r/PokemonScarletViolet

I'm working on a personal project and I want to figure something out now that Gen 9 is coming to a close. What Pokémon in the Paldea Pokédex stand above the rest in terms of their fan popularity, promotional material, significance, uniqueness, and creativity? I'll happily take multiple answers for each or even all at once (which would probably be best). My one request is that we avoid answers involving the starters. I'm moreso looking for the Lucario or Chandelure, rather than the Charizard and Greninja, you know? Thank you in advance for your answers!

I think the whole storyline with Penny is terrible. That she was the hacker was clear and that she was the big boss at the end too. I find it mega poorly implemented and boring. Even a bit of cringe.

But I am happy to hear your opinions and perspectives.

Figured I'd pair my other post with something a bit more on-topic, just to try and be a good visitor for the day. Anyway, for the post topic: Not just a 'baby' or even first-stage 'mon, but something that really has no benefits to using whatsoever. For example, mine's Haunter. I absolutely love Haunter, and I wish there was a way to make Haunter viable over Gengar - will still occasionally use a Haunter when running stories, because 'viability' doesn't usually matter until late endgame in most Pokemon games. Another example might be a 'mon like Luvheart, who exists just to exist. So, go on, what's your favorite sub-optimal pick you'll find a way to include?

For solo raid build. (I used this method from Osirus and it worked like a dream, I’ve used this method multiple times and haven’t failed)

Elektross build:
Tera: Electric
Held item: Shell Bell
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Calm
Moves: Gastro Acid, Acid Spray, Eerie Impulse, Thunderbolt
Stats: HP: 311, Attack: 240, Defense: 196, Speed: 136, SpDef: 284, SpAtk: 309
EVs in SpAtk and SpDef

On entering ensure one of the Pokemon has ability intimidate (Arcanine, Taurus,Skaraptor - if not leave the raid and re enter until you do)

Turn 1 - gastro acid
Turn 2 - eerire impulse
Turns 3-5 acid spray (it’s easier and safer to let yourself get KOd, but you must complete all 3 even if you die so keep count)
Turn 6-8 Tera and use thunderbolt x 3 (shield should break with 3, but keep going with thunderbolt until it does break or it resets its stats)
Turn 9-10 acid spray x 2
Turns 11-13 thunderbolt again - 3 should do it to make it faint)

I grew up with gen 3 and gen 4, and stopped playing the mainline games with X and Y for how much the game disappointed me - the story was weak, the villainous team didn't really do anything and there was no real post game epilogue.

So I stopped playing and bothering when Sun and Moon came out, then saw the bad reviews for Sword and Shield, and then Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee and stopped playing the main line pokemon games for a good decade or so.

I got an Nintendo Switch and Pokemon Scarlet for my birthday, and I wasn't sure whether I'd enjoy it or not after X and Y, but I gave it a shot and went on a nuzlocke.

Its the most emotionally engaging and fulfilling pokemon game I've played since Explorers of Time and Darkness (I spent so long grieving for Grovyle until that promo pic of him and Dusknoir came out for Sky). Its so utterly, utterly good.

It isn't perfect - I miss being able to rebattle the Elite 4 like in previous games and having a little new area to explore, but I'll have to wait until I buy the DLC to get that stuff.

But man is the story good, and the three friend characters - Nemona, Arven and Penny - are so utterly wonderful and wholesome to be around.

Nemona is the best rival since Blue and Silver. There have been so many bland rivals since then that I just didn't care about - Wally was meh, Cheren was a bit too headstrong and the Kalos rivals were just...There.

But the writers were so clever with Nemona - she is the subversion of the typical rival. The rivals in the games are supposed to help us get stronger, give us someone we want to beat and see taken down, someone to push us to get to the position of champion in the end.

Blue did that by being a jerk, and Silver did it by being so misguided and condescending to Gold, and all the rivals since then were just there for the player to beat with no real input in the story.

Then there's Nemona, oh Nemona.

I felt so bad for her at the end of the game, learning how lonely she is with a family that are so selfish, and all the kids at the academy think she's too full on because she's desperate to keep battling, desperate to find someone as strong as her so she can go all out on. And that's why she keeps battling the player, why she keeps pushing them to get stronger and why she's always there at every gym battle cheering you on and praising you.

Normally I get annoyed at this kind of hand holding from games, but genuinely seeing her face and how impressed she was with me, it was heartwarming.

And the cinematic cutscenes! Never seen them in a pokemon game before, but they were so moving. Seeing Nemona hold back tears cause she finally had a real rival she didn't have to hold back with anymore, its so liberating for her and its so great to see.

The cinematic cutscenes are the highlight of the game for me, especially at the end in Area Zero.

Arven, my man I owe him an apology. I thought he was a jerk at that lighthouse and I put off his whole storyline of wanting to make sandwiches cause I just wanted to battle gyms cause duh.

But then when he showed us his Mabosstiff and how sad he was, man he got me, he got me real good.

And the cinematic cutscenes again, with his Mabosstiff picking up the ball in its mouth and barking to him, and cutting to the player petting K0raidon while Arven lets it out, my god the writers really cared.

And Penny's story was nice too, I just wish we got to know her better before it ended.

But everything about the Way Home storyline was the best part of the game, watching the gang talk and get along while running deeper into the crater was so fulfilling, Penny calling Arven a "big lunk" while Nemona in her own world goes "That's the spirit you guys!" was so funny to me man.

And Sada, that twist got me good, I thought the whole AI thing and a time machine was a bit far fetched at first but after that final battle, and with K0raidon...Saying goodbye to her/the AI thing/I dunno hurt the most.

That last scene of taking the long way home, knowing they all did it just to cheer Arven up got me good, its like K0raidon even knew he needed it by nudging him.

And then...That song. Celestial. I actually cried a little hearing it. I didn't think I'd ever hear a pop song in a pokemon game credits and I normally skip them, and I couldn't this time but I'm glad I couldn't anyway.

I feel like that song was Arven's song, and he was singing it about the player.

"You make me feel" "Like my troubled heart is a million miles away"

That's definitely Arven telling the player we help him forget about his grief.

"When I get lost, will you come back around?" "Things don't look up when you're goin' down"

That's him talking about going deeper into Area Zero and depending on you to lead him the way through, and him having a feeling his mother died and knowing things are gonna get worse the further they go down into Area Zero.

"I know your arms, they are reachin' out" "From somewhere beyond the clouds"

That was the part of the song that hit me the hardest, and I instantly remembered the cutscene of flying down to Area Zero, and the player just catching Arven by his hand while they flew in the air, before he pulled him onto K0raidon. That was the part where I cried the most and was so moved. You really do get caught up in the escapism of pokemon and forget how much an adventure, however small, can stay with someone for so long.

Its like Arven was all of us when we were kids, and he was gonna have to grow up whether he liked or not like we all had to, but he had us and pokemon to help him through it and keep it still fun.

Maybe its just a song, maybe Ed Sheeran wasn't filled in with the plot of the game and its just a song about pokemon in general, and that's okay.

But hearing that song at the end of the game after all the revelations and emotional rollercoaster that the Way Home took me on...I'm grateful man, I'm so grateful I played this game.

When Black Friday comes, I'll buy the DLC and hope its as good of a ride as I've seen people say it is, honestly I don't wanna say goodbye to my friends Nemona Arven and Penny, genuinely I've never cared about pokemon characters this much since Goh reuniting with his boyfriend (I knew what they meant with the two Celebis and it meant the absolute world).

Sorry for the long post, but it feels good to reflect. I'm annoyed at myself for being taken with surprise at the gang selfie at the end and not capturing a picture in time, but got it just as the screen started turning to dark. At least I've got that forever now.

25 years of Pokemon and it really hasn't lost its magic. I thought it did a decade ago when I was becoming an adult, now I know I was wrong and I'm grateful for another memorable journey.

Nemona, Arven, Penny, just amazing characters that I'm glad to have gotten to know. Paldea, what an amazing ride.

Would love help finding certain habitats & fast travel locations. Also need help with the last few Pokédex entries. Would be much appreciated

So I beat Violet for the first time recently yayyyyy. I loved it so much I continued playing after I beat the main game and dlc, searching for and evolving every Pokemon I could. Once I did, and because I don't have NSO to trade for the scarlet exclusives, I was done. That was about a month ago. Got a bee up my butt to play a new game on it but didn't want to lose all the Pokemon I grew to love. That's when I remembered Home! I bred every one of them with Ditto to get eggs and hatched them then put em in my Home box. Now I'm gonna start the new game with the 2 Starters that I don't pick, Frigibax, Beldum, and my little bugger boy Joltik. Needless to say, pokemon and how you trade and whatnot has changed A LOT since Blue and Red. We're in a golden age people.