Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are here, representing a massive change to the traditional Pokémon formula. Although these open world games are similar to Pokémon Legends: Arceus, everything takes place in a single contiguous world and allows you to go almost anywhere you want after completing the tutorial. But before you go online to the harder gyms, here are our recommendations for what order to tackle the different challenges.
Which gym should I do first?
Scarlet and Violet have 18 badges in all: eight Gym badges, five Team Star badges and five Titan badges. Here are your rewards for the game’s three different mission types: Victory Road, Starfall Street, and Path of Legends. By the time the tutorial is complete, you’ll have all the missions for each of these three mission types marked on your map, and you’ll be free to roam around. However, the game doesn’t tell you what level your opponents will be, so it’s easy to enter a gym that’s too hard for you. Similarly, the later bases of Team Star and Titans will be set at much higher levels. As a general rule, the further north you go, the harder the missions will be.
Since you need gym badges to get higher-level Pokemon to listen to you, you’ll probably need to roughly order the gyms themselves, so you can have powerful monsters to match. Scarlet and Violet gyms tend to revolve around some non-battle activities, so you may not know how tough your gym leader opponent will be until you come face-to-face in battle. See below for our recommended levels for certain gyms.
Recommended levels for gyms
- Cutting Gym (Bug) – 10-15
- Gymnasium Artazin (Herba) – 15-20
- Cascarrafa Gym (Water) – 25-30
- Levincia Gym (Electric) – 30-35
- Gym Medal (Normal) – 35-40
- Alfornada Gym (Psychic) - 40-45
- Montenevera gym (ghost) – 40-45
- Glasseado Gym (Ice) – 45-50
Path of Legends order
But tough battles aren’t the only way Scarlet and Violet subtly aid your progress. Path of Legends fights are how you’ll get new traversal abilities, and some gyms are much easier to get to if you’ve unlocked particular ways of moving. These unlocks are tied to particular Titans, which you can find below. You’ll need to high jump or glide across some chasms to the northern areas. The final ability, Climb, essentially gives you full access to any area, as you can climb cliffs. This is especially useful for getting to the Alfornada gym, as it provides an easy shortcut instead of going through a maze-like cave. You also need the navigation skill to even get to the final Titan.
Abilities of the Titans / Recommended Order
- Stony Cliff Titan – Dash
- Open Sky Titan – Surf
- Lurking Steel Titan – High Jump
- Quaking Earth Titan – Slide
- False Dragon Titan – Climbing
Team Star Battles
Team Star battles are less necessary for obtaining content. They don’t give you an increase in your Pokemon’s obedience level, and they don’t give you new route options. Currency and MT are helpful, but not strictly necessary. However, these get tougher and tougher and Team Star’s toughest base is one of the toughest decks in the game. Therefore, you’ll want to pace your Team Star challenges primarily by taking on the bases closest to other missions you’ve completed. One good thing about Team Star missions is that after you’ve run the gauntlet part and taken out the commander, you don’t have to repeat that part. If you fail to defeat Team Star’s commander, you can simply return and jump right into battle.
For more on Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, check out our early evolutions guide and a bunch of things we wish we knew from the start. And while you’re at it, be sure to read our Pokemon Scarlet and Violet review.
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