Pokemon Violet Thoughts
Pokemon Scarlet/Violet spoilers below!!
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I did not expect to like this game as much as I did omg. I saw a lot of criticism, and while valid, the game is still very very very fun. (Tbf it'd be pretty hard to mess up a Pokemon game though!!)
Honestly, this might be one of my favorite storylines out of any Pokemon game? I've played through most of the Pokemon games (except Coliseum, Snap, Legends Arceus) + only got through half of SwSh and SuMo, but I know what happens in the Gen 7 and 8 storylines. BW/BW2's storyline was more consistent in terms of quality (SV has higher highs and lower lows imo), and Pokemon Mystery Dungeon is amazing too, but it follows predictable patterns and its main strength lies in its characterization rather than its actual plot. I haven't played Legends Arceus yet so that's still up in the air (though I hear it's good!)
I really enjoyed the reveal that the Professor Turo we knew was actually an AI, and exploring the Great Crater with our friends from school was so endearing and fun. The Great Crater itself looked incredible -- the design and the music really contributed to its otherworldly ambiance. Even reading the Violet Book made me really excited -- but then again, I've always been a sucker for stories of adventure. I would kill to have a Made in Abyss style anime of Heath's expedition into the Crater...
The characters in this game feel really alive, too -- Pokemon games have definitely stepped up their game in that regard. I liked Nemona the most (and how self-aware, yet incorrigible she is lol), and most of the teachers. ❤️
Miriam is such a sweetheart, and Hassel's sobbing whenever he was proud of us was so cute haha. Salvatore didn't speak to me as much, but I enjoyed his mini-storyline of befriending a Pokemon that didn't really speak, and him being completely understanding (as a languages teacher) that sometimes you don't need to speak the same language, or even a language to communicate with others around you. His entire character is such a vibe, too?? He's so happy and upbeat, and his advice about trying to learn the languages of places you go to and complimenting other people (especially their culture, food, etc.) is so real. Miriam being motivated by our dedication in the Treasure Hunt to pursue her own certification was sweet, I've definitely felt that way before as well (being motivated by the efforts of others, that is. ;o;)
Raifort I didn't connect to as much, but I appreciate her zealousness towards history. Her overall personality was pretty fun. xD I really really did enjoy the story about the ruinous treasure Pokemon, though -- one of my favorite (if not favorite) legendary Pokemon stories now. I've always loved fairytale-esque stories, and the designs of these Pokemon (especially Chien Pao and Chi Yu) are amazing. Their battle music is one of the best things I've ever listened to, so there's that too. xD
NPC designs have also stepped up (Grusha and Rika are so hot LOL), but player customization has taken a step back which was very disappointing to find out. And much as I loved Pokemon ScarVio overall, I do understand where a lot of the grievances people had came from.
I don't consider myself a genwunner (far from it lol) but many of the new Pokemon designs just felt... lacking? Like beta designs. Flamigo, Tandemaus, Palafin, Pawmot. Some of these are probably just personal preference so I won't harp on this too much, but eh.
Arven's storyline also didn't speak to me as much but that also just kind comes down to personal preference.
Something I also didn't like as much was the Team Star storyline -- it felt kind of contrived, and like it was really trying to make us feel bad for the area leaders. I also didn't care for Penny that much, although her interactions in the Great Crater area made up for it.
I would've rather we had a proper villainous team this generation instead of getting Team Star, but I guess then it would've been weird if the school let us run around the country lol.
Because run around the country we did... from top to bottom, for those f**king ominous stakes. They couldn't have made them show up on the map either (unless there's a function I missed. Which if that is the case let me live in ignorance aaaaaaaah I'll legit start foaming at the mouth if it turns out I just needed to turn something on). The idea of the stakes sealing these ruinous Pokemon's powers is alright, it's just annoying to have to scramble down cliffs and valleys to find 32 of these things.
As much as I do like the Great Crater part of the storyline, I wish it was more ingrained with everything else. The gym challenges, Team Star, the herba mystica... I mean, it was technically ingrained in the sense that you need to help your rivals out with their issues so they can accompany you into the crater, but there should've been more story significance tying everything together.
I also would've appreciated some sidequests in the Pokemon world. Coming from Genshin, I'm kind of spoiled in that regard (the world is soooo chock-full of events and quests and areas to explore). While Paldea doesn't really need that many quests and hidden areas (it's gotten to the point where exploration is kind of exhausting in Genshin lol), more would've been nice.
Environmental storytelling almost always hits, and it could've been a nice way to talk about the issues invasive species pose (basically our reason for shutting down the time machine) and in turn, connect things to the main storyline as well. For example, Barraskewda's Violet Pokedex entry mentions that it completes with Palafin for food -- what if Barraskewda wasn't native to Paldea, and just hitched a ride from Galar? We could have had a sidequest to curb the Barraskewda population to help the native Palafin population recover. That's just one example, too. What about the giant Iron Treads in the desert, or the rolling boulders dropped by Bombirdier? That things had to have caused some collateral damage, and it would have been cool to get quests to help the Pokemon or people in the area recover.
Paldea's open world was very beautiful and fun to explore, but it was also really... empty. I hope that in a future iteration of games, these kinds of sidequests can be added. The addition of them would really help make the world feel more alive.
And while I do really like ScarVio's story, its execution could have been a lot better than it was. But despite all the game's flaws, it was still incredibly fun ,and surprisingly touching. :') I am very extremely excited for the eventual DLC that will hopefully give us a glimpse of that hexagonal Pokemon, and more story content of the main four. 🥺🥺🥺











