Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s progression of the Pokémon series to an open-world format is one that is matched, if not exceeded, by the story-telling found in Pokémon’s newest generation of titles. The exploration of the Paldea Region in Pokémon Generation 9 allows the game to flex its narrative wings in manners not seen before in the franchise. The open-world allows players to tackle the overarching narrative with a wider lens, offering three separate stories to play out before connecting them all at the game’s finale.
Most games in the Pokémon franchise involve players focusing on the Pokémon League as the primary goal of the story, with any narrative regarding Legendary Pokémon placed as a background story. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s Gym Leaders and Pokémon League challenge, however, only serve as a part of the overall narrative as the main story involves the Professor’s experiments and whereabouts through the course of the game. It is only after the player finishes the three opening stories do they experience the main story in full and one of the franchise’s best plot twists.
Pokémon Scarlet & Violet's Plot Twist In The Finale
Trainers in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet journey into Area Zero as part of the final story known as The Way Home. The events of the game prior paint the Professor strictly as an absentee parent to Arwen, one of Scarlet and Violet’s group of friendly rivals that the player meets along their quest. Diving into Area Zero within the Great Crater of Paldea reveals the Professor’s true fate as a casualty of a conflict between two Pokémon brought from an entirely different timeline as part of their studies, leaving behind an AI construct to continue their work. Exploring the lab contextualizes the Professor’s intentions, but it is the final encounter that shows the lengths of the Professor’s mission.
How Pokémon Scarlet & Violet's Plot Twist Makes The Story Stronger
As trainers explore the laboratory at Area Zero’s depths, they can find numerous hints of the Professor’s true love for their son in numerous pictures as well as documentation. However, the AI in charge of continuing the Professor’s studies emphasizes the ecological danger presented in bringing Pokémon into a timeline that isn’t their home. It is here where the story of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet takes a darker turn as the player is tasked with stopping the Professor’s misguided study by defeating the AI.
The AI’s defeat doesn’t signal the end of the Professor’s studies, showing the Professor’s desperation and commitment to their own quest by programming a back-up defense that overrides the AI’s own logic. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet emphasize this point expertly as the AI’s name changes to that of the Professor’s name instead as well as a split-second dialogue prompt where the game states the AI “has no intention of fighting anymore” while the Professor’s will takes over. By continuing their study of monsters from other timelines - Scarlet and Violet's Paradox Pokémon - despite the danger posed to the ecosystem of the present, the Professor is positioned as the game’s primary antagonist for the first time in a mainline Pokémon game.
The Professor’s love for their son Arwen may provide an explanation for their desperate efforts, but by missing the forest for the trees, the Professor effectively leaves their child behind for a study that would bring catastrophic damage to the present day ecosystem. A story about a Professor’s love for their child turns into a dangerous obsession to succeed at any cost, including their own life and the lives of others, making the game’s final arc one of Pokémon’s best stories. While the game doesn’t fix the franchise’s Gym Leader problem, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet showcases the story-telling potential present in the series.
Source: Nintendo of America/YouTube
