With Nintendo’s announcement ofPokemon Scarlet and Violetreleasing later this year, there has been a lot of hope that they perhaps offer a completely different take on the series. However, from the get-go, players already know that venturing into this Spanish-inspired region will involve many of the same trappings as other new regions. This obviously means the Pokedex will be expanded to includea new generation of Pokemonand may even feature some regional variations of older Pokemon.
Generation nine of thePokemonseries could have taken the route that Game Freak took with the fifth generation game,Blackand White. The second games to be released on the Nintendo DS,Black and Whitetook the Pokemon formula that the studio had used for nearly 15 years and spun it on its head. The biggest difference between the Generation Five games and those that came before was the unique implementation of the Unovan Pokedex.Scarlet and Violetare bringing back fan favorites, butBlack and White’s Pokemon were all unique.
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What Made Pokemon Black and White’s Pokedex Great
When players first arrived in theuniquely designed Unova region, they quickly discovered thatBlack and Whitewas not like previousPokemongames that came before it. Not only were they introduced to a new set of over 150 new creatures, but those were also the only creatures they could use throughout their journey.Pokemon Gold and Silver,Ruby and Sapphire, andDiamond and Pearlall allowed players to find and catch creatures from generations before to add to their team, as well as all the games that followed Generation Five.
InBlack and White, players had to start absolutely from scratch with a new set of Pokemon no one knew anything about. This mechanic breathed a new life into thePokemongames, although not too many fans were happy about it at the time. Having to use only Pokemon found in the Unova region to defeat the eight gym leaders and members of the Elite Four made it feel like asoft reboot of thePokemonserieswith a dash of nostalgia for the first generation games. It was like picking upBlue,Red, orYellowfor the first time ever, starting a freshPokemonadventure, although the Pokemon of generations past did pop up after players defeated the Elite Four.
Generation Five introduced 33 differentPokemon with unique type combinations, the most out of all the games up to that point. It was also the game with the most amount of Pokemon compared to other Generations, with 156 unique creatures. Yes, there were plenty of strangely designed Pokemon that had come fromBlack and White, but it goes to show that the designer at the time was willing to take risks and let their creativity run free.
Game Freak should consider giving futurePokemongames the Generation Fivetreatment before deciding toremakeBlack and White. It would give thePokemonseries a soft reset that it needs, providing players with a completely new set of 150 Pokemon. This would allow the studio and prospective trainers to truly get creative again. The tenth generation games could lock trainers up to utilizing only regional Pokemon to get through a fresh, deep-set story, and unlocking the previous nine generations of Pokemon once an Elite Four-type challenge has been defeated.
ThePokemonseries is one of the oldest video game series around, and much like what Nintendo did withSuper Mario Odyssey, there is always room for change and growth. Plus, despite the initial outrage that came alongside the release ofBlack and White, there are plenty more players who loved it and its unique features, not to mention some others who grew to appreciate what Game Freak was trying to do in later years.The infamous ‘Dexit’ scandalthat followed the announcement ofSword and Shieldhow passionate fans of the series are, but changes are welcomed if implemented correctly.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violetare set to release in late 2022 for Nintendo Switch.
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