The latest Pokémon Scarlet and Violet trailer revealed monsters from the new region, but Lechonk and Pawmi are disappointing starts to the Generation.
Pokémon is continuously developing and releasing new monsters to add to its massive roster, but the latest designs revealed in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are somewhat disappointing. Generation 9 will likely bring the National Pokédex past a thousand unique monsters for the franchise, one of the world’s largest collections of video game characters. After so many games and new monsters, it’s understandable that the series’ developers would begin to run out of particularly interesting ideas for Pokémon. Basic monsters with few differences from their real-world counterparts are consistently filling pages of the dex, which could prove fatal for Pokémon generations in the future.
The latest Pokémon Scarlet and Violet The gameplay trailer revealed several new monsters in the region, and some of the most popular additions are disappointingly familiar. For example, Pokémon has added another Pikachu clone with Pawmi, which sports an Electric typing and a mouse-like design. The monster even has Pikachu’s iconic colored cheeks and three-toed paws, striking a remarkably similar appearance to the franchise’s mascot. While it appears adorable, its existence makes uncreative additions to the Pokédex even more frustrating. Most Pokémon generations feature a Pikachu clone, such as Pachirisu in Sinnoh, Mimikyu in Alola, and Morpeko in Galar. Unfortunately, Pawmi isn’t the only uncreative addition to the Pokédex.
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet also feature real animals with few changes, such as the newest popular monster: Lechonk. Though neither Game Freak nor Nintendo has released the monster’s typing, and it certainly is cute, its appearance is strikingly similar to the wild boar it’s meant to mirror. Unfortunately, Lechonk isn’t the only monster that’s nearly identical to the species or object it’s based on, with other monsters like Lillipup, Wooloo, Klink, and Klefki being particularly uncreative. However, this trend did not begin in later generations and has existed since Kanto, with creatures such as Muk and Exeggcute, which are a puddle of grime and batch of eggs, respectively.
Pokémon Could Be Running Out Of Design Ideas – For Several Reasons
There are many countries left in the world to inspire new Pokémon regions and games, but Nintendo and Game Freak may be running out of territories with unique designs for monsters. While there are plenty of variations in existing species, it can be difficult to design memorable monsters when they utilize similar body types. Additionally, while Nintendo and Game Freak have yet to explore many regions, it’s important to remember that Earth is in a crisis most scientists consider to be a mass extinction, and certainly the existing climate crisis must make basing Pokémon designs on real animals a more complicated. endeavor.
Yet what makes some of the new Pokémon designs more disappointing is the existence of high-quality fanmade Pokémon. The official Pokémon subreddit is filled with original creations, and there is no shortage of Pokémon fan RPGs and similar games (despite some suffering copyright strikes and legal takedowns). The community may at this point be firing on my creative cylinders than the developer, which is disheartening. It’s unlikely for Nintendo or Game Freak to enlist the community’s help, but the significant decline in original designs is distressing to many Pokémon fans. Thankfully, plenty of information about Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is still unknown, and there’s every possibility that later evolutions will be a pleasant surprise.
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are scheduled to release November 18, meaning Nintendo could unveil dozens more monsters in the coming months. However, early looks at the newest Pokémon are slightly disappointing considering past releases. When Nintendo announced Pokémon Sword and Shield, fans immediately encountered some of the best monsters Galar had to offer. Unfortunately, if Lechonk and Pawmi are templates for what will appear in Scarlet and Violet going forward, fans may be disappointed in the next Pokémon generation.
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