Honestly, I wasn’t completely sold on Pokémon Scarlet and Violet until the latest trailer revealed picnics. Sure, I’m excited about the prospect of the series’ first open-world entries, but nothing beats the idea of spending some quality time with my Pokémon in the expansive environment, and a picnic seems like the perfect way to do it. that. After all, one of the great joys of Pokémon is the chance to go on an adventure with a team of lovely creatures that I’ve joined. I grew up playing the series, and Pokémon have always seemed more like friends to me than video game characters.
In recent iterations, we’ve steadily started to see the introduction of features that allow us to hang out with our Pokémon outside of battles as well, and I’m very happy to see this trend continue in future installments.
Quality time
As the new trailer showed, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet will allow us to settle anywhere in the desert of the Paldea region to have a picnic. The outdoor respite features some lovely features that allow you to interact with your Pokémon. As well as being able to talk to your little friends and use toys to play with them, you can also wash them to clean off any dirt and grime they’ve picked up on their travels. It reminds me quite a bit of camping in Pokemon Sword and Shield, which was one of my favorite pastimes in the Galar region. Between my wilderness escapades, there was nothing like spending the night with my critter friends. Watching them playfully interact with each other was very endearing, but it also created the feeling that all of my Pokémon were a real team that came together during our little pit stops.
In a similar vein, this is also why I valued letting my team out of their Pokéballs in Pokemon Legends Arceus. While it wasn’t as interactive, seeing my critter friends out in the wild with me allowed me to take a breather in their company, even if we weren’t doing anything particularly interesting. The stress of everyday life often doesn’t give us a chance to just be, whether it’s tasks we need to do, worries we may have, or problems we need to solve, winding down after a long day can be hard enough. Personally, that’s why I’ve always enjoyed the opportunity to slow down in virtual worlds like Animal Crossing: New Horizons or Alba: A Wildlife adventure, places where I can escape, where I can just enjoy the moment. I can already imagine spending a lot of time with my Pokémon friends during my picnic sessions to take a break both in and out of the game.
tasty treats
Of course, no picnic would be complete without a good cookout. Excitingly, cooking is making a comeback, but instead of making a curry like you would in Sword and Shield, Scarlet and Violet present a good old-fashioned sandwich montage. With the ability to change tablecloth designs, cups, water bottles, and more to make your picnic game suit you, you can make all kinds of sandwiches with lots of fillings and toppings. With picnics acting a bit like a makeshift Pokecenter in the wild, they also have real practical use as the sandwiches heal your Pokemon and even sometimes impart some useful buffs and effects.
In addition to bonding with your Pokémon friends, picnics will also be a lovely way to spend time with your real-life friends in the game. Thanks to cooperative multiplayer support for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, you can prepare for a picnic lunch with other trainers in the Paldea region. You’ll even be able to capture your picnic getaways with your Pokémon or friends with a group photo feature, which is a welcome addition that I can’t wait to play with.
It’s great to see the Pokémon series adopt and continue to introduce features that allow us to take a breather and spend more time with our creatures between fighting trainers and progressing through the campaign. While Pokémon Scarlet and Violet seems to be a huge step forward for the series as an open-world experience, nothing makes me want to dive into the adventure quite like the chance to go on a picnic with my Pokémon.
Keep track of the most exciting releases on the horizon with our roundup of upcoming switch games.
