Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Officially Pokémon Scarlet / Pokémon Violet

Ninth-generation open-world Pokémon RPG (Game Freak / Nintendo, Nov 18, 2022, Switch) set in the Paldea region — first fully open-world mainline entry featuring three storylines (Victory Road gym challenge, Path of Legends Titan Pokémon, Starfall Street rebel squad) and 400+ Pokémon. Terastal battle mechanic + Hidden Treasure of Area Zero DLC (2023-2024).

⏱~30 min🌤indoor

What is Pokémon Scarlet and Violet?

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is the ninth-generation open-world mainline Pokémon RPG developed by Game Freak + published by Nintendo/The Pokémon Company for Nintendo Switch (November 18, 2022). Set in the Paldea region, it is the first fully open-world mainline entry — three intersecting storylines (Victory Road gym challenge, Path of Legends Titan Pokémon, Starfall Street rebel squad) can be tackled in any order + culminate in the Way Home postgame. Introduces the Terastal battle mechanic (Pokémon once-per-battle transformation into their Tera Type, changing STAB + defensive typing). Post-launch content: The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero DLC — Part 1 'The Teal Mask' (Sep 13, 2023, Kitakami region) + Part 2 'The Indigo Disk' (Dec 14, 2023, Blueberry Academy) + 'Mochi Mayhem' epilogue (Jan 11, 2024). Competitive VGC ruleset is 4-of-6 double battles with 3-min turn clock; Tera Type strategy central to modern meta. Fastest-selling Nintendo game launch ever (10M+ units in 3 days) and 26M+ lifetime sales as of 2024.

Quick facts

How it works

Objective

Complete story campaign; competitive VGC — win 4v4 double battles under 3-min turn clock in Bo3 tournament format.

Match structure

Single-player 30-60 hr campaign + post-game DLC; competitive VGC is 4-of-6 double battles at 3-min turn clock.

Rules

Basic rules

6-Pokémon team, 4 brought to match
Competitive VGC allows 6 Pokémon in team-sheet, 4 selected per match after team-preview.
Terastal once per battle
Each player may Terastallize one Pokémon per battle.
Doubles format (VGC)
2v2 on-field simultaneously; positioning + speed control critical.

Advanced rules

Held item restrictions
One of each item per team; species clause + no cloneable-legendary rules per season.
Turn timer + team clock
Turn 45 sec; each player has a 7-min team clock across the battle.

Scoring

Story: Elite Four + champion + credits + Area Zero postgame. Competitive: Bo3 double battles with ELO tracking on Battle Stadium + Pokémon Home.

Action	Points
KO opposing Pokémon	1 KO per Pokémon fainted
Best-of-3 series (tournament)	First to 2 game wins

Win condition · Story completion; competitive — reduce opponent's team to 0 HP or force forfeit on time.

Equipment

Nintendo Switch (OLED/regular/Lite)
Sole platform — cartridge or digital. Runs 30 FPS docked or handheld.
Pokémon Home subscription
Cloud storage + team-transfer between titles ($16/year Premium).
Pro Controller (competitive)
Preferred for VGC events over Joy-Con for reliability.

Positions & roles

Trainer
×1
Builds/plays team of 6 Pokémon; brings 4 to double-battle match.

Officiating

Play! Pokémon program governs VGC tournaments; regionals → internationals → Worlds championship.

Tournament Organizer (TO)
Head Judge (regional/international)
Floor Judges
Sanctioned Referees (VGC)

Penalties & fouls

Penalties

Cheating (mods/exploits)
Immediate ban from Battle Stadium + tournament DQ + Pokémon Home restrictions.
Team submission errors
Auto-loss at VGC events for wrong team-sheet or missing signatures.
Time/clock loss
Auto-loss when turn or team clock reaches zero.

Strategies

Terastal preservation
Save your team's single tera until your win-condition needs a defensive shift or offensive STAB boost.
Tailwind + Trick Room hybrid
Bring both speed control options — tailwind vs fast teams, trick room vs balance/slow teams.
Redirect + boost core
Pair Follow Me user (Clefairy, Amoonguss) with sweeper (Flutter Mane, Iron Bundle) to guarantee setup.

Terminology

Terastal: Once-per-battle type transformation
VGC: Video Game Championships — official competitive format
EV/IV: Effort Values (trained) + Individual Values (innate stat genes)
STAB: Same-Type Attack Bonus (1.5× damage)

Major competitions

Pokémon World Championships
annual · global (Honolulu 2024, Anaheim 2025) · since 2004
Regional Championships
monthly · North America, EU, Latin America, Oceania · since 2010
International Championships (NAIC, EUIC, OCIC, LAIC)
annual · four continental events · since 2011

Where it is played

Governing bodies

The Pokémon Company International (TPCi)
Founded 1998 · Bellevue, Washington, USA / Tokyo, Japan
Play! Pokémon
Founded 2003 · Bellevue, Washington, USA

Famous names & records

Famous athletes

Shohei Kimura (Japan) — 2023 VGC World Champion (Yokohama)
Wolfe Glick (USA) — multi-year VGC circuit standout
Various Japan + Latin America WC regulars

Records

Fastest-selling Nintendo game
Pokémon Scarlet + Violet — 10 million+ units in first 3 days — fastest Nintendo launch ever (2022)
Sales as of 2024
Game Freak / Nintendo — 26+ million units sold worldwide (2024)
2023 VGC World Champion
Shohei Kimura (Japan) — Won Yokohama World Championships (2023)

Learn this sport

beginner

1
Story campaign
Learn type chart, movepools, ability interactions, EV/IV basics.

intermediate

1
Ranked Battle Stadium
Team-building for VGC ruleset, EV spreads, tera-type strategy, meta threats.

advanced

1
VGC Regional/International
Meta prediction, 6→4 selection, mind-games with opponent's tera.

Frequently asked

What's the Terastal mechanic?+

Terastallizing (once per battle) transforms a Pokémon into its Tera Type — can be same as original or different — changing STAB + defensive typing. Central to Scarlet/Violet competitive meta.

Are Scarlet and Violet the same game?+

Nearly identical with version-exclusive Pokémon and legendaries (Koraidon for Scarlet, Miraidon for Violet) + different academy uniforms + professor characters.

Sources & provenance

Wikipedia — Pokémon Scarlet and Violet— Wikipedia

Last verified 2026-08-29.verified