Pokemon Scarlet and Violent, the ninth generation of Pokemon, also released on Nintendo Switch but, compared to Pokemon Sword and Shield, is much more ambitious, taking a lot of cues from spin-off Pokemon Legends Arceus. Instead of limiting open areas to wild zones, the Paldea region is fully open-world. Some may chafe against this sheer looseness, but for those who want to just be let off the leash to catch creatures, this is one of the best Pokemon games for catering to that.
Given spin-off followup, Pokemon Legends Z-A, further evolves this formula, it seems that the big open world experiment in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is here to stay – it's a defining aspect of the ninth generation because of how different it makes play compared to earlier entries. Still, there's plenty more additions when it comes to new types of Pokemon transformations, and how the adventure is structured around your role as a student in Paldea. Read on to see more about the new features introduced in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, and how it's evolved the series.
