Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are quite possibly the most ambitious set of mainline games to be released for the franchise, which may not be only true from a purely technical perspective but also due to the scope that Gen 9 has. For the first time in the series, Pokemon games are finally fully open-world, and players can explore the entirety of the Paldea region as they please, prioritizing any of the three storylines first, or maybe even none of them. Gen 9 is also the biggest since Pokemon Black and White, and several fans are happy with the direction of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's many new pocket monsters both design-wise and in terms of combat efficiency.
For example, Pokemon Scarlet's Roaring Moon is likely one of the creatures fans are appreciating the most due to it being a new form for Salamence, which was a fan-favorite critter already. Gen 9 also includes seven new type combinations that had never appeared in past games, with some of the best being Electric and Fighting, Fairy and Fighting, and Poison and Steel. Speaking of Poison/Steel Pokemon, Scarlet and Violet introduce two new ones that belong to the same evolution line, with the final evolution being Revavroom, which is an engine. The main problem with this Pokemon is that in the Operation Starfall storyline, players find exclusive Revavroom forms, but they can't be caught.
Why Revavroom's Additional Forms Should Have Been Obtainable in Scarlet and Violet
Revavroom is an interesting Pokemon because it has some really powerful moves, a type combination that is best equipped at dealing with Fairy-type critters, and a compelling design that is all about speed. Still, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Revavroom is an ironic evolution line because it's not exactly the fastest pocket monster out there despite it being inspired by an engine, which is even used to power up Team Star's iconic Starmobiles.
Each of the five leaders of Team Star challenges players from the top of their Starmobile, which becomes a Pokemon in and of itself because it's powered by Revavroom. However, each Starmobile Revavroom relinquishes its regular Poison/Steel type combination in favor of the specific Team Star leader's preferred type of Pokemon, which are Dark, Fire, Poison, Fairy, and Fighting. These peculiar Revavroom are not available in the base game, and they only function as one-time encounters, which makes sense only to a degree. Instead, making Revavroom a Steel-type with a varying secondary type based on Team Star leaders' own Pokemon would have been a great incentive for players.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Tauros regional forms are a great example of this, as Game Freak didn't need to include three of them that only differ slightly in terms of aesthetic and then give two of them an additional type, whereas it would have made sense with Revavroom. An engine Pokemon is already intriguing from a design perspective, but then tying it to in-game vehicles and limiting which version of the different engines players can catch can be a slap in the face. Not only that, however, but each Starmobile Revavroom also has a unique Ability that is exclusive to that encounter.
For example, these special forms of Revavroom can have Intimidate or the ability to generate Misty Terrain, whereas the regular version of the Pokemon doesn't. On one hand, it makes sense and can be a cool feature to have special, unobtainable forms of a Pokemon for boss encounters, but on the other hand, it also can make players wonder why they had to be exclusive forms in the first place. Overall, this feels like a missed opportunity for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet to go the extra mile with Revavroom, which is, again, quite ironic.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are available now on Nintendo Switch.