As per today’s Pokémon Presents, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet will feature yet another new form of Pokémon.
Terastallize is the process by which Pokémon are transformed from their regular forms into their Tera forms. From the in-game footage shown, this seems to be done by throwing some kind of gem at the Pokémon.
Interestingly, some Pokémon will change types when they terastallize. These types are referred to as a Pokémon’s “tera-type”. Tera types are not consistent even across the same species of Pokémon. For example, one Eevee could have a tera type of water and another could have a tera type of grass. Additionally, some tera types will be rarer than others.
Every single Pokémon in the Paldea region will be able to terastallize, meaning every Pokémon has the potential to switch types provided their tera type is different to their base form typing.
Quaxly (Tera)
A new type of raid called “Tera Raid Battles” will be available in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. This will be multiplayer for up to four players and will allow the players to go hunting for rare tera types together. Though each player will be able to attack and heal on their own timings, cooperation is key to getting through a Tera Raid Battle together.
More information regarding this form change will likely become available soon, but for now, it looks like it’s going to have a big impact on how battling as Pokémon will now have unpredictable type coverage depending on their tera typing.
The full implications of these new types on battling and other core aspects of Pokémon will likely not be fully understood until we receive more information, but the initial impression is that these forms are a game changer.
Several other new features were announced at the Pokémon Presents event, including that the world of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet will be fully open without restrictions. This includes the flexibility to complete the region’s gyms in any order you’d like.
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet will release on November 18 of this year exclusively on the Nintendo Switch.