Was kind of getting worried about the Direct when we got through about 2/3rds to 3/4ths of it without seeing Scarlet & Violet news, not that we weren't going to get any but what they're going to tell us isn't going to be substantial. But luckily they were able to bring the goods, mostly with the story framing device being around a "Treasure Hunt" and the reveal of this gen's Super Mechanic. But all of that in good time, and while normally I look through the trailer, I'm finding that it's just generally better to use the
Main Website as a way to sort through the new information. I apologize if my thoughts aren't as "indpth" as they usually are, but honestly I just can't keep up with you guys so just going to post my basic thoughts & opinions.
Starting in
NEWS.
MASCOT LEGENDARY'S BUILDS/MODES:
So they're just pulling off the bandage on the Legendaries being motorcycles. So it looks like early in the game(?) you gain the partnership of Koraidon/Miraidon and they allow you to use it as a mount to explore the region. Neat! With them going for an open world theme, I wonder if we're just gonna have access to all Builds/Modes from the beginning or if we start with Sprinting/Drive and obtain Swimming/Aquatic and Gliding/Glide (would have gone with "Aerial Mode" myself, matches better with the other technical names of Miraidon's Modes) when progress demands it. For open world the former would feel most appropriate, but then again other open world games such as LoZelda: Breath of the Wild had the player go around obtaining their various equipment and power-ups to open up their exploration.
... Okay, let's talk about the quadruped in the room. Miraidon got the memo of being a motorbike, but Koraidon not so much. BUT, it makes sense if it's supposed to represent the "Past", and in the past humans rode on the back of quadrupeds (mainly horses, camels, & elephants) to get around quicker. Does that mean it having the "wheel sacs" pointless? Well, it does mention it uses them in its Swimming Build as a floatation device so it does use it for something which is a trait of a wheel: using air to inflate it. It's silly but I'll let it slide, for one thing we still don't know the two Legendaries relation to one another so their similar appearances may yet to be explained.
However I do have an additional complaint: the Sprinting/Drive and Swimming/Aquatic look too similar to one another that they might as well just be the same thing. I feel for Koraidon that in Sprinting Build the wheels should be smaller and in Swimming Build give them a more rounder appearance making it clear its using them to float itself. For Miraidon its Drive Mode is fine, but for Aquatic Mode should have its jet engines extended out even more (maybe even having the back wheel more behind the seat) to show its the main propulsion part.
TERASTAL:
Ah, the new Super Mechanic reveals all that crystalline imagery wasn't for nothing! It's pretty much power armor with a gem theme to it.
So as I understand it, each individual Pokemon has its own "Tera Type" (why do I have a feeling they recycled the code for Hidden Power for this mechanic though also having Normal & Fairy as options). When the player uses the "Tera Orb" on a Pokemon, their Tera Type activates, aesthetically giving them a crown & covering their body with gem armor matching their Tera Type, and mechanically changing their Type to their Tera Type and giving Super STAB to Moves of that Type (and if the Pokemon was originally of that Type, it gets SUPER Super STAB). I'm going to assume the Tera Type overrides dual-type making them mono-Type. And then after the battle ends the Tera Orb has to be recharged either from crystals growing in the overworld or healing at the Pokemon
Pitstop Center.
I'll admit, I didn't see Super STAB as the next Super Gimmick, my money was on Super Abilities. In a way they're also like Z-Crystals in the form of a transformation (like Dynamax though lasts the entire battle like Mega Evolutions) which are multi-use in battle, likely weaker than the nukes Z-Moves were, and the Pokemon has to dedicate itself to one Type it becomes. They're also what I was sort of thinking would be the Super Mechanic of Sword & Shield was gonna be.
Of course a few questions arise:
- Is it just Power that is effected or are Move's Accuracy & Secondary Effects also powered-up (and how does this affect PP)?
- It's implied that a Pokemon can have any Type as their Tera-Type, but that would mean some Pokemon could draw the short end of a stick and get a Tera Type of a Type they don't learn a Move for. Granted, they still change Type so do change their Weaknesses & Resistances (& Immunities) so it's not a completely pointless transformation. Still though, I'd imagine GF would still rather a Pokemon getting a Tera Type of a Type they have a Move for so will the mechanic try to adhere the Pokemon to Types that it can learn or is it truly random? Or, is there an additional mechanic we don't know where the Tera Type can change a Move into its Type?
- Can a Pokemon change its Tera Type? And if so, what mundane thing this time will be used to change the Type. We got Bottle Caps for IVs, Mints for Natures, and Mushroom Soup for Dynamax/Gigantamax; Just having it be a crystal is boring so I'm gonna say... Salt. You'll be able to grind crystals into fine salt and sprinkle it onto your Pokemon to change their Tera Type.
And as we ponder that, here's another factor: Z-Moves had Signature Z-Moves, Dynamax and Gigantamax, so
what "Signature" form is Terastal going to have and how will it be different from normal Terastal? Well, the most obvious answer will be a unique form (likely with a unique crown representing the Pokemon instead of a Type like the symbols on the Z-Crystals). Mechanic-wise, maybe the Signature Terastal will all be Duel-type thus they get TWO Super STABs (which brings in its own complexity which, for the sake of brevity, I'm gonna just skip over)?
Stepping away from what we don't know to what we do know, interesting after 3 limitless Super Mechanics (4 if you count Legends: Arcues' "Styles") they're now making it so in-game
the Super Mechanic needs to be recharged. Well, I guess Dynamax was also limited to certain areas, though limitless in those areas. By making it so the Tera Orb needs to be recharged they're going to give players the mindset to save the Terastal for important battles. But that's where something they say throws me off. Having to go to the Pokemon Center to recharge? Makes sense and many important battles usually take place after a Pokemon Center pitstop. But then they also mention there are just crystals around the place that can also recharge the Tera Orb. Why? Are these crystals going to be conveniently placed in locations where important battles are going to take place? If so, doesn't that defeat the purpose of giving the player of feeling like they need to "save" the Terastal? Like if you're worried players would Terastal in every single battle, well in my experience that didn't really happen with Megas or Z-Moves, a lot of times it was just quicker to stick to normal battling without involving all sorts of fancy animations.
Finally, with each Type getting a crown representing its Type, of course I can't resist on
speculating what each Type crown would look like. We already know Normal is just a straight up Jewel Crown, Grass is Flowers, Fire is a Chandelier, Water is a Fountain, and Flying is Balloons. So my guesses is Fighting is a pair of Fists/Boxing Gloves, Poison is a Skull, Ground is a Spiraling Mountain (looking also like a Drill), Rock is a Geode and/or Stalagmite Crystals, Bug I would like it to be a Jewel Beetle though a Butterfly is more likely, Ghost I'm gonna say a Tombstone, Steel will be fancy with a Clocktower (with exposed Gears & such), Electric is likely a Lightning Bolt but I wouldn't mind something like a Tesla Coil or Plasma Globe, Psychic is an Eye, Ice you gotta go with a Snowflake, Dragon likely a simplified Serpent or Wyvern, Dark I can only think of the (Crescent) Moon even though I know that's not completely accurate, and Fairy is a simplified Fairy creature (with butterfly wings if that hasn't been done by Bug) or maybe the Moon if that's not what Dark-type uses.
Oh, and can't forget to mention the
Preorder Bonus: Flying Pikachu! A Pikachu that comes with Fly and has the Tera Type of Flying (which is interesting as that would essentially completely flip Pikachu's Type Chart: Ground goes from Weakness to Immunity, Electric goes from Resistance to Weakness). Apparently you won't gain access to Mystery Gift until and hour to an hour & a half of play time, aka past all the tutorial and your beginning your "Treasure Hunt" journey?
TERA RAID BATTLES:
Raid Battles are here once again but now using the Terastal mechanic instead of Dynamax! Glad to see they're sticking around, though hopefully there's also a Dynamax Adventure version of them. Not only that, it also sounds like they took feedback on some complaints with the Max Raid Battles and the Dens.
- Instead of number of turns (and hopefully KOs) its a timer.
- You don't need to wait until your allies pick their move (either each player will have a cooldown or they're just talking a per turn basis and you will need to wait for everyone to take their turn before making your next).
- Instead of attacking you can choose to Cheer and can choose what your Cheer does: raise Atk & SpA, raise Def & SpD, or heal.
- Instead of similar looking Dens, you access these Raids with crystals in the color of the Tera Type the Pokemon you'll battle (and like with Dens you're shown a silhouette of the Pokemon when you check the crystal). Curious if they'll not only have a way to refresh the Pokemon but a way to change the Tera Type.
While it sounds like the Tera Raids will go quicker than the Max Raids, how much better it is will come down to how they balanced everyone able to move without waiting for the others to, especially if one player doesn't have a strong/stable internet connection.
... AND that's all for today. Today I had stuff to do and it was only at night was I able to post any thoughts. Tomorrow I'll go over plot details, characters, and the new Pokemon.
