Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's character customization is missing a great idea that hasn't been seen outside of Pokemon Sun and Moon. Ever since players first got the opportunity to meaningfully customize their characters in Pokemon X and Y, it became a popular feature that was eagerly anticipated in every game to come. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet took a step back when it comes to customization, with just a handful of school uniforms to match Paldea's academy themes. However, the upcoming DLC expansions could bring back more customization options.
Upon release, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's glitches were a major reason for its less-than-stellar reception, but character customization was another sore spot for many. In previous games, players had several options to dress up their characters, and one of the biggest things that should be made available through DLC is replacements for the school uniforms so that players can accessorize to their heart's content. While it's worth bringing a change of clothes to the table, another cosmetic option is also worth debating: Battle Styles.
Battle Styles Could Add Extra Flair to Pokemon Scarlet and Violet
In a move that has yet to be repeated by any other game in the series, Pokemon Sun and Moon featured an option known as Battle Styles. Battle Styles had no effect on the player's actual battle performance, they simply changed the pose that a character's model assumes before a battle - many based on another character encountered during the story, such as Lana or Gladion. It's a minor change, but one that can hold a surprising amount of weight. This is one of the few opportunities that Pokemon has offered for players to direct control how their character presents, as they could look confident, thoughtful, energetic, or several other emotions rather than being a blank slate.
Even though Pokemon Sun and Moon's selection of Battle Styles was small, it could be built on. In addition to fixing Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's flaws, the upcoming two-part DLC could give players further personality. Some players may want to roleplay by assigning their protagonist a characterization beyond what one usually expects for a lead, such as a timid trainer or a scowling punk. While clothes and hairstyles can say a lot, a character's expression and body language are also important.
Character customization in Pokemon has been slowly getting more in-depth, so Battle Styles disappearing after one generation of games is just strange. Combined with Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's more limited customization, some might have a sense that the series is backtracking on one of its best additions. Adding Battle Styles to Pokemon Scarlet and Violet would be a good way to make it up to players after Scarlet and Violet got off to a bad start.
After being seemingly forgotten following their debut, Battle Styles are a feature that should return for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Hidden Treasure of Area Zero DLC. It's a fun addition that makes customizing Pokemon protagonists better. Most of the time when a feature only shows up for a single generation, it's either a region-specific gimmick like Sword and Shield's Gigantamaxing, or a failed experiment like X and Y's Sky Battles. Battle Styles were perfectly fine, and will hopefully return in a Pokemon Scarlet and Violet update - or at least whatever games follow.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are available now on Nintendo Switch.