Things We Would Like to See Fixed in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet have officially been out for over a month now, and many fans are split on the new entries. On the one hand, they have provided a lot of new and ambitious ideas for the series, but Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are also plagued by some issues, most of which are technical and can be patched out.

However, after investing over 100 hours into the game, enjoying the entirety of the single player, goofing off with friends online, and doing an insane amount of Tera Raids, there are a few things that I think The Pokemon Company needs to do to make the Pokemon Scarlet and Violet experience even better for its players. Let’s get into some of these things, shall we?

DISCLAIMER: This is not an article about the technical issues that exist within the new titles but about ideas that we think would better the normal gameplay experience.

Interacting in Union Circle

First and foremost is the biggest thing we think needs to be addressed in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, and that is the Union Circle. Union Circle is how you and your friends can actually play together in the same world, which is a fantastic idea for the open world Pokemon games. The problem, though, is that Union Circle is beyond limited and very few things are streamlined.

Take for example battling and trading. Instead of being able to simply initiate such an action with my friend right in front of me, I need to go into the Poke Portal and initiate a link trade, surprise trade, or link battle as if I am playing by myself still. This area feels too familiar in all the wrong ways, and since The Pokemon Company and Game Freak introduced Union Circle as a means of playing directly with your friends, why in the world can I not do basic Pokemon things while in the world with them? And why can’t we join the same Tera Raid from the overworld together?!

This is why a “Talk” button should be introduced to Union Circle. That way when you want to battle or trade with your friends who are literally in the same digital world as you, you can simply initiate a “Talk” which brings up a menu to trade, battle, etc. To me, this seems like a no-brainer and something that should have been in the game from the start. The fact that I am even writing about this is upsetting, so c’mon, fix this one ASAP!

Searches in Tera Raids

Tera Raids are the newest form of raid battling within Pokemon. These are battles where Pokemon are equipped with potential new typings thanks to terastallizing, which grants them with a crystal icon of the new typing over their head. These battles are initiated from your own world by finding different colored crystal caves around Paldea. You can also host and join Tera Raids online, which is the best way to do these, especially 5-star raids and higher.

However, one major issue with the online system is that it is annoying as all hell to navigate and find what Tera Raids you are interested in. When searching for raids, you are given 8 random choices (See image above) and have to choose one of them. You can input a Link Code to join a friend, or you can use Random which will put you into a random raid. The problem with Random is that it is very strict in regards to quitting or dropping out, and I can understand why people quit certain raids, especially over-frequent ones or bad ones.

One way to easily combat this would be a Pokemon or Tera Type search option, to allow players the ability to select certain Tera Raids that they are interested in. I understand this may take away from the “lesser” raids, but the current system is beyond annoying and ineffective if you are looking for certain raids to participate in. Considering this is the mode that most players will enjoy after clearing the story, making it more accessible and fun is a must.

Add a Skip Option

Another nagging issue in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is the excessive amount of text boxes that overwhelm players across the multiple story arcs. I understand that stories and character development are important, but some times players just want to dive into the game and play.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet has a ton of dialog sections, many of which feel like a chore to read as well. For little kids, this can be taxing, and even for adults, this can be annoying and/or frustrating. With that in mind, why isn’t there a proper skip option to bypass the pages and pages of text boxes? No offense to Clavell, but I can only take so many of his quips and jokes.

I know that adding a Skip option may be dangerous for some people who may accidentally do so, but there are ways around that, too. If we had the option to hold down Y for 5 seconds in order to skip a section of dialog, I think that would be fair. It would be difficult to “accidentally” do that, and holding a button down for 5 seconds is way more tolerable than button mashing for 10 minutes trying to skip the long line of text boxes.

Trainer Battle Locations or a Pin System

This is a minor issue, but it is still one that should be resolved. I understand that The Pokemon Company does not want to put every single trainer battle on the map right from the start, but there has to be a way to manage this better than randomly searching around the giant world or going online and finding articles to help with the matter.

Instead, why not give players the ability to mark down Trainer Battles on their map once they discover them? This would be so helpful, because then it gives the player the ability to move on without battling while also giving them a marker for their discovery.

As it stands right now, there is no way to mark locations except a destination, which is a bit of a problem. The fact that there is not a colored pin system is also annoying, and if that was included, it would be incredibly helpful as well. As it stands now, though, there is no way to mark anything of substance on the map to return to once you are ready.

STOP CHARGING AT ME!!

Okay. This one is probably the problem that irritates us the most. It does provide some funny moments here and there, but when you are in the middle of a Tauros or Gogoat grouping, nonstop charging can ensue. This means that these type of Pokemon will target at you and charge to initiate a battle, but the problem with this is that these type of Pokemon continue to charge even when you are occupied.

Say you are trying to catch a Tauros in the midst of six Tauros. While you are battling the one Tauros, the others will be staring at you and charging at you, even though they cannot interact with you at the time. However, as soon as you finish with your planned encounter, you will be met with a party of Taurus all around you, possibly even on top of you, that will immediately initiate another encounter. I have even experienced times where I am forced to encounter Pokemon this way for about ten times before I can escape.

Look, I get it. I understand that The Pokemon Company wants this to look a bit more natural, but give me a break. Why not turn off the surrounding Pokemon’s ability to see you while you are busy battling, looking at your box, taking a break, etc? It would make returning to the overworld a little more pleasant than being surprised by unplanned encounter after unplanned encounter. C’mon, The Pokemon Company. This is an easy fix. MAKE IT HAPPEN!

Why Can’t I Buy Shirts and Pants?!

Finally, and I think you know where this is going just from the header, but where in the world are our clothes options?! In Sword and Shield, we had a ton of options for clothes, so at the least, I was expecting t-shirts in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. I mean, I was hoping for my boy Shuckle’s t-shirt of it eating curry, but my hopes were dashed when I found out that not only is Shuckle not in the game but t-shirts are not either.

Customization is a huge desire in video games, so the fact that The Pokemon Company gave us some solid customization options in regards to our avatar’s look was nice, but what about our attire?! The four seasons of school outfits are… no offense… kind of bland and stupid. Thankfully we can at least wear hats, but I need t-shirts in this game now! I want to buy all the t-shirts and change it every day. Instead, I am stuck with bland school clothes.

The fact that there are stores that sell clothes yet do not sell particular parts is infuriating. I have a feeling this will happen down the road, but the fact that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet shipped without this is insane to me. Expand the shops in this game, guys. I need my Shuckle shirt! Or at least a Quaxley shirt.

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And that’s our list! Thank you for stopping by Nintendo Link. What do you think of these suggestions to help improve Pokemon Scarlet and Violet? Do you have any ideas? Let us know in the comments! Happy gaming, everyone.