Here’s our first look at Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s new Paldea region
Sun and snorlaxes
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Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s open-world region has been revealed in a new trailer.
Paldea will be the main setting ofPokémon Scarlet and Violet, taking the creature-catching RPG series to a Spanish-inspired locale for the first time. Set to be a fully open-world region, it will span a range of biomes – from green meadows, to towering peaks, to mountain ranges – as well as several towns.
Expect to find farming villages alongside port towns, and bustling marketplaces on top. The largest city is called Mesagoza, which, according to a press release, is where the game’s two main pokémon training academies – Naranja and Uva – are located. Similar toPokémon Sword and Shield, you’ll be able to access a map of the region using your character’s Rotom Phone.
Check out the new trailer below to get a feel for the world.
Terastallize to taste
As well as offering a new map and vaguely Iberian architecture to gawk at, Paldea also introduces a new pokémon form. Just asPokémon Sun and Moonadded regional pokémon, and Sword and Shield added the option to inflate your pocket monsters to supersize, Scarlet and Violet will let you “terastallize” any creatures you catch.
You can engage the transformation for any ‘mons in Paldea once per battle, enhancing their power and granting them a special ability. Their appearance will change, too, as they shimmer like a crystal and get some very stylish bling popped on their head. To terastallize a pokémon, you’ll need to use a rechargeable Tera Orb. They can be juiced up by finding special crystals throughout the environment or visiting a Pokémon Center.
Paldea is also special for being thefirst fully open-world regionin a Pokémon game. WhilePokémon Legends: Arceusintroduced vast environments, they weren’t seamlessly connected, and had to be accessed discretely through a central hub. Scarlet and Violet will change that by blending towns and the wilderness without loading screens or barriers. That’s just one thing we thought it needed tolearn from older Pokémon games.
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Callum is TechRadar Gaming’s News Writer. You’ll find him whipping up stories about all the latest happenings in the gaming world, as well as penning the odd feature and review. Before coming to TechRadar, he wrote freelance for various sites, including Clash, The Telegraph, and Gamesindustry.biz, and worked as a Staff Writer at Wargamer. Strategy games and RPGs are his bread and butter, but he’ll eat anything that spins a captivating narrative. He also loves tabletop games, and will happily chew your ear off about TTRPGs and board games.
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