The primary battle gimmick inPokemon ScarletandVioletis the Terastal phenomenon. There are many parallels that connect Terastallization to Mega Evolution, and according to the rumor mill, these connections will only grow after The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero DLC launches later this year.
Pokemon ScarletandVioletare no strangers to adding gimmicks to the battle system found in the iconic series.SunandMoonsaw the inclusion of Z-Moves, andSwordandShieldintroduced Dynamax and Gigantamax. However, none of these new additions toPokemonbattles have been as fondly remembered as Mega Evolution. If the rumors aboutScarletandViolet’sDLC are true, then some new, specialized Tera forms for select creatures could rival Mega Evolution and perhaps take its crown as the best battle gimmick.
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Pokemon Scarlet and Violet’s New Tera Forms Have Plenty of Type Potential
Mega Evolution stands outas the first battle gimmick Pokemon added, and one of the things that remained memorable with fans is that some mega evolved pocket monsters would be given new secondary typings. One prominent example would be Charizard, which could remain Fire/Flying as Charizard Y, but become Fire/Dragon as Charizard X. This could change the tide of battle considerably as these new typings could change how effective moves were mid-battle.
However, therumored special tera forms forPokemon ScarletandVioletcould be game-changing. Terastallization itself changes a critter’s core types, and it’s already been used for some versatile plays by fans. These only change to one type, though, but more personalized and unique tera transformations could open the gimmick to changing the dual-typing of select Pokemon. For example, a Ceruledge turning into an Electric-Type after being Fire/Ghost-Type is a great turn-around play for some extra coverage, but a dedicated Tera Ceruledge form that becomes Electric/Fairy upon using the Tera Orb could change the tide of battle considerably.
Terastallization Could Change Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Team Comps
There is one big flaw with Mega Evolution that Terastallization has fixed that may end up being the leg-up against the gimmick ofGeneration 6 ofPokemon, and that is its versatility. The Terastal phenomenon isn’t selective, and it can be used on any creature found in the game. This means that if different creatures get a whole new set of types with personalized forms, they’ll need to stand out against the normal, monotype Tera form when players have to team build. While there’s a strong chance that the unique Tera forms may fall more in line with Gigantamax and only give each Pokemon one type still, the rumors have likened these new forms to Mega Evolution, which played around with secondary types the most.
Depending on how many Pokemon are given a unique Terastallized form, there’s room for these dual-type changing creatures to take up a whole competitive team, which will lead to broader strategies and trickier plays that may makecompetitivePokemon VGCbattlesmore exciting than they’ve ever been. However, these forms would have to be designed for competitive play specifically, and not every creature will get a form that’ll be useful in the metagame.
As interesting as these new Tera forms might sound, they are only rumors so far. All of this is simply speculation untilmore information about The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero DLCis revealed, which might take a while as other Nintendo titles such asThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomwill be taking the focus away fromPokemonfor a while. If the rumors are true, however, fans can look forward to some challenging battles once the DLC arrives.
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