Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Absolutely Nailed This One Feature (2024)

The latest additions to the Pokémon franchise, Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet, were true successors to the timeless tale of a young person partnering up with their first Pokémon, and setting out on an epic quest to grow stronger, make new friends, and face off against evil. Only this time, the game diverged in several significant ways. Rest assured though, this actually heightened the experience of the newest mainline entries to the series.

In previous installments of Pokémon games, there is a set path to follow. The player typically acquires Pokemon, challenges gyms, and travels throughout the newest region with appearances from the area's enemy team. Somewhere along the way, a legendary Pokémon is thrown into the mix to add a level of final boss achievement. While these games possess those tropes, the developers have reworked these elements considerably in Scarlet & Violet, adding a level of nuance and emotional maturity to the games that have rarely been seen in the past. In doing so, the most recent Pokémon titles became the most narratively complex games in the series, with its story being the one aspect that Scarlet & Violet absolutely nailed.

The Story Of Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Is Not Linear

• Pokémon Scarlet & Violet is a true open world.
• It has three major storylines that converge into a final quest.

One major factor of the narrative that separates the ninth-generation games from their predecessors is the true open-world experience. If the player has the will and courage to do so, they can travel to regions for which they could be woefully unprepared, encountering Pokémon or trainers that could crush their entire team on their own. This leans into the game's narrative decision of letting players choose which stories to focus on, despite the challenge a certain story path presents if the player is not of a sufficiently high enough level.

There are three main storylines the player can explore and eventually complete in Scarlet & Violet. The first one is the classic tale of the main protagonist battling at different gyms to grow stronger with their team, all the while competing against their rival in anticipation of a final, climactic showdown to determine who is the best. All of this naturally culminates in the defeat of the Elite Four and the reigning champion of the region.

The second explores the often-used "enemy team" trope, pitting the player against a villainous faction of trainers who oppose their goals and beliefs. Only this time around, the team in question, Team Star, is portrayed as far more sympathetic. They are victims of a system that failed them, and ultimately fight the player in a last-ditch effort to find safety and community. Lastly, and this is a new addition, the game introduced the hunt for Titan Pokémon, a category of Pokémon that have been enhanced by mystical herbs to become far larger, and far deadlier than they normally would be.

Players can complete these stories one at a time, or spread them out to create a balanced leveling up system. Everything concludes in a final mission that brings the three quests together in a way that not only feels earned but is extremely entertaining to watch unfold. Players see all their efforts pay off as the characters they have interacted with separately finally meet and share their stories, giving weight to the relationships players have built with all of them.

Pokemon Scarlet & Violet Did Not Shy Away From Darker Plot Points

• Pokémon Scarlet & Violet explored darker plot points, such as death and grief.
• The game region's professor has been dead for some time, and inadvertently became the final boss.

Another aspect that heightened the overall narrative was its more mature tone. Now, as Pokemon is typically a game for children, it is obviously sanitized to make it more bright and cheerful than a game for adults would be. Yet, there have been a few times in the franchise's history where they broached the topics of death and disaster, most notably in the original game that featured the spirit of a deceased Marowak, and the burned-down Pokémon Mansion where Mewtwo was created. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet take this a step further, explicitly mentioning that characters have died, elaborating on what happened, and even bringing the threat of death closer to both players and Pokémon.

This is especially seen in the Titan Pokémon questline, where the overall goal is to acquire the mystic herbs to help heal a Pokémon on the brink of death. There are several points throughout the game where the dreaded implication looms that the herbs might not be working. Likewise, the final quest reveals that the region's professor, who has been speaking to the player remotely, has been dead for some time, and was instead an AI duplicate of the professor's mind. It has been reaching out to a sufficiently strong player to help undo the experiment that killed the original professor and prevent any further chaos from being unleashed.

So, the game really is one of the darkest entries of the Pokémon franchise. What's more, it doesn't shy away from the grief that loss can bring, having its characters reflect on complicated emotions and relationships. Perhaps this was done to acknowledge that the Pokémon fanbase has been growing, and the game series is doing so as well, but it captured a perfect balance between being fun for all ages, while still maturely exploring darker stories.

Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Is A Nuanced And Heartfelt Story

• Pokémon Scarlet & Violet has a lot of heart and nuance to its story.
• It realistically develops the friendships players build along the way.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet had a lot going for it. It took staples of the franchise that fans had come to expect and reinvented them. From granting players access to the game's mascot almost immediately, to turning the usual villains into misunderstood anti-heroes, and even making the professor something of a villain towards the end. The emotional complexity only served to heighten the experience, ending the story on a heartwarming, if bittersweet story that felt completely earned.

As the player explores the world, they are surrounded by myriad possibilities that all seem separate, until they inevitably collide. What's even more impressive is that this resolution of all the questlines is not only incredible to watch, but truly feels earned. By the time the final boss is unveiled, the player has gone through a true journey, growing up alongside the other characters who traveled with them into the most dangerous place in the region for the sake of friendship.

Pokémon Scarlet & Violet may not be the best out of all Pokémon games, but few can deny that it has a lot of heart. It is a breath of fresh air, breaking away from the usual, static narrative of a single path forward in favor of giving the player more control. While the story may still be set, it is up to the player how they wish to approach it, and in doing so they make the game all their own.

Pokemon

Expanding across a multitude of media, including TCGs, video games, manga, live-action movies and anime, the Pokémon franchise is set in a shared world of humans and creatures with a wide variety of special abilities.

Created by

Satoshi Tajiri

First Film

Pokemon: The First Movie

Latest Film

Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle

First TV Show

Pokémon (1997)

Latest TV Show

Pokémon Horizons (2023)

First Episode Air Date

April 1, 1997

Video Game(s)

Pokémon GO , Pokemon X and Y , Pokémon Legends: Arceus , Pokémon Scarlet and Violet , Pokémon Sword and Shield , Pokémon Diamond & Pearl , Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl , Pokemon Red and Blue , Detective Pikachu , Detective Pikachu Returns , Pokémon: Let's Go, Eevee! , Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu!