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Pokemon fans are excited about the upcoming launch of Pokemon Scarlet & Violet, as not only can we look forward to a shiny new area to explore, weird and wonderful new Pokemon, and an all-new cast to accompany them, but this is the first open-world RPG in the series.
With so much to be excited about, it's understandable that fans want to get their hands on all the latest information as soon as possible. That's why we've got everything you need to know about Pokemon Scarlet & Violet right here. We'll continue to update this guide as new information becomes available.
With Pokemon Scarlet & Violet right around the corner, this may be our last update before the big launch! We can't say for certain, but it's a distinct possibility. What's new this time, friends? We've added to our list of confirmed returning Impidimp we espy?
FAQ
When Is The Launch Date?
Pokemon Scarlet & Violet will be launching worldwide on November 18, 2022 for Nintendo Switch.
Will There Be Multiplayer?
There will be four-player co-op available. Fans can enter their friends' worlds, working together to overcome raids and adventuring across the Paldea region.
Will There Be Trading/Battling With Other Players?
Trading and battling with other players have been confirmed. (And we don't want to imagine a world in which it wasn't.) While you won't be able to battle together against NPC trainers, you can cheer on your friends whilst they do so, interacting with the game world in real time during their fights.
Can You Explore The Open World In Any Order?
Yes, this is the first Pokemon game in the series to be open-world and players are free to explore at their leisure, without the order of content being dictated by any of the three storylines. That said, each region in Paldea is assigned a difficulty number, seemingly on a 1-to-12 scale, where lower numbers indicate places with weaker Pokemon and trainers, and the highest being comparatively challenging. You can tackle content in any order, but consider the advisory value as suggesting the smoothest paths.
How Many Pokemon Will Be In The Game?
We have no confirmed number right now, but we'll continue to update the below sections on all Pokemon that have been revealed.
Who Are The Villains?
The villainous group is Team Star, though they appear to be not so much evil as delinquent troublemakers, perhaps more in the vein of Sword & Shield's Team Yell. That said, their troublemaking seems to eclipse Team Yell's, and Mela, who is either their formal leader or at the least one of their leaders, is clearly more of an outright antagonist than anyone from the former group. Taking on Team Star is one of Pokemon Scarlet & Violet's three story routes.
What Is The Goal Of The Game?
Pokemon Scarlet & Violet feature three stories. The first is the traditional Pokemon League adventure, in which players are tasked with battling eight Gym Leaders to obtain their Badges, then moving on to the League itself in a bid to become a Champion. But there is also the delinquent Team Star to deal with, as well as the hunt for rare herbs by battling massive Titan Pokemon. Press previews have referenced Nintendo's on-site representatives remarking that the Titan-related storyline is the heaviest on cutscenes, so perhaps it's the most important. Whether the trio of stories coalesces in some fashion or remain separate from start to finish is not yet known.
Can You Still Give Your Protagonist Makeovers?
You can, but with a caveat: since the hero or heroine attends an academy, you can never quite ditch the school uniform vibe. Haircuts, eye color changes, and fashion accessories, plus sweaters and such to partly mask the school days aesthetic, are all available.
The Main Characters
The Protagonist
Once again there are two different characters to choose from, a girl or a boy, and your initial outfit will vary depending on whether you play Pokemon Scarlet or Pokemon Violet. Although outfit customization is available, it appears to be more limited than in past offerings, as the overarching school uniform aesthetic is locked into place.
As for their 'canon' names, a term we use lightly, it appears that the boy is named Florian and the girl is Juliana.
The Pokemon Professors
There are actually two Pokemon professors this time around! Professor Sada (shown on the left) will be in Pokemon Scarlet, while Pokemon Violet players will meet Professor Turo (shown on the right).
Your Rivals And Friends
Nemona
We've been introduced to Nemona, a Pokemon trainer who apparently isn't the best at throwing Poke Balls. She is referred to as the protagonist's "friend", though through battling her and such, she'll likely take over the traditional rival role to some extent or another.
Penny
One of your classmates, Penny is a shy girl who doesn't spend too much time around other kids in the academy, instead choosing to travel by herself. Currently, some have theorized she has ties to Team Star, the group of delinquents we'll touch up on more momentarily.
Arven
One of the upperclassmen at the academy, Arven is a Pokemon trainer who loves cooking and travels across Paldea to research new healthy recipes for Pokemon. Arven is at the center of one of Pokemon Scarlet & Violet's three main story paths, as he'll join players in their search for rare ingredients known as Herba Mystica.
The Gym Leaders, Elite Four, and Champion(s)
Geeta
Geeta describes herself as the chairwoman of the Pokemon League, and since it appears that Scarlet & Violet's Paldea region honors multiple champion-class trainers simultaneously, this may make her the uppermost champion of them all.
Grusha
A former snowboarder and the current Gym Leader of the Glaseado Gym, this trainer uses a Cetitan as his partner, an Ice-type Pokemon that suits his coolheaded demeanor.
Brassius
Brassius is the Grass-type Gym Leader. Prior to battling him, he tasks players with a Gym Test to seek and gather several Sunflora, confirming the return of Pokemon Sword & Shield's pre-battle activities (and more broadly, Sun & Moon's Gym Trials). Additionally, Brassius uses the Paldea region's Terastal phenomenon to "crystallize" his Sudowoodo, referring to it as "Truleewoodo" (though as best we can tell, this is purely Brassius' nickname for it, not anything official).
Iono
Bubbly and bouncy, Iono is an Electric-type Gym Leader who resides in Levincia City. She's a professional streamer and influencer, because of course she is, and she has a special partner Pokemon named Bellibolt who fights by her side.
The School Faculty
Jacq
Your biology and homeroom teacher, Jacq is the developer of the Rotom Phone app for your Pokedex, a cheerful fellow who usually gets distracted by his own investigations.
Clavell
The acting director of the academy will welcome you as you start your journey in Paldea. A strict but kind teacher, he's a close friend of the two Pokemon professors in this region.
Team Star
Mela
Mela is said to be the boss (or at minimum, one of the bosses) of Team Star. She exhibits an appropriately fiery stage presence, and we've seen her use a Torkoal in battle.
All Currently Announced New Pokemon
Starter Pokemon
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Sprigatito |
Fuecoco |
Quaxly |
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Type |
Grass |
Type |
Fire |
Type |
Water |
Legendary Pokemon
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Koraidon |
Miraidon |
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Type |
??? |
Type |
??? |
Other New Pokemon
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Pawmi* |
Lechonk |
Smoliv |
Cyclizar |
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Type |
Electric |
Type |
Normal |
Type |
Grass/Normal |
Type |
Dragon/Normal |
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Cetitan |
Fidough |
Paldean Wooper |
Grafaiai |
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Type |
Ice |
Type |
Fairy |
Type |
Poison/Ground |
Type |
Normal/Poison |
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Armarouge |
Ceruledge |
Klawf |
Wiglett |
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Type |
Fire/Psychic |
Type |
Fire/Ghost |
Type |
Rock |
Type |
Water |
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< 
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Farigiraf |
Bellibolt |
Greavard |
Gimmighoul |
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Type |
Normal/Psychic |
Type |
Electric |
Type |
Ghost |
Type |
Ghost |
*We think we've seen Pawmi's evolution, or at least one of them, in the November 15 overview trailer. We've timestamped it for you.
New Mechanics - Terastallization Phenomenon And Picnics
This generation's new gimmick comes in the form of the Terastal Phenomenon, a form of crystaline power-up that will help your Pokemon to reach a new level during battles, a process that can sometimes give it a new additional type, called Tera Type.
You can find different specimens of the same Pokemon with different Tera Types by capturing them in the new Tera Raid Battles, and since there are currently 18 types in the type chart, the resulting combinations of Tera Types and Pokemon are seemingly endless. Eevee's been seen with Water-type and Fire-type, reminiscent of Chloe's strange pet in the Sword & Shield anime.
In the wild, you can encounter Pokemon that will Terastalize at the beginning of the battle. These Pokemon will be glowing a distinct golden color in the overworld. We've seen this with a Jigglypuff in the most recent trailer; the Jigglypuff remained stationary until approached, though there's no guarantee other, more powerful Terastalized Pokemon will do the same.
The Terastal Crystals for each type appear lovingly designed, with some fantastic throwbacks like the Ghost-type sporting the unidentified ghost in the Lavender Tower from way back in Red & Blue.
Picnics fulfill the role of past generations' more detailed Pokemon interaction mechanic, such as cooking to feed your Pokemon, playing with them and even cleaning them. New to Scarlet & Violet, however, is the odd inclusion of picnics being the source of Pokemon eggs used in breeding. It seems that picnic-based egg acquisition has replaced Pokemon Daycare.
Eating sandwiches can make certain Pokemon easier to catch, improve Raid-battling power, and provide potentially other, undisclosed boosts.
Koraidon And Miraidon Forms
Legendary Pokemon Miraidon and Koraidon get new forms that will help you to easily travel through the many different areas of Paldea. Importantly, you will receive yours (Koraidon in Scarlet; Miraidon in Violet) near the beginning of the game, as Scarlet & Violet es chew the tradition of their 'box mascots' being late-game discoveries. Koraidon and Miraidon have three modes, each with their own uses, and they are the following:
- Sprinting Build / Drive Mode Koraidon and Miraidon transform their bodies to traverse long distances at full speed, letting you ride them to cover ground more effectively in what looks to be a "motorcycle mode" for both pokemon.
- Swimming Build / Aquatic Mode When you jump into any water body, these pokemon will float and let you travel across the water to reach new places.
- Gliding Build / Glide Mode Jumping from high territory will make Koraidon and Miraidon extend their own head wings, allowing you to glide through the skies.
Technical Machine Machine
No, that's not a redundancy typo. The Technical Machine Machine service is available at Pokemon Centers, and it allows trainers to trade in gathered materials for the construction of TMs, adding a new dimension to acquiring these move-teaching tools. Required materials appear to always include a currency called League Points, as well as a mixture of other bits.
In the October 6 trailer, for example, Aerial Ace requires 800 LP, as well as three Starly Feathers and three Fletchling Feathers. And, in the November 15 overview trailer, a wild Lechonk dropped a Lechonk Hair. Which makes sense, really.
Three Journeys
Rather than a singular goal, players are given three, each with their own story, cast, and pivotal encounters. It may be necessary to complete each of them in order to unlock postgame content, though that's purely hypothetical for now.
- The Pokemon League is the most traditional story path. Players will travel to an assortment of cities, competing against their Gym Leaders, for a chance to make it through Victory Road. Notably, "Champion" appears to be more of a rank than the grand title of a single character, but to earn this prestigious rank, you will need to go through all the familiar hoops.
- The Path of Legends story path involves traveling alongside the upperclassman named Arva in search of Herba Mystica ingredients, battling "Titans" in their lairs along the way. We've seen a truly massive Klawf, called the "Stony Cliff Titan", in a recent trailer.
- Team Star's story path puts players head-to-head against the villainous organization of Scarlet & Violet, though following more recent generational conventions, Star may be more of a vaguely well-meaning thorn in the region's side rather than any full-fledged, world-domination seeking sort of gang. We'll see!
The "Let's Go" Mechanic
Not to be confused with the Gen 7 games, Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee, Pokemon Scarlet & Violet's "Let's Go" mechanic allows a Pokemon to follow alongside you and perform various tasks, including automatically battling nearby Pokemon. This is a pretty big deal, as it may alleviate some tedium involved in grinding (and even accidentally bumping into wild Pokemon whilst attempting to avoid them).
You issue the order for your following Pokemon to head in a given direction by telling them, fittingly, "Let's Go!" Thereafter, they will gather items, scrap with nearby critters, and whatever else The Pokemon Company has in store for us with this cool new gimmick. One thing we know for certain is that Team Star's bases utilize this system. You'll send out your Pokemon, at which point the game will task you with having them automatically scrap with a set number of opposing Pokemon before a time limit has passed or else you'll lose the mission and need to try again.
October 21 Press Coverage Reveals
Journeying across Paldea is as easy as choosing a direction and venturing forward. There are no true roadblocks, though a numerical system from one to twelve on your in-game map informs you of each area's estimated difficulty. Whether you bear this in mind enough to advance in order, or grind enough to ignore the warnings altogether, is entirely up to you.
Rather than rival trainers approaching players to prompt battles, you can choose whether to fight overworld trainers by speaking with them directly. In other words, the old "trainer's eyes" mechanic is gone, giving you full discretion on when to challenge these NPCs.
Cities are streamlined affairs, with most buildings inaccessible and storefronts either out in the open or, if indoors, a menu will immediately pop up when you interact with the door. That's not to say every building is like this, and whether you find this to be a plus or a negative is obviously subjective, but the goal appears to be less friction with the environment and faster interaction.
Pokemon Centers function not unlike stables in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, to borrow a comparison by VG 247's Alex Donaldson — there's no loading into an interior of any kind; rather, they're partly enclosed rest stops with nurses, shops, benches, and even speaker systems that play the always-welcome Pokemon Center theme in its latest remix. These pivotal places are scattered throughout Paldea's overworld.
Another interesting matter is that, judging by the Gym Leader challenge presented by Grass-type trainer Brassius, the goals which need to be met prior to battle involve the open world. For instance, as Brassius was the sole Gym Leader that the press was allowed to challenge, anyone in the media who elected to partake during their hands-on gameplay time soon discovered that his prerequisite, herding several Sunflora back to the gym, requires players to head outside and interact with the surrounding land.
These activities, which seem to follow up on Pokemon Sun & Moon's 'Trial' system and the little errands in Sword & Shield, replace the earlier iterations in which you would face a gauntlet of NPC trainers and some form of indoor puzzle before being allowed to challenge the Gym Leader.
While exploring Paldea, points of interest may light up, but you're free to head toward them or ignore them, depending on your current goal(s). Furthermore, the number of wild Pokemon is said to be substantial; and while you can't toss Poke Balls at the wild Pokemon to (potentially) instantly catch them, a la Pokemon Legends: Arceus, battles remain seamless. (Side note: you can still throw Poke Balls at them, technically; doing so just doesn't trigger a potential catch so much as provides a minor battle boost to your chosen fighter.)
November 8 Great Tusk And Iron Treads Reveals
Courtesy of a November 8 trailer, we're catching our first formal glimpse of a long-rumored exciting new mechanic: Paradox Forms. Right now, The Pokemon Company has unveiled Great Tusk and Iron Treads, from the Scarlet-exclusive 'Scarlet Book' and Violet-excusive 'Violet Book' respectively.
While it has not been officially stated what these Pokemon are, we can safely report (as can the internet at-large at this point, to be fair) that they're version-exclusive new forms of the old Johto Pokemon, Donphan. We'll likely see more of these Paradox Forms, which regard the past in Scarlet and the future in Violet, either in the final days before the games release or (most certainly) once we're exploring Paldea.
Great Tusk
"The book describes how this savage monster attacked the expedition team with its large body and tusks, mortally wounding one of the explorers." Wow. Between this and that found footage Greavard film, The Pokemon Company's getting kind of dark lately.
Iron Treads
"It is said that when this monster curls its body and rolls to attack, it leaves a trail gouged into the ground, as if it had scorched the earth." So, Iron Treads Donphan isn't murdering people. It's just ruining the environment. We're not sure which is worse.
Confirmed Returning Pokemon
Of course, we're not just excited about all the new Pokemon we'll get to meet, but we also want to know if some of our favorites will be returning too. Here's a list of every confirmed returning Pokemon so far.
TheGamer's Opinions And Theories
As with any popular series, the staff here at TheGamer have plenty of theories and viewpoints when it comes to Scarlet & Violet. Here you'll find various features and theories from the team, and only time will tell if they were right.
- Gen 9's Starters Need To Be Dual-Type
- Is Scarlet & Violet Going To Introduce Tri-Type Pokemon?
- Pokemon Scarlet & Violet Needs To Embrace The Culture Of Each New Town
- Pokemon Scarlet & Violet Should Be All About The Food
- Pokemon Scarlet & Violet Are Clearly Set In Two Different Time Periods
- Pokemon's New Professors Are Game Freak's Gift To Fan Artists Everywhere
- Pokemon Should Stop Baiting A New Eeveelution If There Isn't One
- I Can't Wait To Reunite With Tsareena In Pokemon Scarlet & Violet
- TheGamer's Biologist Explains Why Pokemon Scarlet & Violet’s Fidough Is Busted