Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

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Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are mainline Pokémon roleplaying games developed by GameFreak for the Nintendo Switch. Kicking of generation 9 in fall 2022, these games featured a full open world, new for the series.

Tropes used in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet include:

Academy of Adventure: The main setting of the game, Naranja Academy or Uva Academy (Naranja in Scarlet, Uva in Violet), a school for Pokémon trainers! Naturally, given the nature of the franchise, there is a lot of field work for the curriculum, but there are classes to attend and tests to take, the same idea as Mini Games.
- The DLCs introduces their rival school, Blueberry Academy, a nautical academy in the waters of the Unova region. Features a massive underwater terrarium designed to mimic a number of climates, among other effects.
Adults Are Useless: Played with. Some of the adult characters are actively in investigating bulling, though their effectiveness is dubious. Others are actively involved in covering up said bullying, or actively recruit students to do dangerous tasks they can’t or won’t do themselves.
A.I. Is a Crapshoot: Averted and played straight, depending on the specific AI. The artificial professor is actually more ethical then the real deal it is modeled after and is unwilling to subject the region to catastrophe to see their dreams become real. The security AI is far less benevolent.
Almighty Janitor: Larry - the Medali Gym Leader - is your typical white collar salaryman who has been "assigned" gym leader duty by his boss (whom he doesn't like) and like most such people, is overworked and constantly complaining about his job. He looks like the typical accountant, and that may well be what he is. He uses Normal type Pokemon, as he feels those are reflective of himself.
Animalistic Abomination: Possibly the Paradox Pokemon. Initially, the Professor claims these overly aggressive Pokemon are from the distant past or far future (depending on which game you are playing) brought to the present by the Time Machine discovered in the Great Crater of Paldea, but whether that is true or whether these are truly Pokémon at all is debatable. Sure, you can catch them, train them, battle them, and even love them as you would any other Pokémon, but true to their name, much about them just does not make sense and often contradicts established lore on the Pokémon they resemble. To give one example, Brute Bonnet seems to be an ancient version of Amoongus, and like the latter, has markings on its head and arms resembling PokéBalls… a strange situation for a Pokémon that supposedly existed millennia before PokéBalls were invented. In-game lore suggests that possibly the Time Machine is nothing of the sort, and that they were concepts from the Professor’s dreams of a “perfect” ecosystem of Pokémon, the machine being a Reality Warping device that made the figments real.
Back from the Dead: The Loyal Three arise from the grave during the events of the Teal Mask DLC
Badass Teacher: It comes as no surprise that all the professors at the Academies are trainers, though you can only battle most of them in the tournmant in the post-game.
The Battle Didn't Count: Played for Laughs and Subverted at the end of the main storyline. After defeating the Elite Four and the Champion, you have to battle Nemona as the Final Boss. After you win the battle (which is not easy) she enthusiastically praises you for how far you’ve come… and then asks if you’re ready for round 2 (much to your trainer’s shock). Fortunately, she’s either kidding or the battle takes place offscreen, because you do not battle her again until the post game.
Beef Gate: Happens if the player continues on to a late game area without spending time to level up.
Beware the Nice Ones: Orgerpon is a shy and cutsey Pokémon. She is more then capable of retaliating against thieves who attacked her friend.
Bittersweet Ending: For Arven’s family. Arven looses at least one of his parents. One of Arven’s parents is dead, and their magnum opus, a Time Machine, ended up being destroyed due to the catastrophic effects on the environment it would cause. Arvin does briefly meet a facsimile of their parent, who is removed from his life shortly after meeting. That said, he did get a chance to meet a close approximation of his parent, and he was able to save Mabosstiff.
Blazing Inferno Hellfire Sauce:
- If the player makes a sandwitch that is heavy on Spicy ingredients, the trainer will visibly react to it. One of the challenges in the Indigo Disk DLC is to use a Chain of Deals to make a very Spicy sandwitch.
- Also, this game marks the debut of Capsakid and Scovillain, who combine this Trope with Plant Person, being monstrous pepper plants. They're one of the few Grass-Type Pokémon who can use potent Fire attacks like Flamethrower and Overheat, and in the case of Scovillain, the only dual-type Fire/Grass Pokémon. According to lore, this Pokémon has a fiery temper.
Boss Rush: The last part of the Teal Mask DLC is this, where you have to battle and capture Ogerpon. While it is technically one Pokemon, you have to defeat it four times, and it changes its Mask each time it is defeated, meaning it becomes a different Pokemon Type with each stage.
A boy and his mabosstiff: Arven and his mabossfiff
Bribing Your Way to Victory: For competitive play, A number of powerful Pokémon are only catchable in the DLC. The main story is easily beatable in the base game, though the EXP charm obtained in the Kitikami DLC significantly increases the EXP earned by the party.
The Bus Came Back: Meloetta returns as an obtainable Pokemon, having been absent since Pokémon X and Y thirteen years previous.
Character Customization: The Player Character can be customized.
Cool and Unusual Punishment: The protagonist’s first encounter with the villain team (Team Star) occurs on the first day of classes where the two Grunts are bullying Penny. After you defeat the first (less experienced) Grunt, Nemona (whom they do not want to mess with) shows up and orders the second Grunt to battle the player, with the player allowed to use a Tera Orb to Terastallize their Pokemon. In effect, the Grunt’s punishment is acting as a reluctant Warmup Boss.
Dagwood Sandwich: Mostly subverted. Creative Mode lets you make a sandwich without using the premade recipes, but if you try to add too many ingredients, you'll usually just end up with a mess. Easier to do so in multi-player mode, however.
Delinquents: Team Star is made up of laid back delinquents.
Disappeared Dad: A few instances.
- The father of the player character is not seen.
- Arven’s dad in Violet is not involved in his life. He appears, but rarely acknowledges him as anything other than a convenience. Because he’s been dead for some time, and Arven is speaking with an AI copy.
Extreme Omnivore: Downplayed but it’s possible for the player character and their Pokémon to consume some extremely unorthodox sandwiches.
Forbidden Zone: Area Zero is normally off limits.
Heroic Sacrifice: The Professor protecting the box legendary, albeit not without causing the situation in the first place.
Hollywood Hacking: Cassiopeia hacks the Rotom phone of the player… to call them. Later used to provide the player character with reward money.
Hot Scientist: Arven's parents, both of them.
Hot Teacher: Raifort (the history teacher), Dendra (phys ed teacher), and possibly Miriam (the Adorkable School Nurse), plus Salvatore (languages teacher) as a male example.
Intrepid Reporter: Pokémon paparazzi (and Quest Giver) Perrin from The Teal Mask DLC.
Level Scaling: Averted. While players can challenge gyms in any order, the levels encountered do not scale. So if a player beelines for a late game area, they are outleveld. If a player levels up for such an area then returns to the early game, the battles don’t scale for the players new level, resulting in a series of Curb Stomp Battle if the player does not impose restrictions on themselves.
Lost World: Area Zero, especially in the depths.
Missing Mom: Arven’s mom in Scarlet is not involved in his life. She appears, but rarely acknowledges him as anything other than a convenience. Because she’s been dead for some time, and Arven is speaking with an AI copy.
Mister Big: The leader of Team Star is actually Penny, a shy, mousy, introverted girl with a lot of self-esteem issues. Not even the other members of Team Star know this.
Moon Logic Puzzle: The method in which you unlock Meloetta (an Olympus Mons) is one of those events that is so complex you wonder how anyone discovered it - indeed, the authors of most internet guides on the game say that when this was first revealed by a blogger on TikTok, they thought it was a joke. To wit, first after unlocking the Indigo Disk DLC, you go to a certain clearing in the Coastal Biome near a waterfall and find a breeze where leaves blow around your character; the breeze occurs in a few areas, but when you stand in the correct one, the background music will tone down. Then you have to spin your character clockwise for ten seconds (as in, the special “spin animation” that occurs by twirling the left control stick continuously) Once that is done, you must turn the camera on and switch to the Sepia filter. If this works, you will hear Meloetta singing and it will appear nearby, allowing the player to battle and catch it. The only clue you get about this is a vague hint from an NPC, which is very easy to miss.
Names to Run Away From Really Fast: The Ruinous Treasures.
Names to Trust Immediately: The Loyal Three But you should not trust them.
Non-Human Sidekick: The box legendary to the player character.
Organic Technology: Each member of Team Star has a special Pokemon called a "Starmobile", which is (according to Ortega, who invented it) a vehicle that uses a Revavroom as the main engine, two Varoom as secondary engines and a Charcadet as a fuel source; the Type is different for each, in accordance to each Trainer's theme. Whether this counts as a true Pokemon at all is debatable, but in any event, the player cannot obtain one.
Paper-Thin Disguise: Director Clavell when disguised as Clive.
Pop Star Composer: Ed Sheeran, Steve Mac, and Johnny McDaid wrote Celestial, which Sheeran preformed. Toby Fox also worked on some of the game’s soundtrack.
The Rival: The first Rival trainer is Nemona, President of the Academy's school council and the protagonist's mentor and (possibly) girlfriend. Potentially the strongest Rival, she is the only Rival other than Blue to be the League Champion, but unlike Blue, has that title at the start of the game. Being the player's mentor, she in under self-imposed handicap through much of the game, only using Pokemon that match the (approximate) levels of yours, and unlike most primary Rivals, selects the Starter that your Starter has Type Advantage against.
- Later in the game, Arven and Penny become secondary rivals, while the DLCs include Carmine and Kieran, who both give the feel of actual rivals to the player, being far more competitive than Nemona.
- Also, when the player delves into the Great Crater of Paldea, it is revealed that the Legendary Pokemon he befriended at the start of the game - Koraidon or Miraidon, depending on which game you are playing - has a Rival of its own, a stronger, slightly higher-level member of its species. The reason it was hurt when the trainer found it was due to a fight between it and this rival, and supposedly, the Professor was killed attempting to stop them from fighting. When it finally gets a chance at a rematch with this Rival, the point is driven home quickly - the first move the stronger one makes is always Taunt, as if it is daring the younger Pokemon to fight it again.
Salaryman: Larry is a salaryman who works multiple jobs, is overworked, and dresses the part.
Satiating Sandwich: This Trope is a major part of both Gameplay and Story. In an early scene, the protagonist befriends an injured Legendary Pokemon (either Koraidon or Miraidon depending on the game) by giving it their sandwich, gaining it as an Androcles' Lion for an ally who accompanies the player, serving as a mount as they explore Paldea region together. Later in the game, each time the player defeats one of the Pokemon Titans, Arven will use the recovered Herba Mystica to make a new sandwich that the player can feed to Koraidon /Miraidon to improve its skills, enabling access to places that were previously unreachable. Also when the player makes camp, they can make their own sandwiches from ingredients bought in stores, each successful recipe granting bonuses for Catching, Training, Battling, finding rares, and so on.
Sentient Vehicle: "Sentient" is debatable, much like Pokémon in general, but Cyclizar is a Pokémon that can be ridden by its trainer the way one would ride a motorcycle, and according to PokéDex lore, humans in the Paldea region have been using them this way for 10,000 years; there is a reason Pokémon Centers in this game look like gas stations. Additional lore claims a rider's body heat "lifts the Pokémon's spirit", suggesting a semi-symbiotic relationship with humans. It is strongly hinted that Legendary Pokémon Koraidon and Miraidon (who Cyclizar vaguely resembles and are used as mounts by the protagonist) are related to Cyclizar, but Cyclizar doesn't seem to have a way to evolve into either (it doesn't evolve at all) and GameFreak has yet to confirm anything on the subject.
Sealed Evil in a Can: The Ruinous Treasures. The stories don’t stop the history teacher from prodding their student, the player, to break their seals and release them.
Spot the Impostor: Both Ditto and Zorua hide among wild Pokemon by using their abilities to shapeshift. However, one way to tell which is which is out of character behavior. For example Persian, Primeape, and Vigoroth (who all share the same habitat as the two imposters) are aggressive Pokemon who will always attack the trainer. Zorua, however, is a shy Pokemon who usually flees from the trainer, while Ditto is a curious one who often stares quizzically at the trainer. Thus, should any of these aggressive Pokemon act like this, it is likely the "imposter" Pokemon in disguise.
Stable Time Loop: The professor meets the player character in the postgame, with the encounter influencing earlier events.
Turtle Power: Terapagos, the mascot Legendary of the The Indigo Disk DLC, and an Adorable Abomination.
Villain with Good Publicity: The Loyal Three are exalted in Kitikami, when really they were thieves.
Virtual Paper Doll: Some outfit selection is possible, though is less variety for clothing options then in prior games.
Weakened by the Light: In "The Teal Mask" DLC, Perrin wants the player to help her find the Blood Moon Beast so she can take its picture - this larger-than-average Ursaluna seems to hate light, being completely nocturnal and only appearing on foggy, overcast nights. Which causes a problem when you find it, as Perrin uses a camera with a flash... Meaning you'd best come ready for a Pokemon battle against an angry Ursaluna here.
Zombie Apocalypse: The post game set in Kitikami is centered around mochi obsessed “zombies”.
Our Zombies Are Different: Mochi Zombies are created from consuming mochi from Pecharunt. They do a chicken dance and talk about mochi. While not truly undead they are prone to do more normal zombielike things, such as form hoards, and converting others by feeding them mochi.