← All guides

Gen IX

Pokémon Scarlet & Violet

Paldea is fully open-world — but its gyms, titans, and bases each have an intended level order.

The Path

The intended order — follow this and you'll stay at the right level all game.

  1. 1

    Cortondo Gym

    Gym

    Bug · Katy · recommended Lv. 12–15

  2. 2

    Stony Cliff Titan

    Titan

    Rock · Klawf · recommended Lv. 16–18

  3. 3

    Artazon Gym

    Gym

    Grass · Brassius · recommended Lv. 16–18

  4. 4

    Open Sky Titan

    Titan

    Flying/Dark · Bombirdier · recommended Lv. 19–21

  5. 5

    Segin Squad Base

    Team Star

    Dark · Giacomo · recommended Lv. 20–22

  6. 6

    Levincia Gym

    Gym

    Electric · Iono · recommended Lv. 23–25

  7. 7

    Schedar Squad Base

    Team Star

    Fire · Mela · recommended Lv. 26–28

  8. 8

    Lurking Steel Titan

    Titan

    Steel · Orthworm · recommended Lv. 28–30

  9. 9

    Cascarrafa Gym

    Gym

    Water · Kofu · recommended Lv. 29–31

  10. 10

    Navi Squad Base

    Team Star

    Poison · Atticus · recommended Lv. 32–34

  11. 11

    Medali Gym

    Gym

    Normal · Larry · recommended Lv. 35–37

  12. 12

    Montenevera Gym

    Gym

    Ghost · Ryme · recommended Lv. 41–43

  13. 13

    Alfornada Gym

    Gym

    Psychic · Tulip · recommended Lv. 44–46

  14. 14

    Quaking Earth Titan

    Titan

    Ground · Great Tusk (Scarlet) / Iron Treads (Violet) · recommended Lv. 44–46

  15. 15

    Glaseado Gym

    Gym

    Ice · Grusha · recommended Lv. 47–49

  16. 16

    Ruchbah Squad Base

    Team Star

    Fairy · Ortega · recommended Lv. 50–52

  17. 17

    False Dragon Titan

    Titan

    Water/Dragon · Dondozo & Tatsugiri · recommended Lv. 55–57

  18. 18

    Caph Squad Base

    Team Star

    Fighting · Eri · recommended Lv. 55–57

  19. 19

    Pokémon League — Elite Four

    Elite Four

    Rika (Ground), Poppy (Steel), Larry (Flying), Hassel (Dragon) · recommended Lv. 58–62

  20. 20

    Champion Geeta

    Champion

    Mixed team led by Glimmora · recommended Lv. 61–63

  21. 21

    Area Zero — The Way Home

    Story

    Descend into the Great Crater with Arven, Nemona, and Penny · recommended Lv. 60+

The Story

You enroll at Naranja Academy (Scarlet) or Uva Academy (Violet) in the Paldea region, where the school's 'Treasure Hunt' sends every student out into the open world to find their own treasure. Three classmates pull you into three separate adventures: Nemona, the battle-hungry Champion-ranked student, pushes you toward the eight Gyms of Victory Road; Arven, a prickly upperclassman, needs help gathering Herba Mystica from five Titan Pokémon to heal his injured Mabosstiff; and Cassiopeia, a mysterious hacker, recruits you to dismantle the five squads of Team Star in Operation Starfall.

Paldea is the series' first truly open world — you can ride your legendary mount Koraidon or Miraidon anywhere from the start. But the freedom is deceptive: Gym Leaders don't scale, so wandering into the wrong Gym at Lv. 20 can mean facing a Lv. 45 team. The game quietly expects you to follow the level curve above, weaving the three storylines together as you travel.

Each storyline pays off emotionally. Arven's quest is really about grief and learning to trust others; Team Star turns out to be a group of bullied outcasts rather than true villains, and Penny's identity as Cassiopeia reframes everything; and Nemona's rivalry pushes you all the way to the Champion's seat. Terastallizing — Paldea's crystal battle gimmick — lets any Pokémon change its type mid-battle, which keeps even familiar matchups surprising.

Once all three storylines are complete, the four of you descend into Area Zero, the forbidden crater at Paldea's heart, for 'The Way Home' — a finale involving the true nature of the Professor, Paradox Pokémon from another time, and one of the most talked-about endings in the series.

Good to Know

  • Follow the level order, not the map: the game never gates you, so use the recommended levels above — tackling a late Gym at Lv. 25 will end badly.
  • Do the Titans alongside the Gyms: each Titan you beat upgrades your mount (swim, climb, glide, high jump), which opens up the whole map.
  • Terastallize with intent — changing your ace's type can flip a losing matchup, and Tera Raid dens give you Pokémon with rare Tera types.
  • Catch a lot early and use the Let's Go auto-battle feature to grind passively while exploring; experience flows fast in Paldea.
  • Keep one Pokémon with False Swipe and a status move for catching; you'll thank yourself during Tera Raids and shiny hunts.
  • Talk to everyone at the Academy between milestones — classes and NPC dialogue flesh out the storylines and hand out useful rewards.

After the Credits

  • Academy Ace Tournament: rematch powered-up versions of Gym Leaders, the Elite Four, and your rivals in a bracket at the Academy.
  • 6-star (and event 7-star) Tera Raids: the toughest co-op battles in the game, and the main source of rare items like Ability Patches and Herba Mystica.
  • Complete the Paldea Pokédex and take on the DLC expansions (The Teal Mask and The Indigo Disk) for new areas, legendaries, and the BB League.
  • Shiny hunting: mass outbreaks plus sandwiches with Sparkling Power make Paldea one of the most generous shiny-hunting games ever.

My caught checklist

Sign in to track what you've caught — your list syncs across devices.

Want the full step-by-step walkthrough? This page is the roadmap — for turn-by-turn directions, Bulbapedia and Serebii both have detailed per-route guides.