One of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Major Themes Shouldn't Be Off the Table for Future Generations (2024)

After the release of two DLC packs, the era of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet may be coming to an end as the 10th Pokemon generation sits on the horizon. While looking toward the future of the series, it's easy to recognize that one major theme of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet would be wasted if it were not revisited again.

Scarlet and Violet brought tons of new innovations to the Pokemon series, most notably an open-world model. Though the Pokemon game released with some issues that needed addressing, some fans embraced it from day one, seeing its potential rather than its faults. In many ways, Scarlet and Violet break with traditions of the series, such as including a split story without a linear path - choices which some consider faults, yet others feel are improvements. But one inclusion that most fans agree is for the best is the inclusion of new paradox Pokemon. These new forms, either past or future variations of existing Pokemon, are central to the games’ major theme of time travel. While most Pokemon games leave the previous generation’s themes behind, the series will be worse off if it doesn’t continue to explore the implications of time travel in the Pokemon world.

Pokemon’s History with Time Travel

Though Scarlet and Violet were the first Pokemon games to include time travel as a central theme, the series has explored the area before. As early as generation 2, the games introduced a Pokemon with the ability to travel in time. Celebi, one of the mythical Pokemon, is known as “the time travel Pokemon,” and even takes the player back in time briefly in Heart Gold and Soul Silver if certain conditions are met at the Ilex Forest Shrine. In the core games, that is the only time Celebi is shown using this power, but it does happen more frequently in the anime.

Generation 4 also hinted at time travel with the arrival of Dialga, the box legendary of Pokemon Diamond, and “the temporal Pokemon.” Dialga is said to be able to control time as well as travel through it. The games don’t directly show Dialga traveling in time, but, much like Celebi, the anime does. Dialga is the entity that controls time in the Pokemon world, and, along with Palkia, received powerful origin forms in Pokemon: Legends Arceus, so it has been top of mind for many players lately. These two Pokemon show that Game Freak has been toying with the idea of time travel in Pokemon for a long time. It took until Scarlet and Violet for that idea to be used as a major theme.

The Future of Time Travel in Pokemon

Because of Scarlet and Violet’s heavy emphasis on time travel, it’s currently unclear if the series will revisit the trope again any time soon. Future generations could certainly include some version of time travel, if only as a way to allow players to catch paradox Pokemon again, but possibly not as a main theme. Additionally, it is worth pointing out that the Pokemon Legends subseries seems to be a time travel-heavy series, with the first game taking place in the ancient past, and the next Pokemon game rumored to take place in the future. It seems that game freak isn’t planning to shake the fascination it has with the idea of seeing Pokemon from different time periods, but it might decide to take a break from time travel in the next mainline game in the series.

While a break from time travel as a major theme is reasonable, the plot device is too rich and full of potential to be dropped completely. Paradox Pokemon have fascinated the fan base, with many even designing their own versions of Pokemon from the past or future. Seeing what the Pokemon from those times look like has made fans wonder if they will ever see the locations that those Pokemon originated from. If Pokemon can make the temporal trip, it would stand to reason that humans might as well, allowing the player to visit distant locations in time. And if the player can, so too could a new villainous team, seeking to alter time for nefarious purposes.

Time travel has been a staple in media for generations, and the Pokemon series would be better off building on what Scarlet and Violet have introduced, rather than keeping it in the rear view. While Pokemon Legends subseries seeming to be ongoing and may provide Game Freak with a chance to continue exploring different eras in time outside the main games, the mainline titles do not have to stop exploring time travel. Scarlet and Violet have done an excellent job of introducing these ideas into the series, but they only scratch the surface of what could be done further down the road.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

Pokemon Scarlet & Pokemon Violet are the main entries in the series for Generation IX. They introduced over 100 new Pokemon and brought players to the Paldea region.

Franchise

Pokemon

Platform(s)

Switch

Released

November 18, 2022

Developer(s)

Game Freak

Publisher(s)

Nintendo , The Pokemon Company

Genre(s)

RPG

ESRB

E For Everyone Due To Mild Fantasy Violence

Metascore

72

How Long To Beat

31½ Hours

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