Game Freak and The Pokémon Company today revealed brand new details about Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, including the name of the region.
Players will explore the Paldea Region in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, the franchise’s first, sprawling open-world region where players can choose how they progress the story. Today’s promised trailer revealed more about the region, story, the region’s main gameplay mechanic, co-op, and the two legendary Pokémon.
The adventure takes place in the Paldea Region, which features a wide array of biomes and towns to explore. You play a Pokémon trainer enrolled at either the Naranja (Scarlet) or Uva (Violet) Academy in the heart of the region’s largest city, Mesagoza. From there, players will embark on three concurrent story threads that will take them all across the region. There is the usual quest to acquire eight gym badges, which can be tackled in any order. The remaining two stories are being kept mysterious for the time being.
To help explore the vast open-world, you’ll need a trusty ally. Enter the game’s legendary Pokémon, Koraidon or Miraidon, who are capable of shifting forms to best transport you across the map. They can turn into motorcycles, aquatic vessels, and even airborne gliders. Whatever is needed to get across the terrain at faster speeds. It is unknown at what point in the journey you’ll meet up with these legendaries.
Kalos had Mega Evolution, Alola Z-moves, and Galar Dynamax. So, it’s not too surprising that Pokémon Scarlet and Violet have their own region specific gameplay mechanic. This comes in the form of the Terastal Phenomenon. During a match, players can use their Tera Orb to Terastallize their Pokémon and encase them in crystal. Pokémon gain a boost to their power dependent on what Tera type they’re associated with (i.e. Fire, Water, Normal, etc.). This feature bleeds into a new co-op event, Tera Raid Battles. Team up with up to three other friends to challenge powerful Tera Pokémon and capture them. Some of them may even come with rare Tera types.
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet launch November 18 on Switch.
