Pokémon Scarlet and Violet have been out for almost a year now, but fans are still discovering features they never knew about—including a very subtle one that is purely cosmetic.
In an Oct. 8 Reddit thread, one player mentioned how Pokémon look slightly dirtier and worn down when their HP is low. They included side-by-side images of a “dirty” Pokémon next to a clean one for comparison, but it’s still not super noticeable.
“I had to squint HARD to notice any difference,” a player commented. In fact, if the visual feature wasn’t pointed out, it’d be very easy to miss it altogether or mistake it for a shadow.
That isn’t where the subtle feature ends, either. According to the post, the dirt on your weakened Pokémon will go away by either restoring their health or using the wash feature while having a picnic.
Some players appreciate the inclusion of smaller details like this in the Gen IX games, but others aren’t so thrilled.
One player pointed out how Game Freak chose to add this cosmetic feature over something more useful like extra visual and audio effects on wild Shiny Pokémon to improve accessibility. Indeed, players could definitely benefit from more obvious cues while Shiny hunting, but no one is really benefitting from their Pokémon looking dirtier at lower HP. Sure, it adds a more realistic touch to the games, but what’s the point if a lot of players aren’t noticing it anyway?
At the same time, this could be a starting point to make future Pokémon games feel more complete and polished—as long as they don’t run into the many issues that have haunted Scarlet and Violet since their release.
Published: Oct 9, 2023 03:28 am