Pokémon Scarlet & Violet

New Pokémon

Here are some of the new Pokémon that were revealed publicly prior to release:

Gameplay

Pokémon Scarlet & Violet take place in the Paldea region, which is based on the Iberian peninsula (Spain & Portugal). The player sets out on an adventure with one of three Pokémon - Grass-type Sprigatito, Fire-type Fuecoco, or Water-type Quaxly.

The Pokémon Scarlet & Violet starters: Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly

It also appears that the legendary Pokémon, Koraidon and Miraidon can be encountered early in the game; they can be used as transport across the region. The games are open-world and can be explored freely. There are three main strands to the story, listed below.

Victory Road

This part of the game encompasses the well-known gym battles. Eight gyms are dotted around the region of Paldea and specialise in a particular type. As the games are open, gyms can be tackled in any order. At present it's unclear how the difficult scales as the player makes progress.

Starfall Street

This strand sees the player take on rebellious students from the Naranja Academy (Scarlet) or Uva Academy (Violet). They are known as Team Star and are split into several squads, also appearing to specialise in a certain type. The squads have bases across Paldea - each base must be infiltrated and a wave of Pokémon taken on. Following this, the leader of that squad appears atop a large car known as the Starmobile - their Pokémon and then the car itself must be defeated.

Path of Legends

In the Path of Legends, the player must seek out rare ingredients called Herba Mystica, guarded by Titan Pokémon. One such Pokémon is Klawf, the Stony Cliff Titan.

Terastal

A new battle mechanic known as Terastal appears in Pokémon Scarlet/Violet. All Pokémon in the Paldea dex can Terastallize, which turns them into a crystal-like form. Each Pokémon has a Tera Type, which turns them into that type and boosts moves of that type.

Raid Battles make a return from Pokémon Sword & Shield as Tera Raid Battles. The raid boss will Terastallize into a particular Tera Type; completing raid battles may let you encounter rare Tera Types.

• More on Terastal