☆ Pokemon Legends Z-A Announced for 2025!
★ Golden Week Events: Tera Raid | Mass Outbreak
◓ Item Printer RNG Exploit complete Guide & Dates!
☆ The DLC Epilogue is now available! ▶︎ How to Start
┗Post Epilogue | New Coaches | Pecharunt | VGC
★ Regulation F is live! ▶︎ Indigo Disk Tier List
A limited selection of news sites were able to play a demo of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet (SV) and provide a hands-on preview on October 21. Game8 has compiled all the information released by every news site here. Learn about all the new information released and everything we learned from the demo!
List of Contents
In addition to the demo version of the game, each news source was provided with pre-recorded video footage of the game to use in their content. One source, the Dutch website Daily Nintendo, released the full video footage on their channel.
Note that not all of the content in the demo was shown in this footage, and additional details from the news sources' reports are compiled below.
The following is a full list of the points we have gleaned from various hands-on previews. If you found anything we missed, let us know in the comments!
| New Features |
|---|
|
・Trainer battles are optional ・The Starmobile, Mela's vehicle, can battle like a Pokemon ・Customize your character at any time (except hair) ・No gender restrictions on clothing or hair ・More clothing options other than uniforms ・Sandwiches at Picnics can give boosts to Shiny spawn rates ・Pokemon gain EXP from Auto-Battles ・Titan Pokemon encounters come in three parts ・All four Pokemon can Terastallize in Tera Raid Battles ・All three story paths are shown on the map at once ・No need to select potions to heal |
| Returning Features from Legends Arceus |
|
・Shiny Pokemon are visible on the overworld ・Battles take place in the Overworld ・Pokemon spawns and behavior are similar to Legends Arceus ・Sneak up on Pokemon to get a battle advantage ・Day/Night Cycle is not based on real time ・Weather is not tied to the date ・Pokemon learn moves automatically |
| Returning Features from Sword & Shield |
|
・IVs are still present in some form ・TMs can be found on the ground as normal items ・Box Link confirmed |
Curiously, I made eye contact with an NPC, but they didn’t initiate a battle. A Nintendo rep told me that in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, NPCs break that age-old tradition, and instead have an icon above their head to signify that they are willing and ready to fight if you interact with them.
Source: IGN
True to the open world style, players are free to skip trainer battles and will not be forced into battle when another trainer spots them.
After Torkoal, my next opponent was the Starmobile itself - which threatened to sweep my team with its Speed Boost Ability and powerful attacks. Luckily, Armarouge (a Scarlet-exclusive Pokemon) survived easily with its Flash Fire Ability, but it would have been a much tougher battle without it.
Source: IGN
Although details are still hazy on whether the Starmobile in itself is a Pokemon, it seems that players will fight with Mela, the boss of the Fire Crew of Team Star, like they would with a real Pokemon, with the Starmobile using attacks and even having the Speed Boost Ability.
This battle may be akin to the opponents from Pokestar Studios in Pokemon Black 2 and White 2, which acted like Pokemon in battle but could not be caught.
In Scarlet & Violet, you have the ability to change so much about your character's appearance except the hair at any time during your adventure. You can change the outfits, eye shape and more all without having to go to a Pokémon Center or Boutique.
Source: Serebii
With the exception of hair, which must be changed at a hairdresser, players can fully customize the appearance of their character at any time.
This time, there are no restrictions. All players can have all hair styles or wear whatever clothes they want regardless of the look they started with at the beginning of the game; every trainer has access to everything.
Source: Serebii
Unlike previous games where the choices of clothing was limited to the player's gender, in Scarlet and Violet, any player can wear any clothing or choose any hairstyle regardless of gender.
Outside of academy uniforms, there is a ton of clothing customization. It seems like the most in any Pokemon game so far. Players can purchase different shirts, shoes, gloves, hats, socks, backpacks, and even different phone cases for the Rotom phones.
Source: GameXplain
It was mentioned that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet will have tons of clothing customization for each player to enjoy! You can express yourself through in-game fashion and you can even style your Rotom phone!
I made my own sandwich while picnicking, which was novel enough, but I likely wouldn’t revisit the physics-based minigame often if it weren’t for the small buffs the meals provide. These buffs do a range of things, from increasing a specific type’s effectiveness to increasing spawn rates of specific groups of Pokemon - even Shiny Pokemon!
Source: IGN
Shiny hunters rejoice! A new buff from the Sandwiches made during Picnics increases the spawn rate of Shiny Pokemon. Given that Serebii was able to capture a Shiny Pokemon during a one-hour preview, it's also likely that Shiny rates are higher than previous games as well.
The experience earned from an Auto-Battle is still spread across the entire party, but is largely decreased compared to what you’d earn from a normal wild Pokemon battle.
Source: IGN
A new potential avenue for EXP farming, Auto-Battles have been confirmed to reward EXP points as well, albeit severely reduced.
Upon reaching the Titan questline marker, I encountered a massive Klawf. Nintendo told me that these Titan encounters contain three steps: track down and chase after them when they run, battling against them, and a third step I could not pursue based on preview parameters.
Source: Game Informer
Similar to the Noble Pokemon in Legends Arceus, the Titan Pokemon have multiple stages to each encounter. What could the third step of the encounter include that must be kept secret?
Unlike Max Raid Battles, there are also no shields to slow the battle down, but there was an element part way through the battle which adds a protection up. This protection can be taken down far easier with moves from Terastallized Pokémon. All Pokémon can Terastallize in these Raid Battles, but you have to have multiple moves hit the opposing Pokémon first.
Source: Serebii
Unlike Max Raid Battles, where only one Pokemon could Dynamax at a time, all four participating Pokemon can Terastallize in Tera Raid Battles as long as they fulfill the required conditions.
As all the paths were available to us, they got flagged on the map so you can easily go towards the goal you desire, at a pace you desire. This makes the game feel like it is really giving the player the choice of where to go, rather than holding the hand and us just being passengers through the journey. That said, the characters do sometimes try to suggest you go do particular things such as check on some other characters to lead you to the other story points.
Source: Serebii
Similar to Legends Arceus, players are directed towards story beats on the mini-map, and have a choice of any of the three stories to go towards.
There's also a new feature where you can select the Pokémon and heal it automatically. This is done by it just automatically using the items in your bag to heal as required, streamlining the process from before.
Source: Serebii
While previous games allowed for easy selection of Potions from the menu, Scarlet and Violet will allow your Pokemon to heal with a one-click option that automatically uses Potions.
One of the things many of the Pokémon community would like to know is one we can confirm; Shiny Pokémon are back in this game. ... Continuing on from Let's Go and Legends: Arceus, Shiny Pokémon are fully visible on the overworld, which is a marked improvement over Sword & Shield.
Source: Serebii
Shiny Pokemon can be seen on the overworld, another huge win for Shiny hunters, allowing players to look for Shinies without having to start battle after battle.
I was surprised when I went to battle one, and instead of seeing the typical screen-break transition with a new bombastic battle theme song, the fight simply started. There was no pause, no change in camera – nothing other than the shift in music. ... You can move the camera freely while selecting moves and watching the battle play out, which gave me a sense of cinematic freedom I’ve never felt in Pokémon before. And when the battle was over, I was right back to riding atop Koraidon, again with no screen break or transition.
Source: Game Informer
Like in Legends Arceus, you'll fight Pokemon in the middle of the overworld instead of in a pocket dimension. However, the player can no longer run around freely in battle like they could in Legends Arceus. The camera is still freely adjustable however.
Pokémon are found sprawled the field. You no longer have to go for specific tall grass for random encounters, which no longer exist, or for there to be a specific spawn point between the grass like in the Wild Area. Instead, it's more akin to Legends Arceus where they can be just about anywhere. They're not always just standing around waiting for you either, but you can see them sleeping or moving around. At one point, I was gliding over on Koraidon and looked down to see two Pokémon racing underneath me. I walked across the field and saw two Deerling sleeping amongst the grass while some other Pokémon were flying by behind them. Sometimes, you will see a group of 4 or 5 of a species of Pokémon together, sometimes with one of its evolutions in the middle.
Source: Serebii
So long to the tall grass – Pokemon are found only in overworld encounters in Scarlet and Violet, and like Legends Arceus, their behavior mimics that of real wildlife rather than the random monsters of typical RPGs.
There is another way to start a battle too, if you're close enough to a Pokémon, you can aim with ZL and throw your PokéBall to get your lead Pokémon out and start the battle. Targeting will show you the level of the Pokémon and its name, and if you sneak up on the Pokémon by crouching, and catch it unaware, you'll get a small boost at the start of the battle.
Source: Serebii
Although Pokemon cannot be caught by simply throwing a Poke Ball at them, you will gain an advantage when you hit a Pokemon with a Poke Ball from behind. Although the exact details of the boost are not given, it's likely that the Pokemon will be slightly slower to act.
Another change to prior traditional games, but following on from Legends: Arceus is that the time of day and weather are no longer tied to a real-time clock, but instead runs its own day/night cycle
Source: Serebii
Unlike previous Pokemon games dating back to Gold and Silver, the day and night in the game are not based on the real time of day, but on a short in-game cycle.
Weather is also another randomised factor in the game, taking more inspiration from Legends: Arceus than the date based weather of Sword & Shield. For example, shortly after it became night and I got to Artazon, a rain storm hit and unlike Sword & Shield, the player character was constantly reacting to it.
Source: Serebii
The weather in the game changes randomly over time, and each area is not locked to a single weather pattern throughout the day like in Sword and Shield.
Some changes from Legends: Arceus have made it through. While you learn moves in a similar way to Sword & Shield where if your Pokémon hits a level, it asks if you want to learn it, Scarlet & Violet continues Legends: Arceus method of relearning and forgetting moves – you can do it just from the menu at any time.
Source: Serebii
A welcome returning feature, Pokemon's moves can be quickly and easily swapped in and out from the menu, removing any need for a Move Relearner or a Move Deleter.
I did try to investigate if Pokemon still have Individual Values in a traditional sense, and they seem to. I caught two of the same Pokemon with the same Nature and the same level, but they still had different stats.
Source: IGN
IVs seem to be back, as two of the same Pokemon with the same level and the same Nature can still have different stats. That said, it's still possible that a different feature with the same effect has been swapped in.
It's worth noting I also found a TM on the ground as you normally would, too, but we don't yet know if some TMs are exclusively obtainable one way or the other.
Source: IGN
While TMs can now be crafted using the TM Machine, this is not the only method to obtain them, and they can still be found around the world like in previous Pokemon games.
You can also pull Pokémon out of your boxes at any time, just like in Sword & Shield.
Source: Serebii
Like in Sword and Shield, players can access the Box at any time to swap out their Pokemon, a great quality of life feature to have back after being unavailable in Legends Arceus.
The following sites were given access to the Scarlet and Violet Demo and have full writeups on the content. Feel free to check them out for more details (but don't forget about your old pal Game8 while you're away)
| DLC Story Epilogue | |
|---|---|
 DLC Story Epilogue The story epilogue for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero DLC is now live! |
|
| How to Start | ・Complete Base Game, Teal Mask, Indigo Disk ・Complete Academy Ace Tournament ・Get Mythical Pecha Berry Mystery Gift |
| Tera Raid Events | |
|---|---|
 Iron Leaves and Walking Wake Tera Raid Event Reruns are now LIVE! |
|
| Start Date | April 26, 2023 (Fri) at 00:00 UTC |
| End Date | May 06, 2023 (Mon) at 23:59 UTC |
| Mass Outbreak Events | |
|---|---|
| Event | Description |
 Golden Week Shiny Mass Outbreak Event (LIVE) |
Featured Pokemon: Rellor (Terarium Only) Shinx (Kitakami Only) Magikarp (Paldea Only) Varoom (Paldea Only)Special Event: Increased Shiny Odds for Varoom, Magikarp, Shinx, and Rellor! Location: Paldea, Kitakami, and Terarium Start Date: 04/26/2024 (12:00 AM) End Date: 05/06/2024 (11:59 PM) |
| Event | Description |
|---|---|
 Ranked Battle Regulation F [LIVE] |
Ruleset: New and Returning Pokemon from The Indigo Disk DLC will be available in Regulation F! |
 Ranked Battle Regulation G |
Ruleset: Legendary Pokemon will finally be available in Regulation G! |
 Global Challenge II 2024 |
Ruleset: Regulation F Signup Period: February 22 ~ 29, 2024 Competition Period: March 1~3, 2024 |
 2024 World Championship Series |
Ruleset: Regulation E |
| All Mystery Gift Codes | ||
|---|---|---|
| Code/Method | Reward | Start / End |
| FAKE0UTEU1C |  Marco Silva's Iron Hands |
April 5, 2024 - April 8, 2024 |
| L1K0W1TH906 |  Liko's Sprigatito |
Mar 15, 2024 - Sept 30, 2024 |
| Y0AS0B1B1R1B1R1 |  YOASOBI Pawmot |
Mar 13, 2024 - Feb 28, 2025 |
| NE0R0T0MC0VER |  Neo-Kitakami Rotom Phone Case |
Jan 15, 2024 - TBD |
| Select Get via Internet |
 Mythical Pecha Berry |
N/A |
| G0TCHAP0KEM0N |  Quick Ball |
Dec 26, 2023 - Feb 28, 2025 |
| SUPEREFFECT1VE |  Expert Belt |
Dec 26, 2023 - Feb 28, 2025 |
| WEARTERASTALCAP |  Terastal Symbol Cap |
Dec 22, 2023 - Nov 30, 2024 |
| SEEY0U1NPALDEA |  Upbeat 1IV Gimmighoul |
Dec 13, 2023 - Nov 30, 2024 |
| TEAMSTAR |  Paldean Winds Team Star Revavroom |
Nov 22, 2023 - Oct 31, 2024 |
| SWEET0RSP1CY |   Herba Mystica |
Oct 18, 2023 - Sep 30, 2024 |
| L1KEAFLUTE |  Paldean Winds Cetitan |
Sep 6, 2023 - August 31, 2024 |
| Connect to Pokemon HOME |    |
May 3, 2023 - No Expiration |
| Server Maintenance Status (February 2024) |
|---|
| No Scheduled Server Maintenance! |
October 21 Hands-on Preview: Everything We Learned
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