Fans are getting excited about all the information being revealed about the new Pokémon games, Scarlet and Violet. From giant Pokémon to villainous teams to brand-new Pokémon, details are trickling in daily. As such, there's plenty to be eager about regarding these new installments.
A quick glimpse of one of the Mega Man-esque Pokémon, Ceruledge, has speculation running high. This new Pokémon seems to have a shadowy aura around it, and while that may just be the effect of a new move, it's enough to get fans wondering -- are we returning to the shadowy plot points of Pokémon Colosseum?
Pokémon Colosseum and its sequel are easily two of the most beloved spinoff games in the Pokémon franchise, with their darker storylines and challenging gameplay. Despite being older GameCube games, they still garner a good deal of popularity, to the point that even Pokémon Go contains Shadow Pokémon encounters. It's no wonder that fans would love to get another glimpse of what made the set of games so great.
Scarlet and Violet definitely seem to give off the general air of Colosseum. While Paldea may not be the barren wastes of Orre, there are still some parts of it that are reminiscent of that region. The engine Pokémon that seems to be powering Team Star's Starmobile has the same sort of design details that Wes' motorcycle does, such as arcing pipes. Fans have already zeroed in on Ceruledge being a potential Shadow Pokémon, with its aforementioned dark aura. Team Star has bases reminiscent of some of Team Cipher's strongholds. The partying Starmobile that comes cruising out at the end of the raid battles, meanwhile, gives off the same startling party energy that Miror B has when the player first encounters him. It might not contrast as severely with the rest of Paldea as Miror B did with Orre, but it definitely looks like that battle will be energetic.
One might ask why fans would hanker for more of a pair of games that are nearly two decades old. Perhaps it's the unique qualities Colosseum has as compared to the rest of the Pokémon library: a nearly post-cataclysmic region populated by criminals and the player character being a reformed criminal himself. As mentioned, the storyline is darker and the gameplay is more difficult, making for a more memorable experience. It also scratched a particular itch at the time that the mainline games couldn't until Gen VIII, as it was a full 3D Pokémon game on the then-modern console, the Nintendo GameCube.
Will Scarlet and Violet be true successors to Colosseum? It's doubtful -- the developer of Pokémon has been taking the franchise in a decidedly easier direction, focusing more on making gameplay accessible for casual gamers and children. Colosseum, on the other hand, was made with the older Pokémon fans in mind, calculating that those who started out with Gen I would be in their late teens by the time of the game's release and would be hungering for a more complex experience. Older fans are still hungering for that same experience, which might be why they're so eager to return to Orre. Whether that ever happens or not, Colosseum remains a high bar to clear, and one that fans remember with fondness.