The release of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are just around the corner, and many of these games’ elements can be found in past titles. The gradual ramp up from Pokemon Sword and Shield’s Wild Areas to Pokemon Legends: Arceus’ larger regions culminates in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's true open world. The upgrade of Pokemon, Let's Go! multiplayer into Scarlet and Violet’s four-player online adventuring is also present. Even the new Auto Battle option was named after Let's Go! to reference the games’ unusual system of confronting wild Pokemon.
The list of stepping stones leading up to Pokemon Scarlet and Violet only grows. Tera Raid Battles are an experimental step up from Sword and Shield’s Max Raid Battles. Follower Pokemon have evolved to the point where anything can essentially serve as Pokemon Yellow’s Pikachu. The new Gym challenge and Titan Pokemon draw from Sun and Moon's takes on Gyms and Totem Pokemon. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet owe their promising status to decades of Pokemon iteration, and even their new battle gimmick may have roots in Pokemon Black and White.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet’s Terastallization Seems Generations in the Making
For the past few generations of Pokemon, every set of games has introduced a new combat mechanic. X and Y's Mega Evolution gave way to Z-Moves in Sun and Moon, and Dynamaxing and Gigantamaxing took center stage in Sword and Shield. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's equivalent is Terastallization, a process by which a Pokemon assumes a crystaline form along with a new type. Every Pokemon in Paldea has a Tera type in addition to its regular typing, and this is more than just a way to change their appearance.
Terastallization already has the competitive community talking about its many applications in battle. Only one Pokemon can Terastallize per fight, and players out in the wild will need to find special locations to recharge the Tera effect. Even with these restrictions, proper application can still swing a battle in the user's favor, even if it’s just to capitalize on a surprise Tera Blast benefiting from the same-type attack bonus. By changing to an advantageous type resistance or by stacking a base type, Tera type, and move type together to deal massive damage, the mechanic has a huge amount of range.
Black and White’s Gems Are Surprisingly Similar to Terastallizing
Pokemon Black and White came before Pokemon began heavily advertising one-off battle mechanics, although it did introduce a couple that wouldn't last long. One was Triple Battles and Rotation Battles, a new spin on Gen 3’s Double Battles. Another pertinent example was elemental gems. All 18 elemental types (including Fairy if one looks into Pokemon X and Y's code) have a corresponding gem that can be used as a held item. Finding these are the most likely result of investigating a dust cloud phenomenon in a cave.
Players had good reason to grind for gems, as they can only be used once before being consumed entirely. When a Pokemon uses a move with the same type as a held gem, it boosts the power of that move. It's not hard to draw parallels to Terastallization, right down to the association with crystals. Both of them can only be used once, even if Terastallization lasts for multiple turns, and both need to be manually restocked outside of battle. They benefit players attempting to use STAB moves, but can also functionally change a Pokemon's bonus attacking type. Terastallization may be better overall as a lasting change to a Pokemon, but the seeds of its power seem to have been planted in Black and White.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet will be released on November 18 for Nintendo Switch.