With just a few months to go before Pokemon Scarlet and Violet officially launch, Game Freak has been continuing to tease out new details about its upcoming ninth generation. From a trailer revealed at its Pokemon World Championship this year dedicated to the competitive improvements Pokemon Scarlet and Violet have made, various new items and moves were showcased. In particular, a new move called "Tera Blast" was revealed and linked to the new games' Terastallization mechanic.
While Tera Blast was one of a few other new moves revealed for Scarlet and Violet and it's a fairly standard attacking move players can use to take advantage of their Pokemon's Tera-type, it does indicate that Game Freak has given Terastallization more thought than it has let on. Since the trailer is officially titled its "Competitive Play" trailer, it seems Terastallization will be going beyond just changing Pokemon types. Tera Blast may hint at many other Terastallization-based moves.
Why Tera Blast Is Significant
The way Tera Blast works is simple. Without Terastallization it's a Normal-type move, but when a Pokemon has Terastallized, it changes to the new Tera-type. It's a move that replicates the likes of Weather Ball, which changes with the weather and is reminiscent of other similar high-powered Pokemon moves like Fire Blast or Focus Blast. So while not necessarily groundbreaking at face value, it does offer both an incentive and competitive edge for players to make use of Terastallization with a powerful attack that can change the course of a battle.
Tera Blast's existence could imply that there will be other Tera-based moves, since if it were to be the only one, then fans would be left wondering why Game Freak bothered at all. However, no other moves linked to Terastallization have yet been confirmed, and players are still parsing out the full details about how Terastallization is going to work, especially as savvy fans have already pointed out that Pokemon with certain Tera-types could be problematic and potentially break the game. But in short, new moves seem likely, though fans are left speculating on how these might play out.
Possible New Tera-Based Moves
Currently, there are many moves that make use of certain conditions during battles, and not just for attacking. For instance, following the introduction of terrains in Gen 6, several moves that make use of this mechanic have since been introduced, ranging from Expanding Force which has its attack doubled, Grassy Glide which can have a higher priority when moving, to Floral Healing which gets a boost to healing. It's entirely possible then that Tera-based moves, possibly hinted at in Scarlet and Violet leaks, could have similar effects either on players' own Terastallized Pokemon or their opponents'.
One possible option could be an inverse of Tera Blast changing type, where instead a Tera-based move used against a Terastallized Pokemon will always be supereffective regardless of type, with possible disadvantages being low attack power. Alternatively, other Tera-based Pokemon moves could be used defensively, performing similar Spiky Shield or King's Shield, but operating on the Terastallization gemstone aesthetic and lowering accuracy due to its "shine." Other moves could provide stat boosts or healing benefits, akin to Floral Healing where a Terastallized Pokemon gets a boost to their HP.
Expanding Both Single-Player and Competitive Battles
The potential is clearly there for more Tera-based moves, and these could take on many different forms ranging from helping the player optimize their own Terastallized Pokemon to taking advantage of an opponent's Terastallized Pokemon. Much like how Dynamaxing and Gigantamaxing were a core part of Gym battles in Pokemon Sword and Shield, it stands to reason that Scarlet and Violet's own trainers and gyms will make use of Terastallization, especially through unique Tera-type combos like a Tyranitar with the Ghost Tera-type, as seen in the Competitive Play trailer.
While this helps expand and diversify the single-player experience as they learn the ropes of Terastallization and figure out their preferred styles of play, Tera-based moves could help revolutionize the competitive scene through new depths of strategy. It might be a departure from Mega Evolutions that fans want to return, Terastallization could be a better Pokemon gimmick suited to enhanced competitive play.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are set to release on November 18, exclusively for Nintendo Switch.