Pokemon ScarletandPokemon Violetmark the 9th Generation ofPokemon, introducing species new and old to the Paldea region. Building off of eight Generations worth ofPokemon, there are more than enough references and Easter eggs to previous entries in the franchise. Some are obvious while others take a bit of exploring to find.
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Thanks to the open world mechanic ofScarlet & Violet, players are free to visit most cities in any order they desire. Occasionally, talk to an NPC in a new city. They may have something interesting to say that’ll point aScarlet/Violetplayer in the direction of an Easter egg. Like previous mainlinePokemongames, finding Easter eggs/references doesn’t give any rewards. Despite this, they can still be interesting to find simply for nostalgia’s sake.
10Pokemon Tower’s Ghost
Scarlet/Violetdoes away with Mega Evolution and Dynamaxing with a new mechanic called Terastallizing. A Pokemon’s Typing when Terastallized is indicated by their Tera Jewel: Electric-Type Tera Pokemon have a giant lightbulb over their head while Fire-type have a candelabra, etc. However, it’s the Ghost-type Tera Jewel that fans may recognize.
When a Pokemon Terastallizes into a Ghost-type inScarlet/Violet, its Tera Jewel appears asthe ??? Ghost PokemonfromRed/Blue/Yellow. In Generation 1, players cannot harm the ??? Pokemon or even catch it. They’ll need the use of the Silph Scope Key Item to identify a ??? Ghost on the second-to-last floor in order to progressRed/Blue/Yellow’s main story. While the ??? Ghost appears as the spirit of a Marowak inRed/Blue/Yellow, this is not the case inScarlet/Violet, where the ??? Ghost is simply a throwback to the first generation for longtime fans of the series.
9Pixel Art
One of the more obvious references inScarlet/Violetare the pixel sprite artwork all around the Alfornado’s Observatory. The walls of the observatory are decorated with pictures of the Pokemon party sprites from Generation 1-2. Back in the early days ofPokemon, individual sprites did not exist until Generation 3. Meaning, for example, a Caterpie would have the same sprite icon as a Venonat despite being completely different species. The only one who had their own unique pixel sprite at the time was Pikachu back inPokemon Yellow.
There’s an NPC in Alfornado that even mentions the observatory artwork “reminding them of some kind of old video game.” In this case, it is. The observatory with the pixel art is alsowhereScarlet/Violetplayers battle Tulip, a Gym Leader who excels in Psychic-type Pokemon.
8Galar: A History
Pokemon Sword/Shieldplayers may be familiar with characters like Hop, Leon, and Sonia. While Hop and Leon are not referenced inScarlet/Violet, Sonia gets her own reference, but only if players know where to look. Sonia is the granddaughter of Professor Magnolia. ThroughoutSword/Shield, Sonia runs into the player character while doing research on Galar’s history. By the end, she’s published a novel called “Galar: A History” that details all her finidngs.
InScarlet/Violet, players can find Sonia’s book in the school library. From the front desk, take the left stairs to the 3rd floor. There’s a green book poking out the shelves to the left of the Heath bust. Reading “Galar: A History” details the events ofSword/Shieldwhere Trainer Bede destroyed the Stow-on-Side muralwith Chairman Rose’s Copperajah.
7"The Power of Science!"
In each mainlinePokemongame, there’s always been an NPC in the starting town that talks about “the power of science.” He usually talks about ‘the multiplayer aspect of Pokemon, such as how to trade Pokemon. While he’s far from an important character in the franchise, he’s been a part of thePokemongames since the beginning, and some fans have had fun trying to find him in each starting city.
The “power of science” guy can be found on the road of Cabo Poco. The first timeScarlet/Violetplayers will see him is when they’retaking a walk with the Starter Pokemon. Talk to this NPC and he’ll mention the Union Circle and how it’s possible to go into anotherScarlet/Violetplayer’s game.
6Pokestar Studios Logo
Pokemon Black 2/White 2was a sequel toBlack/White, expanding on the world of Unova. In Virbank City, there’s a place called the Pokestar Studios that unlocks after defeating Virbank’s Gym Leader, Roxie. Here,Black 2/White 2had the opportunity to make their own movies to help a man named Stu Deeoh. The reward for shooting a movie changes based on the Ending.
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Scarlet/Violetdoesn’t have their own Pokestar Studios, but it does have an appearance through its logo. The Poke Maniacs are a class of trainers that wear Pokemon-themed clothing. On their shirt is a white, star symbol. This is actually the logo forBlack 2/White 2’s Pokestar Studios. It can be easy to miss if players aren’t paying attention. Unfortunately, there isn’t a Pokestar Studios shirt for the player character since theycan’t wear anything but their school uniform.
5Alola Map in Languages Class
Alola was the region forSun/MoonandUltra Sun/Ultra Moonin Generation 7. It was the first place where regional variants of Pokemon existed (such as Alolan Meowth and Alolan Vulpix), which started an onward trend of regional Pokemon for each new mainline game. While there area handful of Alola Pokemonin Paldea, the region itself doesn’t make an appearance inScarlet/Violetbeyond an easy-to-miss cameo.
Salvatore is the Languages teacher at Naranja/Uva Academy. IfScarlet/Violetplayers observe the board during a Languages class, they can see a faint map of the Alola region buried under pictures and an icon of Alolan Raichu. Despite the Alola region’s cameo, it’s never stated what region Salvatore lived in before arriving in Paldea..
4Professor Laventon Cameo
It’s difficult to determine wherePokemon Legends: Arceussits in the line ofPokemongames or if it’s just an alternate branch fromDiamond/Pearl. In any case,Legends: Arceustakes place in ancient Sinnoh, which was once called the Hisui. Here, the player character is found by Professor Laventon, who is a member of the Galaxy Team and in charge of researching Pokemon and establishing the first ever Pokedex.
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ManyScarlet/Violetplayers have alreadycaught the Professor Laventon cameoin Raifort’s History classes. Unfortunately, Raifort doesn’t mention Laventon by name, but the board during her lectures displays a nostalgic-filtered photo (similar to the filterL:Aplayers can use at the studio in Jubilife Village) and the old, Hisui Poke Ball. Even ifLegends: Arceusmay not qualify as a mainlinePokemongame to some, it’s clear that Laventon’s left his mark in Pokemon history.
3Legends: Arceus’ Pokedex
Every time a Pokemon is caught, its entry is recorded into the Pokedex. This also displays their motions/cry, height, and weight. InLegends: Arceus, Pokedex entries required much more work to unlock. There were a series of Research Tasks that players would need to complete to get to Research Level 10. At this level, the Pokemon’s entry wouldfinallybe available to read.Considering this was the first Pokedex, it makes sense why trainers would need to observe a Pokemon using a specific move, etc.
Director Clavell may not be as old as the Sinnoh region, but he makes a comment about having to write out the Pokedex entries back in his days. This makes sense given that the digital Pokedex (first seen inRed/Blue) was developed by Professor Oak. So it’s possibleClavell had to manually fill out Dex entriesmuch like Rei/Akari inLegends: Arceussimply because the digital version hadn’t existed yet, or he just didn’t have the means of obtaining one from Kanto. Regardless, this could be a reference to the Research Tasks inLegends: Arceus.
2"Use Berries to Catch Pokemon"
Berries are usually held by a Pokemon in-battle to restore health when in a pinch, to reduce the super effectiveness of an incoming move, and more. They can also be used the same was as a regular Potion or Full Heal in-battle. Catching Pokemon requires battling the Pokemon first, (sometimes) weakening it, then throwing a Ball. Berries have never been used in the Catching Pokemon process outside of Pokemon GO,Let’s Go, Pikachu!/Eevee!, andLegends: Arceus.
One of the questions that pops up in Jacq’s Biology lectures is how to make it easier to catch Pokemon. Out of the answers he gives, there’s one that doesn’t fit, which is: “Give the Pokemon a Berry.” This isn’t possible in a game likeScarlet/Violet. However, Berries can be essential to catching Pokemon inPokemon GO, since players do not battle wild Pokemon. This answer is the correct one to choose during Jacq’s lecture and on his midterm exam, and it may be a possible reference toGO’s gameplay mechanic.
1Regional Phone Cases
NPCs that have something important to discuss will have a yellow speech bubble over their head. Mesagoza is the first big city thatScarlet/Violetplayers will stumble upon. If they choose to look around, they may find someone standing by the front staircase. This NPC claims to have an ability to read the “past lives” of the player character simply by observing their Rotom Phone. Players will have four options to choose fromonlyifthey have a save file forSword/Shield,Let’s go, Pikachu!/Eevee!,Legends: Arceus, and/orBrilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl. Choosing one will earn them an exclusive phone case that can’t bebought from Delibird Presents.
If players answer Hisui, they’ll get a Pokedex based on the Arc Phone from Hisui. As a bonus, this Rotom Phone Psychic will also wonder what Hisui is, and claim she’s never heard of it before. If players answer Kanto, they’ll get the Pika Vee phone case, which has Generation 1 art ofPikachu and Eevee battlingfromPokemon Yellow. Choosing Sinnoh gets players the Poketch phone case. Finally, the Galar answer gives them the Ball Guy phone case.
