Many recent games, especially those coming from major studios, have tried to offer various settings and accommodations so that they can be played by a diverse audience of gamers who might experience different kinds of sensory impairment. However, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet make it quite difficult for some fans to experience one of the most time-treasured hobbies in Pokémon. The hobby in question is hunting for Shiny Pokémon -- extremely rare versions of Pokémon with unique discolorations that are found at random.
In most games, when encountering Shiny Pokémon, the game would show a unique sparkling animation around the Pokémon at the start of the encounter, which indicated that it was Shiny in case players didn't notice the discolorations. As the games transitioned from randomly sparked encounters in specific areas to overworld encounters, many fans wondered how this would change the nature of Shiny hunting. While the first few games to feature overworld Pokémon seemed to go back and forth in terms of fan reaction, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet have made it nearly impossible for some people to detect when a Shiny Pokémon is nearby, and some fans are not happy.
How Players Detected Shiny Pokémon Before Scarlet & Violet
In both Pokémon: Let's Go and Pokémon Legends: Arceus, the only encounters players had with Pokémon were in the overworld environment, and so Shiny Pokémon appeared with their discolorations in the overworld. When players were around one, the Pokémon would show a sparkling animation, which made it easy for players to tell if it was Shiny. In Arceus, being near a Shiny would cause the game to play a unique sound, prompting players to look around carefully. Combining the visual and aural indicators was a great way to ensure that players wouldn't accidentally ignore a Shiny Pokémon. These also gave a little extra help to players with visual impairments who might not have been able to see some of the more nuanced discolorations in the crowded overworld environments.
However, in Pokémon Sword and Shield, players could encounter Pokémon in both overworld interactions and the random encounters of earlier games. But even in the overworld, Shiny Pokémon did not have Shiny discolorations. The only way to tell if an overworld Pokémon was a Shiny was to actually enter a battle with them. While this was rather annoying, it leveled out the playing field and did make sense considering the two different ways that players could encounter Pokémon.
How Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Take a Step Back for Accessibility
In Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, there are no random encounters anymore, and the only way to battle wild Pokémon is by encountering them in the overworld. However, the games have entirely removed the sparkling animation from past games -- both in the overworld and when battles begin -- so there is no visual indicator of when a Shiny is nearby or is being battled. The sound indicator from Arceus was also removed. In other words, Shiny hunting is harder than ever before.
As a result, telling Shiny Pokémon apart from ordinary Pokémon is quite difficult, especially given that the games introduce a ton of new Pokémon that players are encountering for the very first time. While already difficult for able-bodied players, this has made Shiny hunting incredibly difficult and even impossible for those who experience visual impairments. The lack of accessibility here is astounding and quite questionable. It seems as if Nintendo has made it purposely difficult to catch Shiny Pokémon, with no consideration at all given to those who might require these visual and aural aids.
Nintendo has recently announced that it will be rolling out patches to address some of the many complaints that fans have had following Pokémon Scarlet and Violet's successful but troubled launch. While most of these patches are likely to address the various bugs and glitches that plague the games, perhaps with enough feedback from fans, Nintendo can re-introduce the features that made hunting for rare Shiny Pokémon more accessible in past games. This oversight should be corrected to make this time-consuming yet exhilarating part of the games accessible and inclusive for all different types of Pokémon fans.