Today's Pokémon Presents presentation has given us lots of brand new information about the upcoming open-world RPGs Pokémon Scarlet & Violet. Yep, The Pokémon Company are keen to remind us of this, and we're all the more excited because of it!
One pretty key piece of info we got was a little look at what seems to be generation 9's unique mechanic — Terastal Pokémon.
This new phenomenon causes your 'mons to crystallise (or Terastallize, as it's apparently called) which makes your little creatures all sparkly and shiny. And, as a bonus, they get a bit of extra decoration on their heads. Not just flowers, like Sprigatito or Eevee, seemed to have, either.
This isn't just for some nice aesthetic change, though. Turning into a crystal gives the Pokémon's stats a boost, including altering stats and changing their type to a Tera type. Each Pokémon has its own Tera type, and there are rare types to uncover too! Eevee, for example, has multiple types to find!
You can Terastallize your Pokémon once a battle, but it lasts until the end of the fight. And if your Pokémon uses a move that matches its Tera type, it'll boost its power even more.
You can't just turn your Pokémon into a big gem without a catalyst! You'll need a Tera Orb, which is apparently exclusive to certain Trainers. This means basically anyone playing the game, really. The catch, though, is that the Tera Orb loses all of its power when you Terastallize a Pokémon. You can recharge it by touching crystals out in the wild or returning to a Pokémon Centre.
The presentation also confirmed that Raid Battles would be returning, and they'll be using this new mechanic as the basis. You and three other friends head down to a world full of sparkly Pokémon.
We'll bring you more details on the Terastal phenomenon as we get them, but it looks like the forms are subject to the Pokémon's Tera type, as we can see Water, Fire, Grass, and Flying (among others) showing different types of adornments to their heads.
What do you think of this new mechanic? Let us know in the comments!
This story has been updated with new information that has been added to the official Scarlet & Violet website, including details of the Tera Orb.
Comments 48
I thought it will be Proto and Neo form from the rumour I heard considering the theme was about different timeline.
Was the Crystal thing have something related with Time travel or different era?
meh
Can't say this is at all exciting
I wish they'd go back to not trying to add some new gimmick each game. They're never fun and just partially ruin competitive battles. Surely it can't be bad as Dynamax though at least.
Eh, not as cool as I was hoping but the ability to have any Pokemon change it's type is still really interesting. It also gives them an excuse to bring back raid dens which is fine by me because that was the best part of SwSh damnit!
Though I imagine the same Pokemon having different possible type changes will be a nightmare for competitive players....
Dynamaxing was alright, wouldn't have minded them expanding on that instead of a new gimmick
Love the crystal look!
Reminds me of the Pokemon 2000s TCG set Skyridge!
Swarovski forme
Of course a new gimmick was to be expected, but I wish they wouldn’t discard previous ones, especially Mega Evolution, and now Gigantamax forms. I’m hoping that Dynamaxing will return seeing as raids are making a comeback, but mainly for the sake of keeping Gigantamax forms for future games.
I also wonder whether Terastal forms will feature as alternate forms in the Pokédex, or whether they’re basically just glorified ornaments programmed to appear on each Pokémon’s head.
This could also be a exciting development, by giving underappreciated Pokémon new move/type combos.
And could crystal Onix now be a thing in the games?
It’s almost a shame that I’d already evolved the shiny one I had caught back in Let’s Go Eevee.
Not impressed. The game looks fun and I'm excited for co-op, but this does nothing for me...
So far, the only gimmick I've liked has been mega evolutions. The rest are just kind of boring.
Don't you think Pokemon Scarlet / Violet was trying to be like Final Fantasy XIII with Motorbike Pokemon (Shiva sisters' Motorbike) and Terastal (being Crystal Stasis in FF XIII) ?
All of this is moot if we can't analyze the trees.
Lol does this really count as a mechanic
Can't wait until they drop it for the next game. Game Freak doesn't distinguish between gimmick and mechanic.
At this point I really just wished Nintendo gave the franchise to a more creative team.
It's painful to watch at this point.
Another gimmick that will be put in the trash can next games but this time pokemon haves ugly hats.
The new feature is… Crystal Hats!
Seriously though at least these are pretty.
That said I wish they’d bring back mega evolution. That was by far the best gimmic. Though instead of making it a gimmic just let me evolve a Blastoise to a mega permanently.
Whaddya gonna bet they'll be making crystal toys for the kiddies?
So all of the leaked information that's been coming out over the last few weeks has all been accurate.
I love that.
The leaked info is making me more excited for the game, actually!
Is it just me or is every new pokemon game now "the first open world pokemon game"
I just want Mega Evolutions back.
It's amazing how people complain that Pokémon is all the same, it never changes, but when they do change, it's always a gimmick that not only it's convoluted and gives Game Freak a lot of extra work, but it's also a gimmick that is often not continued properly in the next games, these gimmicks keep clashing with each other.
Pokémon is becoming like Sonic, a franchise that is obsessed with gimmicks that don't last instead of just continuing and building on what worked on previous games.
@AnnoyingFrenzy That's is what I said above.
Gimmicks can be cool if they aren't constantly abandoned and replaced with a new gimmick.
Come on everybody CRYSTAL HATS!!!!!
So, considering the Pokemon company had to design crystal assets for a bunch of Pokemon, it's unlikely we'll get a full PokeDex this generation too
Terastallized Pokémon look like porcelain. I think it looks neat visually, and changing types will have a big impact on gameplay, though I scratched my head when they mentioned grass and water Eevee. Leafeon and Vaporeon are off crying in the corner.
Regardless of the crystal aesthetic, the mechanic itself is honestly a great fusion between the old Hidden Power meta and newer generations' battle form gimmicks. I believe Game Freak will drip feed more Tera types like hidden abilities and Gigantamax forms. I'm excited to collect extra Tera types for my favorite Pokemon!
not the coolest mechanic, but at least that means it won't be missed when it will be replaced next gen so I'm fine with it
Wish they would rather not introduce a new gimick only to not use it one or two gens in the future.
If they absolutely needs one I wish they went with the delta species idea Pokemon cards did some time ago. Basically, someone did something, that made pokemon in the region change types.
This new gimmick makes the game look cheap.
I was kind of embarrassed to see this, it just looks silly. Changing types mid battle is fine but to make some grand reveal out of gaudy chandelier visuals is just... What were they thinking?
Honestly, and I'd understand if everyone called me stubborn at this point, but I'd still rather have a complete National Dex rather than another one-generation gameplay gimmick.
A guy can dream, I suppose.
Game looks good, but the new gimmick however..it looks pretty and thats about it.
I love the Nintendo Life Community whenever anything Pokèmon is posted. The comments are just brimming with positivity and unrealistic expectations like expecting 1000+ Pokèmon to be added.
Seriously, I didn't use Dynamax even once in my play through unless it was was forced on me when its was introduced in the game. This though, this I might use. I really liked Sun/Moon's gimmick. Felt like turning super saiyan.
It's a bit unfair that every time a new gen comes, all previous gimmicks must be removed in order for a new to be introduced. It's understandable for the other ones since they only happen in their regions, but Mega Evolution is international!
Ok, to sum up, Cetitan really deserves a Gigantamax form.
I hoped for more dynamic camera angles for battles but it's alright, I'm glad Raid Battles are returning (they should become a standard).
I still need to understand this new mechanic and everything about it, if only they released gameplay showcases for these games.
Nintendo Treehouse, I invoke ya!
I would rather have Mega Evolutions and Z-Moves.
This just sounds to strange to me.
Wish they just stuck to Mega evolutions, this just feels like a less interesting take on Z moves which were already less interesting than Mega evolutions.
I don't hate the idea here, but I really hate the aesthetic - these just look like kitschy crystal figurines. Mega-evolution is the only generational gimmick so far that's felt like a natural extension of Pokemon's core gameplay, and it's also the only gimmick that's been accompanied by really cool designs (a few of the G-max designs came close, but most fell flat for me).
Also, the implementation of G-max and now tera-types as yet another "chase" mechanic to drive engagement just feels a bit cheap. Pokemon is already rife with gacha mechanics, so I guess it's not too surprising, but for whatever reason this added layer rubs me the wrong way.
It looks really... Bad. At least mid battle type changes sound cool
It reminds me of the crystal ponies in MLPFI,
I just want mega evolutions back Bro!
❗️I never really used the Gigantamax in 🗡🛡 unless I NEEDED to so I won't use it, unless it stops me completing the storymode.
As someone who has had zero interest in Pokémon since finishing Ruby:
This is the least bad "power up" gimmick I've seen.
I miss Mega's, nothing has come close to that.
Kind of wish they'd stick to one of these gimmicks for more than one game.
@cylemmulo it's just you.
@Key19 How do you think this is better than megas? Lol
@DJDM My grandma would totally collect crystal Pokémon figurines. Maybe they were aiming for the 70+ year olds with this feature?
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