Pokémon Scarlet (Japanese: ポケットモンスター スカーレット Pocket Monsters Scarlet) and Pokémon Violet (Japanese: ポケットモンスター バイオレット Pocket Monsters Violet) are the primary paired versions of Generation IX.

On November 18, 2022, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet launched for the Nintendo Switch globally. Players can enjoy the game in nine languages: Japanese, English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Korean and Simplified and Traditional Chinese.

The game was announced worldwide on Pokémon Day, February 27, 2022 during a Nintendo Switch Special Presentation of Pokémon Presents.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Plot

This part may contain major Nintendo Switch’s Pokemon Scarlet and Violet plot or ending details.

Upon moving to the Paldea region with their mother, the main character of this story now lives in Cabo Poco, a small settlement. They will soon start studying at the Naranja Academy/Uva Academy located in Mesagoza, the largest city of this area.

The director of the academy, Clavell, offers the player a selection of three starter Pokémon. The next-door neighbor and leader of the student council, Nemona, supports their journey as she takes one of the starters to train alongside the player – even though she is already a Champion-level Trainer.

Upon exploring Poco Path, the player runs into a weakened Koraidon/Miraidon that rescues them from a group of aggressive Houndour. Arven, an academy student, then recognizes the Pokémon and hands its Poké Ball to the player.

Arriving in Mesagoza in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

Nemona explains the Terastal phenomena to the player as they travel to Mesagoza and arranges for them to obtain a Tera Orb so they can make use of it as well. In Mesagoza, the player protects Penny from being bullied by Team Star, a group of delinquent academy student. Team Star is accused of bullying Penny.

Additionally, Professor Sada’s/Professor Turo Arven’s mother/father contacts them, revealing that the Koraidon/Miraidon the player is currently travelling with was once in their care and requesting that the player take good care of it.

Three days later, Director Clavell launches the Treasure Hunt, an individual study task in which academy students search all of Paldea for anything they may claim as their own unique treasure. This gives the player the option to start three distinct tales simultaneously or one at a time.

Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet Victory Road

The player leaves to confront the eight Pokémon Gyms near Paldea at Nemona’s suggestion. Those who have acquired all eight required Gym Badges are eligible to take the Champion Assessment and earn the Champion Rank at the Pokémon League headquarters.

Nemona frequently appears to support the player in various ways, most frequently by battling, as they go throughout the area taking on the Gyms in any order they choose. The Top Champion, the strongest Champion-ranked Trainer in the area, Geeta, the president of the Paldea Pokémon League, and a few of the Elite Four are also introduced to the player.

The player travels to the Pokémon League headquarters once they have earned all eight Gym Badges. The player battles and beats the Elite Four and Geeta after completing an interview test, elevating them to the position of Champion Trainer. Nemona challenges them to one more combat, in which she gives it her best since she is thrilled that the player has finally become equal to her. The Victory Road plot is completed by defeating her in this conflict.

Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet Path of Legends

Arven informs the player of the five enormous Pokémon known as Titan Pokémon that are spread throughout Paldea. He asks for assistance from the player in eliminating the Titan Pokémon and obtaining their Herba Mysticas, legendary plants with incredible medicinal properties.

The player’s Koraidon/Miraidon progressively regains its former skills by consuming sandwiches made with Herba Mysticas while on the mission to destroy the Titans. Eventually, Arven also admits that he wants to use the Herba Mysticas to aid in Mabosstiff’s recovery from a recent serious injury.

Arven’s Mabosstiff fully recovers, much to Arven’s enormous relief, and the player’s Koraidon/Miraidon has regained all of its old powers, with the exception of its ability to engage in combat.

Arven then engages the player in a full-power battle to check if they are both prepared to face the most dangerous place in the area before the Professor invites the player to visit them at their laboratory at the Great Crater of Paldea. The Path of Legends is finished if you defeat him.

Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet Starfall Street

In an operation code-named “Operation Starfall,” a person going by the name Cassiopeia hacks into the player’s Rotom Phone and asks for assistance in taking out Team Star. In order to take down Team Star’s five teams at their bases by defeating the boss of each squad, the player is joined by Director Clavell, who is posing as an academy student and going by the nickname “Clive.”

The player eventually acquires more knowledge about the squad’s past as they fight the team alone. The team was made up of bullied individuals who made the decision to finally confront their tormentors after being united by their enigmatic “big boss.” But when confronted 18 months before the game’s events, the bullies ran away without even making an attempt to fight back and left the academy.

In addition, the academy’s former deputy director deleted all reports of bullying from the school’s records, giving Team Star the appearance that they were the bullies. The academy’s entire staff had quit as a result, blaming themselves for having failed to stop it from happening, which is why none of the current staff members are aware of the occurrence.

After defeating all five of Team Star’s units, Cassiopeia eventually emerges as the team’s “big boss,” launching Operation Starfall because the team is unable to continue functioning as it is, and instructing the player to fight them in the schoolyard at night.

At the academy, Clavell removes his mask and introduces himself as Cassiopeia. However, after losing a battle, he confesses that he was only trying to gauge the player’s readiness to take on the actual Cassiopeia. In the playground, the player encounters Cassiopeia in real life, who discloses that she is Penny.

After Penny is vanquished, Clavell reveals that the Team Star superiors were there and approves the team’s request to convert their bases into Trainer training centres in exchange for permission to continue operations. The end of Starfall Street is now.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet: The Way Home

Following the completion of the first three stories, the Professor requests that the player, Arven, Nemona, and Penny travel to Area Zero at the Great Crater of Paldea. Primitive/mechanical Pokémon are encountered as the gang travels to four research stations scattered across the area to unlock the door to the professor’s lab.

The Professor developed a time machine that brought them, along with two Koraidon/Miraidon specimens, to the current day from an earlier time. Some of these Paradox Pokémon face the player and their companions as they approach the laboratory’s entrance, forcing the player to enter the Zero Lab alone as their friends battle the Pokémon outside.

The player finds out inside the lab that the Professor is actually a robot that the real Professor built before they were both slain by a Paradox Pokémon. Although the robot’s artificial intelligence is a perfect replica of the original Professor’s memories and emotions, it disagrees with the original Professor’s desire to keep the time machine running because it would endanger Paldea’s ecosystem by overpopulating it with Paradox Pokémon.

The player is compelled to fight the AI against its will because it is trained to defend the time machine. After the player and their companions have vanquished the AI, the robot Professor is taken over by a programme known as the Paradise Protection Protocol, which also locks any Poké Balls without the Professor’s ID. The Paradise Protection Protocol’s control over the AI is finally broken when the player’s Koraidon/Miraidon fights and defeats another creature of its type.

But the AI understands that the time machine cannot be turned off as long as it is around since its systems are so intricately linked to it. As a result, the AI decides to use the time machine to move to an other age and bids the player and their friends farewell before dissipating. The Way Home and the main game are concluded when the player and their friends choose to travel slowly and scenically back to Mesagoza after the time machine permanently shuts down.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Post-game

Nemona suggests holding a battle tournament at the school to honour the player’s new Champion status after they and their friends return to regular school life. She also invites Geeta to participate because she is the head of the academy’s school board.

Geeta agrees to participate provided the player takes her place in evaluating each Gym Leader to see whether they are still deserving of their posts, despite the fact that she claims to be preoccupied with her duties as the Pokémon League chairwoman. As a result, the player makes multiple trips back to each Gym to rematch with each of the eight Gym Leaders.

The Academy Ace Tournament is then held when the player has finished the rematches and informed Geeta of the results of their inspection. With victories over Arven in the opening round, biology instructor Jacq in the second round, battle studies teacher Dendra in the third round, and Geeta in the championship, the player is declared the strongest Trainer at the academy.

The post-game story is then concluded by Clavell saying that the tournament won’t be a one-time thing and will now be done frequently.

Features and Gameplay (Battle, Exploration) of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is set in the Paldea region and is an open-world game in which areas are seamlessly connected. The areas in the game can be visited in any order without Pokémon’s levels being scaled to the player’s achievements. The game also features multiplayer with up to four players simultaneously, enabling trading and battling between players as well as allowing them to travel through the game’s areas together.

Terastal phenomenon

Any Pokémon from the Paldea region can gain power and become bejewelled thanks to the Terastal phenomenon, a brand-new type of transformation that uses the Tera Orb. Following Terastalizing, a Pokémon’s inherent type attribute is either improved upon or changed in accordance with their Tera Type.

Paradox Pokémon

When first introduced, the Paradox Pokémon are described as “unknown animals.” While Iron Treads is detailed in the Violet Book that appears in Pokémon Violet, Great Tusk is described in the Scarlet Book that appears in Pokémon Scarlet. They are a unique group of Pokémon that originated in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s distant past and future, respectively.

Version-exclusive Pokémon

Except for Koraidon and Miraidon, which require trading, most version-exclusive Pokémon can be found and captured by players of the opposing version who join a Union Circle or Tera Raid Battle. In the opposite version from which their evolution items can be acquired, Armarouge and Ceruledge can be acquired through raids, including solo raids, but not a Union Circle, and vice versa for Paradox Pokémon.

Compatibility

In the spring of 2023, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet will be able to communicate with Pokémon HOME. This enables users to store and obtain Pokémon from Pokémon HOME, including those that were imported into Pokémon HOME from earlier generations. However, they can only receive Pokémon that are present in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.

Unusable moves

Numerous moves are no longer available in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. These moves are not typically taught to Pokémon in games. Most of these movements contain the following general description in place of their customary descriptions: “This move can’t be used. It’s recommended that this move is forgotten. Once forgotten, this move can’t be remembered.

Save data bonuses

If the Nintendo Switch system being used has save data from previous mainline Pokémon games, the player may talk to an NPC in Mesagoza to receive a case for the Rotom Phone:

  • Pika-Vee Case, if Pokemon Let’s Go, Pikachu! or Pokemon Let’s Go, Eevee! save data exists.
  • Ball Guy Case, if Pokemon Sword or Pokemon Shield save data exists.
  • Pokétch Case, if Pokemon Brilliant Diamond or Pokemon Shining Pearl save data exists.
  • Arc Phone Case, if Pokemon Legends: Arceus save data exists.

Reception of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

IGN rated the games an “Okay” 6/10. They are the lowest rated core series games on Metacritic, holding a score of 72% and 71% respectively.

Sales of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

he games are the most pre-ordered games in the series’ history. They sold over 10 million units in their launch weekend, which is the highest for any Nintendo game in this time frame.

Version history

VersionRelease DateGame File SizeOfficial NoteMore Information
1.0.0Initial Release5.5 GBN/APlayable version only available via physical game cart.
1.0.1November 10, 20226.6 GBVarious bug fixes and adjustments have been made to make your gameplay experience more enjoyable. NOTE: In order to enjoy Mystery Gifts and features using online play, you will need to have downloaded the latest data.The original version when downloading from Nintendo eShop. This update is required for online connectivity. Certain Pokémon had move compatibility changed. The base stat totals of the members of the Treasures of Ruin were lowered by 10 each.
1.1.0December 1st 20226.6 GBSeason 1 of Ranked Battles will kick off, allowing you to enjoy Ranked Battles through the Battle Stadium. Please check the in-game notice for more details about Ranked Battles Season 1. An issue has been fixed that caused the music to not play correctly during the battles with the Elite Four and the Top Champion in the Victory Road path. Other select bug fixes have been made. We are aware that players may encounter issues that affect the games’ performance. Our goal is always to give players a positive experience with our games, and we apologize for the inconvenience. We take the feedback from players seriously and are working on improvements to the games.Pokémon afflicted by the sleep status condition in battle now close their eyes. Some Pokémon now use proper idle animations in battles.

Notes:

  • v1.0.0 is present on the physical game carts, and is playable on a Switch whose internet connection remains off.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Trivia

  • The titles of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are similar to several Japanese trademarks registered by Nintendo, Creatures, and Game Freak in 2008 and 2009. The Chinese titles use the same characters as two of the trademarks.
    • Pocket Monsters Vermilion (Japanese: ポケットモンスター朱) [application number 2008-093273, registration number 5222908]
    • Pocket Monsters Purple (Japanese: ポケットモンスター紫) [application number 2008-093274, registration number 5222909]
    • Pocket Monsters Crimson (Japanese: ポケットモンスター紅) [application number 2008-093275, registration number 5222910]
    • Pocket Monsters Scarlet (Japanese: ポケットモンスター緋) [application number 2008-093276, registration number 5222911]
    • Pocket Monsters Vermilion (Japanese: ポケットモンスターヴァーミリオン) [application number 2009-060076, registration number 5307994]
    • Pocket Monsters Purple (Japanese: ポケットモンスターパープル) [application number 2009-060077, registration number 5307995]
    • Pocket Monsters Crimson (Japanese: ポケットモンスタークリムゾン) [application number 2009-060078, registration number 5341303]
    • Pocket Monsters Scarlet (Japanese: ポケットモンスタースカーレット) [application number 2009-060079, registration number 5341304]
  • These are the first paired core series games:
    • In which the player characters’ initial appearance differs depending on the version.
      • In addition, these are the first core series games in which the player characters wear the same outfit regardless of gender.
    • To feature version-exclusive Pokémon Professors.
    • Since Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 to be named after colors.
    • To be released the same calendar year as another traditional JRPG (Pokémon Legends Arceus was released on January 28, 2022 and Pokémon Scarlet and Violet on November 18, 2022).
  • Contrary to Pokémon Legends Arceus whose Japanese name was for one of the first time ポケモン or Pokémon, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet reverts back to the original ポケットモンスター or Pocket Monsters showing the Pokémon Legends Arceus was an anomaly in the franchise.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet in other languages

 ポケットモンスター スカーレット・バイオレットCantonese寶可夢 朱/紫Mandarin寶可夢 朱/紫Pokémon Écarlate et Violet
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