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Pokémon Scarlet and Violet expansion adds new uniforms, but the wardrobe is still lacking

5K View2023-02-28

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet were notoriously buggy at release, but for me, the flaws of the ninth generation of this legendary series were outweighed by its many charms. Exploring the vast world of Paldea was an absolute joy, and the story was surprisingly captivating. (Arven’s storyline may have brought me to tears.)

While I was able to overlook most of the game’s shortcomings, the limited character customization was harder to ignore. Recent Pokémon titles have offered a huge selection of clothing, ranging from cozy sweaters to leather pants. In Scarlet and Violet, your character is stuck wearing a school uniform for the entire game.

The uniform has seasonal variants, and you can spice up your look with accessories, but your fashion choices are still pretty restricted. You can’t even change the color of your uniform, so most of the available accessories clash with your outfit. I constantly switched up my look in previous Pokémon titles, but in Scarlet and Violet, I stuck with the same boring outfit for almost the entire game.

This duo of titles is finally increasing its wardrobe offerings, but it might be too little too late. During the recent Pokémon Presents event, The Pokémon Company announced a new expansion for Scarlet and Violet: the Hidden Treasure of Area Zero. Fans that pre-order the expansion can download a new set of uniforms.

There’s some cute stuff here—I especially like the pink sweater vest—but it’s frustrating to have so few clothing options, even with paid DLC. The uniform sets are locked to their corresponding title, and there’s no way to mix and match different pieces. You can’t really express your creativity or experiment with different looks; you just have to find a uniform that looks okay and dress it up the best you can.

Scarlet and Violet’s open world gave Pokémon players more freedom than ever, but there’s no way to make your character your own. It’s hard to understand why there are so few base outfits to choose from or why the customization options are so lacking. I’ll play the Pokémon expansion, and I’ll give the new uniforms a try, but it sucks that my character can’t get dressed up for their new adventure.

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