Friends, fans, and followers lend me your ears! Earlier this week The Pokemon community had one of its biggest days in almost 3 years: the announcement of the next generation. Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet are set to release in late 2022, and while we have yet to get an official day, my personal best guess is around week 3 of November simply due to the trend Pokemon game release days have seemed to follow. This reveal has had the community split (which is really surprising, right guys?). Some fans believe the new games are coming far too soon, and going to suffer from a lack of development, and others have already complained about the new Starter Pokemon designs. Other fans are in love with these new designs, and cannot be more excited to explore the next region. Whichever side of the fence you may stand on, this article will have something for you; today we are going to do a quick overview of what we know so far about Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, and analyze what this may mean for the TCG scene moving forward.
Pictured above are the three new starters revealed for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, which have been the main spark for criticism for these new games. From left to right we can see Sprigatito (the Grass Cat Pokemon), Fuecoco (the Fire Croc Pokemon), and Quaxly (the Duckling Pokemon). While some fans are claiming that these designs look "fan-made" others are going on their socials claiming they would die for any of these cute three. All things considered, the Pokemon community loves to be against itself when it comes to new designs; in my opinion these new starters look pretty good, and I can't stay that I dislike any of them. These three new Pokemon have yet to receive more than their official names and a few other features, so what we know is extremely limited right now; however, just based on their designs alone we may have a good glimpse at the art style for this upcoming generation. Even if you're not a fan of these new designs, it has been stated that the new games will be compatible with Pokemon Home, meaning that you will be able to transfer your favorite party members over to join you on your next adventure.
Let's take a quick look at the rest of what we know about these games now. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet seem to take a leaf out of the book of Pokemon Legends: Arceus, because they are said to be a true open world experience. The Pokemon Company claims that the towns will seam together with the wild exceptionally, and Pokemon will roam around in the wild. This may be one of the biggest selling points of the game, simply due to how enjoyable the last few games have been with this format. Pokemon Sword and Shield seemed to have tinkered with the idea of having Pokemon roam around and having towns seam with the wild in a new yet nostalgic style. The games left some to be desired definitely, but they were a huge leap in the right direction, and these new games seem to double down on this new style.
The region itself appears to be based on Spain, and this has been inferred due to some of the architecture that has been shown in the trailer, along with part of the outline of the region seen on the quarter-revealed map. Having had the past game based on the UK, seeing another region based in Europe is certainly set to be a treat. Personally, the overall feeling of both the Kalos and Galar regions were both amazing, because of how the games felt like they had a distinct culture behind them, very similar to the Johto Region; for that reason alone I have high hopes that the new games will follow in their footsteps and deliver a strong sense of culture and wholeness within them.
Now that the basics of the games themselves have been discussed, we must focus on what this may mean moving forward for the TCG scene. The Pokemon Sword and Shield era of cards is more than likely soon to come to an end, especially now that these new games have been revealed. I personally believe that we may only have two, certainly no more than three, sets remaining to come out under the eighth generation. With Brilliant Stars now being out, and Astral Radiance now being the next set known, we may only have one more set reveal left before we have to wave goodbye to the galar region being in the spotlight. All of this to say, we are more than likely to see a movement away from many of the new additions that the eighth generation had added to the card scene, specifically Pokemon V's and VMAX's. Alongside this, I predict that many sword and shield sets will jump in value, such as Evolving Skies and Shining Fates. Are you a fan of seeing what's to come, or are you wanting to keep with the rhythm we've known for the past few years? Leave your thoughts and opinions down below, and remember to sign up for our newsletter in order to not miss out on any important Pokemon news, whether it's a great TCG deal or another summary and analysis of what is to come!
