Pokemon Scarlet and Violet bring many innovations to the series. The TM machine allows players to craft their own TMs while the inclusion of auto-battles provides an easy way for Trainers to level up their team without doing much work. Not all changes are inclusions. Players have also noticed that tall grass has been removed from the games, which is a bit sad for long-time fans who enjoyed the random encounters.
It is unlikely that the feature will make a return because the series as a whole has been trending toward simplifying itself. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet demonstrate that developers are interested in further streamlining the franchise's winning formula, making it easier for newcomers and younger players to join in on the fun. For players who miss this feature, they can still visit older titles like Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.
Catching Pokemon in Scarlet and Violet
Like prior generations, one of the objectives of Scarlet and Violet is to catch as many Pokemon as possible and complete the Pokedex. To do this, players must explore Paldea and encounter the different creatures in their various environments. In previous games, to find all the Pokemon, players have to rummage through tall grass, and eventually bump into a critter. It is impossible to determine which Pokemon will be encountered, making the experience quite exciting. It can also be a frustrating experience when players are looking for a specific Pokemon and players keep running into other monsters.
Scarlet and Violet switch things up a bit by displaying the Pokemon in the overworld and eliminating tall grass. Consequently, players can pick which Pokemon they want to battle with, and they can avoid the rest, although some tenacious species, like Growlithe, will chase players around. The absence of tall grass drastically changes how players approach catching Pokemon. No longer do players have to deal with digging through tall grass and encountering random Pokemon. While many Trainers appreciate the streamlined approach that makes Paldea feel more realistic, others feel nostalgic for the tall grass of past generations.
Why Tall Grass Will Likely Never Make a Return
Some players would like tall grass to make a return. The randomness added to Pokemon encounters is engaging, and it emulates the way real-world animals might hide in the bushes when there are humans around. However, players who want this feature to return shouldn't hold their breath for it. The series has shown that it is striving to make itself as accessible and streamlined as possible, and the removal of tall grass is a part of this strategy.
Modern Pokemon titles are very much in the process of removing the tedium present in past titles. Hence, in addition to there being no more tall grass, players are no longer trapped into battles when they make contact with NPCs, they can access their PC Boxes at any time, they can auto-heal Pokemon with the push of a button, and they can ride their legendary Pokemon, which makes it easy to travel around Paldea without having to use a TM slave. It is unlikely that Pokemon games will ever get harder again, which means that tall grass is probably never coming back. Because Scarlet and Violet have broken sales records, Game Freak has seen no reason to change its current formula of simplifying its games.
The reaction to the simplification of the series has been mixed. Some players are happy that Pokemon games are easier, as it makes them more convenient to play. Other players feel like developers have made it too casual, which is a disservice to long-time fans.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are available on Nintendo Switch.