Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Predictions/Speculation/Discussion Thread

[Vulcanos]

I know DLC is inevitable, so here's my predictions on both where and what will happen:

Location:
*Island, like the Azores or the Canary Islands: 90%. Making an island area is rather easy to produce given you can just partition a section of land out in the middle of nowhere and build off of it, plus the development time can be a few months as opposed to around two years or so, which I feel is the average process of a mainline Pokémon game out of Game Freak. Plus, it would tie into the region, given how Paldea effectively combines Spain and Portugal into one region (and while Spain is the dominant theme, Portugal also has some inspiration with some of the Pokémon choices), so we would probably utilize one or both of the archipelagoes for the DLC.
*North Africa/Morocco as an area: 40%. A stone's throw across Gibraltar in the real world is the African nation of Morocco and, by extension, the continent of Africa itself. Morocco would provide an opportunity to present artistic license regarding architecture and design of the Arabic world, but that likely would be time consuming and despite the free-roaming aspect of this game, Morocco's climate is limited to a temperate one around the coast and the Sahara Desert inland. Also, given the fact that the Moors (the conglomeration of African Muslims who controlled northern Africa throughout the Middle Ages that one time occupied and controlled the Iberian Penuinsula) helped shape Spanish architecture, this would be redundant from a creative standpoint.
*Kalos: 10%. Some people have floated the idea of returning to Kalos as DLC as opposed to making a full sequel, but I don't see Game Freak spending all the resources on recreating an old region. People thought we would go back to Kalos in Sword and Shield, and that didn't happen. I mean, I hope I'm wrong and we can visit the Ambrette Town region, at the very least, but I won't hold my breath.

How will the DLC affect the game itself:
*Add to the game Pokedex: 100%. Well, yeah. They'll add Pokemon not in the base game.
*Add new Pokemon? 100%. Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon were the first to add new Pokemon without any consideration for previous games, while Sword and Shield was the first to add new entries.
*How many will they add? To me, they'll likely play it safe and keep the total under 10, since development isn't easy, and regional forms offer some ease on production.

 

[Bolt Strike]

But not regional forms. Slowbro has a mega and a regional form. I'd ask how that would work with megas if it comes back, but galatians slowbro just wouldn't be able to use the mega stone I guess.

The conservation was specifically about cross gen evolutions, not regional variants.

 

[Articfoxgamez]

Doesn't change the fact they still got them. I also doubt megas will be gone forever. I'm sure it will come back Semi randomly every few games. After all it has gamefreak precious dragon charizard and a few legendary forms. It was in every gen 6 and 7 game, including lets go. Lets not assume its never coming back whe its been absent from 1 generation, but been in every side game of gen 8 anyway. Probably this game too though tbh. Unless primal never comes back, which I would hate that because primal groudon is so cool.

Also makes me wonder if ultra Necorzma will never come back. And I can already see Zacian and Zamazenta not getting their crowned forms even if they come back just by virtue of not including their rusted items in future games.

It would be super easy to throw the Rusted Items just at a random NPC who gives them to you if you bring him the pokemon. They have done it for basically every other legendary tranformation item.

As for Mega's, They are obviously never be gone forever unless they never remake gen 6.

 

[c la fet]

i'm still of the opinion that gen 4 is when pokemon peaked, though i'll admit gen 5 is also good. don't think people will ever claim gen 6 was the best though; it's quite clearly not as good as what came before or after. they were experimenting with 3d graphics; many of the gym puzzles and route designs revolved around "look at our cool new 3D models". i can sorta understand why they did it this way, but the novelty of a 3D mainline pokemon game has worn off.

Gen 6 is a lot better than multiple things that came before and after.

 

[There Is No Arceus]

Gen 6 is a lot better than multiple things that came before and after.

it's better than gen 2, i'll give you that. story is better than gen 8, though that's not a very high bar. i should specify that by "before and after" i specifically meant gens 5 and 7

 

[c la fet]

it's better than gen 2, i'll give you that. story is better than gen 8, though that's not a very high bar. i should specify that by "before and after" i specifically meant gens 5 and 7

There are many things it did better than gen 7 in general and the story was also better than that usum nonsense.

 

[Cels]

I know DLC is inevitable, so here's my predictions on both where and what will happen:

Location:
*Island, like the Azores or the Canary Islands: 90%. Making an island area is rather easy to produce given you can just partition a section of land out in the middle of nowhere and build off of it, plus the development time can be a few months as opposed to around two years or so, which I feel is the average process of a mainline Pokémon game out of Game Freak. Plus, it would tie into the region, given how Paldea effectively combines Spain and Portugal into one region (and while Spain is the dominant theme, Portugal also has some inspiration with some of the Pokémon choices), so we would probably utilize one or both of the archipelagoes for the DLC.
*North Africa/Morocco as an area: 40%. A stone's throw across Gibraltar in the real world is the African nation of Morocco and, by extension, the continent of Africa itself. Morocco would provide an opportunity to present artistic license regarding architecture and design of the Arabic world, but that likely would be time consuming and despite the free-roaming aspect of this game, Morocco's climate is limited to a temperate one around the coast and the Sahara Desert inland. Also, given the fact that the Moors (the conglomeration of African Muslims who controlled northern Africa throughout the Middle Ages that one time occupied and controlled the Iberian Penuinsula) helped shape Spanish architecture, this would be redundant from a creative standpoint.
*Kalos: 10%. Some people have floated the idea of returning to Kalos as DLC as opposed to making a full sequel, but I don't see Game Freak spending all the resources on recreating an old region. People thought we would go back to Kalos in Sword and Shield, and that didn't happen. I mean, I hope I'm wrong and we can visit the Ambrette Town region, at the very least, but I won't hold my breath.

How will the DLC affect the game itself:
*Add to the game Pokedex: 100%. Well, yeah. They'll add Pokemon not in the base game.
*Add new Pokemon? 100%. Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon were the first to add new Pokemon without any consideration for previous games, while Sword and Shield was the first to add new entries.
*How many will they add? To me, they'll likely play it safe and keep the total under 10, since development isn't easy, and regional forms offer some ease on production.

Portugal doesn't seem to be represented in Paldea because until now nothing has been seen about that country, neither the language nor architecture nor Pokemon nor any clear reference that suggests that Portugal has some type of representation. What's more, the game won't even have a Portuguese translation, which says a lot.

Although there are still to be seen the names and others of all the map locations and many new Pokemon and etc but at the moment all winks and references that have been seen are to Spain and that's it, unless I have missed something but I know both countries quite well.

P.S. My bet for the DLC are the Balearic Islands which are the islands that were seen on the real map shown in the first trailer

 

[There Is No Arceus]

There are many things it did better than gen 7 in general and the story was also better than that usum nonsense.

story was better than USUM, sure. not better than SM though. gen 6 is also better than LGPE, which is gen 7 by technicality. 6 also had less cutscenes than SM/USUM, which is good. other than those things though, i can't think of much gen 6 did better. the trials were far more entertaining than the gyms in gen 6, the game was considerably more challenging, the world layout was more engaging (people only complain about Galar's hallway routes because gen 7 did away with them; routes were always hallways prior to gen 7) , and so on and so forth.

 

[c la fet]

story was better than USUM, sure. not better than SM though. gen 6 is also better than LGPE, which is gen 7 by technicality. 6 also had less cutscenes than SM/USUM, which is good. other than those things though, i can't think of much gen 6 did better. the trials were far more entertaining than the gyms in gen 6, the game was considerably more challenging, the world layout was more engaging (people only complain about Galar's hallway routes because gen 7 did away with them; routes were always hallways prior to gen 7) , and so on and so forth.

The trials weren't entertaining at all, most of them were boring and by the way the games weren't more challenging, they were even easier. There isn't a single challenging battle in the Sun and Moon games and the usum games only have ultra necrozma, which can be easily countered by a large bunch of weak pokémon. Most of the Alola routes are just lines and three of the islands look like copies of each other.

Gen 6 had better online features, more and better shiny hunting methods available, better player customisation, better activities available outside of the battlefield (festival Plaza SUCKS), a better battle facility that didn't rely on fanservice and that actually included trio and rotative battles, a better victory road, a better inclusion of the new battle mechanic in the story, a better pokédex (and an actual national dex), a better Looker quest, better walking animations for the protagonists, more innovative new features and no lag during the battles.

The story may not be better than the Sun and Moon one but at least it doesn't try to make you cry every 3 seconds everywhere you go unlike gen 7.

 

[There Is No Arceus]

The trials weren't entertaining at all, most of them were boring

they weren't all winners, but there were some solid ones like acerola's one and the electric one (forgot the kid's name). in contrast, gen 6 had only 1 cool gym (Viola) and most of the others were just "look what we can do with our cool new 3D models".

and by the way the games weren't more challenging, they were even easier. There isn't a single challenging battle in the Sun and Moon games and the usum games only have ultra necrozma, which can be easily countered by a large bunch of weak pokémon.

maybe i'm just a noob, but i remember struggling with Mallow's totem Lurantis. of course, i turn the EXP share off.

Most of the Alola routes are just lines and three of the islands look like copies of each other.

Alola had several routes that weren't straight lines. that's more than i can say for any other pokemon game, bar maybe gen 3. maybe i was exaggerating when i said that gen 7 completely ditched the concept, but gen 6 was no better than gen 8 in this regard. as for everything looking alike, well, i guess i do have to give gen 6 the credit there.

Gen 6 had better online features, more and better shiny hunting methods available, better player customisation, better activities available outside of the battlefield (festival Plaza SUCKS), a better battle facility that didn't rely on fanservice and that actually included trio and rotative battles, [...] better walking animations for the protagonists,

i'll be honest, i'm indifferent to all of these things. to each their own i guess.

a better victory road, a better inclusion of the new battle mechanic in the story, a better pokédex (and an actual national dex), a better Looker quest, [...] more innovative new features and no lag during the battles.

credit where credit is due. this is all accurate.

The story may not be better than the Sun and Moon one but at least it doesn't try to make you cry every 3 seconds everywhere you go unlike gen 7.

i fail to see how gen 7's cry scenes are a bad thing. i love a sob story.

alright, i'll concede that a case can be made for gen 6 being better than gen 7, though i will not be making that case any time soon. i still prefer gen 7 by a wide margin, but you do you.

 

[Articfoxgamez]

If gen 7 tried to make you cry every 3 seconds then it must have done a horrible job at it because I didn't even notice.

 

[AngryBinacle]

Gen 7's Alola games also had the worst UI ever used in a mainline Pokémon RPG. I get it, Alola is all about vibrant colours, but it's way too much and childish.

Gen 8's Sw/Sh and PLA have had a solid UI thus far, modern and streamlined. Not too flashy, but still clear.

 

[Eitarou]

Since Gogoat is confirmed, I'd like for it to be ridable too. Have no clue how it'd replicate Ko/Miraidon's modes, though.

 

[RavenRaziel98]

I just thought about the weird vehicle from the trailers again... Given its kinda Hot Rod-ish look and thinking about Koraidons/Miraidon design I kinda hope that it's actually related to the thugs of the game (someone mentioned this before) and that they'll use some kind of rocker/biker gang or something like that.
Paldean Sons of Anarchy lol

 

[Bolt Strike]

Alola had several routes that weren't straight lines. that's more than i can say for any other pokemon game, bar maybe gen 3. maybe i was exaggerating when i said that gen 7 completely ditched the concept, but gen 6 was no better than gen 8 in this regard. as for everything looking alike, well, i guess i do have to give gen 6 the credit there.

Like? I'm thinking back to Alola's routes and I can't think of any that isn't a straight line. Additionally, the routes seem to decrease in complexity in that game, there were much less optional areas branching off from the main routes for you to explore, it was basically just go forward the entire time. Like you never saw a route like this in Alola:

Spoiler

Or even something like this:

Spoiler

It was pretty much straight paths the whole way through with a short detour at best.

Honestly I feel like Gen 7 is the generation where everything before or after it was better. I can give it credit for finally shaking some things up, abandoning conventions like gyms and HMs and trying to make them feel fresh, introducing regional variants, but the former 2 weren't great in execution (Trials were basically gyms with short missions instead of gym puzzles, and Ride Pokemon sacrificed the feeling of your own Pokemon helping you in favor of generic NPC Pokemon) and Gen 8 has polished the regional variant concept by adding regional evolutions. Meanwhile, the region design got more simplistic, it was still extremely linear and casualized like every game from Gen 5-7 (Pokemon's Dark Age IMO), and the story wasn't as good as Gen 5 (no interesting plot twists and the biggest one was spoiled in the opening cutscenes, I rarely felt anything for the characters except annoyance for them constantly interrupting my journey with cutscenes).

 

[multiingbe]

I decided to Check because why not, there are 31 Gen 3 Lines that aren't 3 stage, don't have a mega, dont have a regional variant already, haven't already gotten a cross gen evo, and aren't a gimmick mon (Castform, Kecleon, and Spinda (Last one is arguable))

Spoiler: List if you care

Swellow Line
Pelipper Line
Masquerain Line
Breloom Line
Ninjask/Shedinja Line
Hariyama Line
Delcatty Line
Plusle and Minun
Volbeat and Illumise
Swalot Line
Wailord Line
Torkoal Line
Grumpig Line
Cacturne Line
Zangoos
Seviper
Lunatone
Solrock
Whishcash Line
Crawdaunt Line
Claydol Line
Cradily Line
Armaldo Line
Milotic Line
Banette Line
Tropius
Huntail/Gorebyss Line
Relicanth
Luvdisc

So take that as you will in your discussion of Gen 3 Mons getting things.

Edit: I also excluded Legendaries

!! There is a lot they could do with a Legends game set in Hoenn apparently!! it could be the past again, but, i think the next one will be in the future!

 

[AngryBinacle]

!! There is a lot they could do with a Legends game set in Hoenn apparently!! it could be the past again, but, i think the next one will be in the future!

I think the whole point of the 'Legends'-title is it being about a certain crucial moment in the past.

 

[Cute Charm]

Since Gogoat is confirmed, I'd like for it to be ridable too. Have no clue how it'd replicate Ko/Miraidon's modes, though.

Doubt we're getting normal rideable Pokémon outside of Koraidon, Miraidon, and a convincing spoiler.

Could very well have like a ranch where you could ride Skiddo again...but probably not in the main game.

 

[multiingbe]

I think the whole point of the 'Legends'-title is it being about a certain crucial moment in the past.

that is true, i definitely agree!!

i do think that legendary events can happen in the future which would be legendary to everyone who experienced them, and who would then pass the story along!!

 

[There Is No Arceus]

Like? I'm thinking back to Alola's routes and I can't think of any that isn't a straight line.

route 1 isn't a straight line iirc, nor is much of the stuff on poni island