Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: Initial Thoughts and Hopes

Pokémon day brought with it the big news that in 2022 we will get Generation 9 (most likely in October/November) with the announcement of Pokémon Scarlet & Violet. While we hold very few details on the region itself speculation is rife so I thought why not join in on that fun. I want to break down my first thoughts on the region, new starters and other things we have seen to begin to get an idea of what to expect come the end of the year.

I want to begin with the protagonists and their designs. It seems that this generation will dial back the cartoon like exaggerated features. The eyes have been shrunk on the protagonist face more resembling the characters from New Pokémon Snap then those from Sword and Shield. I do wonder if this is a change in the process when it comes to how expressive the players are. Will the protagonists have a wider range of expressions and movement? I remember Sun & Moon it felt that all the protagonist had was a nod and a shocked face so I wonder if we are going to have a heavily character driven narrative much like Black & White 1 & 2 but with the best technology available. 

Let's talk about the yet to be named (as far as I am aware) region this game takes place in. Many have gone over the trailer frame by frame and with confidence it seems to be that this region is based off of Spain (and possibly Portugal as well). This was a surprise to me as it means that 3 of the last 4 generations have had inspirations from European countries with Kalos being inspired by France and Galar inspired by the United Kingdom. For me this is kind of cool. It's something out of left field which I was not expecting and as such mean I don't know what to expect, what we will see in terms of regional variants and new Pokémon as I am not well versed in Spanish culture and the history of Spain. I find it a real fun place to be as far as the region goes it allows me to see it without any preconceived notions and what ideas they will have for new Pokémon.

Moving onto the starters and while we have only got a still image of each of them I think they have a lot of way to go with the final evolutions. As ever I pick the fire type starter and I really like the design of Fuecoco the laid back crocodile which looks like a Pepper. I am wondering if we will see a Fire/Dragon starter which would be cool (I can see a Grass/Fairy and Water/Poison as the final types). I have to say much like all new Pokémon due to my lack of knowledge I feel there's a lot of ways to take these final evolutions so it will be interesting to watch the information that is given in the next 8 or 9 months until the game releases. 

All in all while it is fun to speculate we have a lot of variables we just simply have no idea about at this present moment I mean we do not even know the names and designs of the legendary Pokémon. While we are only a few days since the announcement and I do believe that Scarlet & Violet have great potential. But we will just have to wait and see what gets announced over the next few months.