Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are getting Auto Battles and fans are welcoming it

The Pokémon Company released new information for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet (Pokémon SV) on September 7. In addition to new Pokémon and characters, they also quietly showed off the “Let’s Go!” and Auto Battle features which certainly seem to have grabbed fans’ attention.

“Let’s Go!” allows players to instruct their Pokémon in the field. In Pokémon SV, players can have one Pokémon walk around with them while exploring the world. This Pokémon can be sent off in the direction of the player’s choosing to independently pick up items and battle nearby wild Pokémon in what are called Auto Battles.

Auto Battles consist of Pokémon sent off with the “Let’s Go!” finding and automatically battling wild Pokémon without having to receive orders from a trainer. During these battles, players are free to do what they please, like walking around collecting items or staying nearby to observe the battle. Items and experience points can be earned through Auto Battles as well.

While the unveiling of these features was relatively reserved, they are worth a special mention. That’s because similar features were introduced in Pokémon Legends: Arceus to positive reception from players. Tossing a Pokémon at a tree or an ore deposit would see that Pokémon automatically collect the targeted materials. Pokémon could also be caught in the field without engaging in turn-based battles and still yielded experience points.

While Pokémon battles are one of the appeals of the series, it can be a chore to be stuck in battles against low level or weak opponents. Pokémon Legends: Arceus added a number of features while in the field to streamline the gameplay, and “Let’s Go!” and Auto Battles seem like a further extension of that.

These features were only shown off with a bit of text and 4 screenshots, but there’s still plenty of information to be gleaned from them. It looks like the entire party, not just the Pokémon that participated in the Auto Battle, may get experience from fights.

On r/Games, one of the most popular gaming related subreddits on Reddit, Auto Battles seem to be getting the most attention out of all the information released in the new trailer. The general consensus seems to be positive around auto battling being introduced to the series, and the level of attention it’s getting shows just how interested players are in updates to the battle system.

As mentioned earlier, all the details regarding “Let’s Go!” and Auto Battles haven’t been clearly explained at this point, but we’ll probably get a better understanding with later footage or information releases. Hopefully having regular battles and Auto Battles makes adventuring even more pleasant and immersive.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are scheduled to release on November 18.

Written by. Nick Mosier based on the original Japanese article (original article’s publication date: 2022-09-08 12:37 JST)