, that's all the 10-year-old version of myself ever dreamed of. Hopefully Game Freak will be able to meet the expectations. PLEASE!