As much as it can often be fun to criticize Pokémon Scarlet and Violet - after all, their rocky launch makes them an easy target - the foundations they lay for the Gen 10 games, coupled with what they did get right, do make them somewhat compelling, if a tad flawed. They're a good way of not only understanding what made previous Pokémon games so great, but also what future entries need, specifically the yet still unnanounced Gen 10 entries which will, presumably, be released on the Nintendo Switch 2.

There are a lot of bad Scarlet and Violet features that the Gen 10 games must abandon in order to be a far better and more entertaining experience, but there are some ideas that, while they didn't quite work, could end up becoming rather interesting. Case in point, Scarlet and Violet's open world offered a new and fresh take on the game's tried-and-tested exploration formula, but was largely undeveloped and felt half-baked. The Gen 10 Pokémon games can fix that by addressing Scarlet and Violet's world's weakest element.

Pokémon Scarlet & Violet's World Feels Boring

It Isn't Diverse Enough

Scarlet and Violet's worst feature is undoubtedly their world. It isn't the low framerate, lifeless towns, or generally awful visuals, although they all coalesce to be nearly equally frustrating to its worst aspect. Rather, it is how boring it is to both look at and explore that renders it a largely useless feature. That isn't to say that Pokémon Scarlet and Violet's open world isn't without merit. It, after all, set the groundwork for future Pokémon games to innovate upon, and offered a flawed, yet nevertheless fascinating insight into the direction of the franchise.

However, while it has its merits, Scarlet and Violet's world fails on a fundamental level because it has little to offer the player. From vast empty fields to brown desert dunes and barren frozen wastes, there's certainly variety, but not of any import. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet may change their color palette per area or switch up the seasonal theme, but rarely does it offer anything beyond the expected. Hills, trees, and the occasional tower may decorate the landscape, but they don't do much in the way of meaningfully altering it.

Of course, there are instances of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet doing something slightly unique with their world, such as a bamboo forest or the colorful trees of Tagtree Thicket. However, these are few and far between, scattered among the disappointingly bland areas that make up Paldea. It is a shame, too, as Pokémon has long since set a precedent for unique areas throughout each region, but the recent Switch entries, including Sword and Shield, rarely do anything unique. Even the Legends Z-A looks guilty of this with its copy-and-paste city design.

Pokémon Gen 10 Games Need More Diverse Areas

They Could Include Volcanoes, Hot Springs, Entire Cities, And More

As aforementioned, many of the very best Pokémon games have long since featured diverse and interesting locations in the same way that the recent Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom games have on the Nintendo Switch. Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire are flush with unique areas to explore, from the hot springs of Lavaridge Town to the tropical Route 119; Diamond and Pearl have the Safari Zone and Floaroma Meadow; Pokémon Gold and Silver feature the iconic Bell and Burned Tower. The list, frankly, goes on and on.

Of course, the listed games and many others within the franchise benefit from the more linear route-focused design that Scarlet and Violet don't have. The open-world design is fundamentally at odds with the original style of Pokémon, even despite the interconnected nature of previous generations. However, that isn't really an excuse for Scarlet and Violet to be as visually uninspired as they are, especially when other Nintendo first-party open-world games like Breath of the Wild and Xenoblade Chronicles feature far more diversity.

Whatever the next Pokémon game's region may be, it needs to circumvent the issues of Scarlet and Violet by introducing a more varied and diverse world, one populated with unique and interesting locations that are actually worth exploring.

Whatever the next Pokémon game's region may be, it needs to circumvent the issues of Scarlet and Violet by introducing a more varied and diverse world, one populated with unique and interesting locations that are actually worth exploring. Naturally, these areas need to be awash with novel gameplay features or collectibles, something Scarlet and Violet are also missing. However, visual variety goes a long way in even masking missing features like those, and is far more important, at least in my opinion, in creating a believable and dynamic experience.

Pokémon Gen 10 Games Would Benefit From Dynamic Weather

It Would Make Exploration More Exciting

The Gen 10 Pokémon games would also benefit from their areas feeling more alive than Scarlet and Violet's unfortunately lifeless zones. Simply littering every area with an abundance of wild Pokémon isn't enough to make one believe in your world, especially when their only purpose is to fight you or flee. The Gen 10 Pokémon games need more happening in their region than previous entries have been able to do, and that's largely possible thanks to the Switch 2's increased power.

One way of making a world feel more alive is to introduce dynamic weather. The Pokémon games have had some form of weather effects for quite a while, but these have always felt superfluous, often only adding a minor effect to battles and rarely transforming the world in a meaningful way. The Gen 10 Pokémon games could utilize dynamic weather in unique ways, much like how Breath of the Wild made rain affect Link's ability to scale cliffs, or lightning damage him if he was carrying metal weapons or wearing metal armor.

If it were to snow heavily, perhaps certain areas would become blocked off - not unlike how the tides in Xenoblade Chronicles 2 lock off areas until they subside - or storms could make wild Pokémon scatter to nearby caves, forcing players to venture in to find them and perhaps be faced with hidden challenging foes. Sandstorms could shut down shops in towns, thunder and lightning could scare Pokémon and make them attack the player as they're exploring, like in Legends Arceus, and rain could just make NPC trainers run home, their bags or coats dragged over their heads.

There is a world of possibility when it comes to how dynamic weather can affect the Gen 10 Pokémon games' world, just like how a greater variety in environmental design would also help make exploration a substantially more interesting experience. I sincerely hope that Game Freak put more effort into making the region of the next mainline Pokémon entry more exciting, otherwise, I fear they risk repeating Pokémon Scarlet and Violet's mistakes once again.