Beginner's Guide: Tips and Tricks to Get Started

We have compiled everything a beginner Pokemon trainer needs to learn in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet (SV). Learn the basics of the game, as well as other tips and tricks to help you in your journey in the Paldea Region!

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Beginner's Guide

Beginner's Guide To-Do's
Change Your Settings Pick a Starter Choose a Path Catch Pokemon Build a Team Battle Pokemon and Other Trainers Terastalize Your Pokemon Teach Moves to Your Pokemon via TMs Join Tera Raid Battles Complete Your Pokedex

Change Your Settings

To start, you can change a few settings in the options menu to make your Pokemon adventure go more smoothly. You can set your Text Speed to Fast, turn off the Give Nicknames setting, and even Skip Cutscenes.

Don't worry! If you turn off the Give Nicknames setting, you can still give your Pokemon nicknames through the Main Menu.

As for the Skip Cutscenes setting, we don't recommend turning it on it until you've finished the game at least once or you really have no need to experience the story.

List of Settings and Best Settings

Pick a Starter

Every Pokemon journey starts with picking a starter and for this game, we recommend getting Fuecoco. Fire-types are generally rarer so having one early on in the game is always ideal for type coverage. Fuecoco's Fire-typing also matches up well against other Pokemon types.

Fuecoco has type advantage over two of Paldea's eight gyms. Once it evolves into Crocalor at Lv. 16 and then finally into Skeledirge by Lv. 36, it will be dual-typed with Ghost.

We have compiled the pros and cons of each starter on the table below to help you decide which starter to get.

Pokemon	Advantages	Disadvantages
Fuecoco	・Great offensive and defensive typing. ・Its final evolution is dual-typed with Ghost. ・Strong against two of the confirmed gyms. ・Guaranteed Fire-type Pokemon early game. ・Looks adorable!	・Armarouge and Ceruledge are both tough competitors for best Fire Type for a playthrough. ・May be slower than the other starters.
Sprigatito	・Great against Water-types since it is one of the only 2 Types that can hit it for weakness. ・May be a fast utility Pokemon. ・Can use a Tera Type to cover its weaknesses. ・It's a cute cat!	・Has 5 weaknesses: Fire, Ice, Poison, Flying and Bug
Quaxly	・Great against Armarouge and Ceruledge.	・Gyarados and Toxapex are tough competitions. ・There are plenty of Water-type Pokemon to choose from.

Best Starter Pokemon

Get All 3 Starters By Trading With Another Player

If you cannot decide which starter to pick, why not just get all of them? It is possible through trading with your friends after all!

Use the Poke Portal to Link Trade with your friends and get all the starters.

How to Get All Starters

Choose a Path

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet offers three different paths for you to follow in your playthrough - Victory Road, Path of Legends, and Starfall Street.

Each path offers different adventures and challenges that will strengthen your bond with your Pokemon.

We recommend to proceed with the 3 routes in parallel starting with the low level areas. It is best to start with Katy of the Cortondo Bug Gym (Lvl 15) for Victory Road and Titan Klawf (Lvl 16) for Path of Legends to get the necessary level and exploration abiilty.

Proceed to Team Star's Dark Crew Boss Giacomo (Lvl 21) once you've defeated another Gym Leader and another Titan Pokemon.

Best Order to Complete the Story

Catch Pokemon

★ How to Catch Pokemon ★
Battle a Pokemon. Apply a status effect on the Pokemon. Get its HP in the red. Catch it with a Poke Ball or Special Balls.

Add more Pokemon to your roster by catching them in the wild. Just like in Pokemon Sword and Shield, all wild Pokemon can be seen in the overworld, making it easier for you to pick which Pokemon you want to catch.

Approach a Pokemon to start a battle and do your best to get its HP in the red. You can also apply a status effect to it to make it weaker. Once the wild Pokemon is weak, use a Poke Ball to catch it.

Build a Team

After catching plenty of Pokemon, it's time to build your team. Below are the teams we recommend for each starter. We'll make sure to update the rosters once we have the complete list of all Pokemon in the game.

Best Fuecoco Team

Skeledirge	Corviknight	Kilowattrel
Gyarados	Clodsire	Arboliva

Best Sprigatito Team

Meowscarada	Gyarados	Ceruledge
Corviknight	Kilowattrel	Clodsire

Pokemon trainers who have Pokemon Scarlet can replace Ceruledge with Armarouge.

Best Quaxly Team

Quaquaval	Ceruledge	Clodsire
Corviknight	Kilowattrel	Arboliva

Pokemon trainers who have Pokemon Scarlet can replace Ceruledge with Armarouge.

Best Team: Best Pokemon to Use for the Story

Battle Pokemon and Other Trainers

Pokemon Battles are a staple in every Pokemon game so you must know how to use your Pokemon's type and movesets to win a battle.

Type Chart: All Type Matchups

Auto-Battle with the Let's Go! Feature

The game's Let's Go! feature allows your Pokemon to battle wild Pokemon all on its own. They can even gather items for you!

This feature is great if you want to level up your Pokemon without much effort. Just don't let it KO a Pokemon you want to catch.

How to Auto-Battle with Let's Go!

Terastalize Your Pokemon

In the Paldea region, your Pokemon can Terastallize into a completely different type. Every Pokemon can have any of the 18 types as its Tera type, allowing you to turn the tide of a battle when battling a Pokemon you're weak against.

All Terastal Forms and Tera Types

Catch Glowing Tera Pokemon in the Wild

A Pokemon that can Terastallize glows in the overworld and they're stronger than your average wild Pokemon. Approach it and weaken the Pokemon in a battle to undo their Terastallization and make them easier to catch!

Teach Moves to Your Pokemon via TMs

Aside from leveling up, you can also teach new moves to your Pokemon using TMs. In Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, TM can be created using the TM Machine!

TMs are made using League Points (LP) and materials dropped by wild Pokemon after a battle. Though TMs in this game can only be used once, you can make as many TMs as you like as long as you have the right amount of materials and LP.

TM Machines and How to Use Them

Join Tera Raid Battles

Raid battles are back and they are better than ever in the Paldea region. In Tera Raid Battles, you do not have to wait for your turn to attack and your Pokemon can be revived in seconds when it gets knocked out.

You can earn EXP with Tera Raid Battles and catch wild Pokemon that are slightly stronger than your own. Tera Raid Battles can help you gain candies to level up your Pokemon team. You can also obtain berries and other items that can help with your exploration.

Tera Raid Battles

Cheer Your Allies

Players can cheer during Tera Raid battles, allowing you to support your team even if your Pokemon hasn't learned any support moves.

There are 3 cheer effects in the game that can be used in place of a Pokemon's attack, up to 3 times per player per battle. The cheers will boost the Pokemon's stats or provide some healing.

Complete Your Pokedex

If you are up to the challenge, you can try your hand at completing the Pokedex. The game's slogan is to “Catch 'em all!” after all!

As of this writing, there are 400 confirmed Pokemon in the game's PokeDex. Make sure that you visit your Homeroom Teacher, Jacq to receive rewards from catching Pokemon. You can also get a diploma from the Director Clavell once you've completed the PokeDex.

How to Complete Pokedex and Rewards

Other Tips and Tricks

Exploring Paldea

Pick Up Items from the Field

Tools	Items	TM Moves
Red Light Mark	Glitter	Yellow Light Mark

Tools, Items and TM Moves can be found on the field. Since you can pick up a lot of balls and recovery items, you'll be able to save cash and use it to buy other items like Sandwich ingredients.

List of TMs and their Locations

Set Your Destination from the Map

Click the Y button to access the map and select the area of destination. Click A and a drop down option will appear.

Choose Set as Destination and it will mark the area with an orange flag. The orange flag will also appear in your mini map so you would know which direction to go.

Fly to your Destination

Once you visited a place once and there is a feather marked on the map, you can fast travel from the map with the Y button. Click the Y button to access the map to select the destination and Click A for the options to appear. Click Fly here.

This makes exploration easier, especially when most places marked with feathers are Pokemon Centers.

Customize Your Character

Character customization is also available in the game to give your trainer's appearance a personal touch.

You can change your hairstyle at Hair Salons such as the one in Mesagoza. Other fashion options like your outfit and eyes can be changed through the main menu.

There are many customization options to choose from, so pick something that best shows your personality!

Character Customization Guide

Take Selfies with Your Pokemon

Players can take snapshots and selfies with the Camera App complete with filters that allow you to take cool photos of your journey with your Pokemon!

Camera App Guide: How to Take Selfies

Profile App Replaces Trainer Cards

You can use pictures you took with the Camera App to customize your Profile App. The new feature tracks your in-game progress and features Adventure Records such as Badges Collected and even Shiny Pokemon battled!

The Profile App

Have a Picnic with Your Pokemon

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet allows you to take your Pokemon on Picnics which appear to function similarly to Pokemon Sword and Shield's camping feature. You can play with your Pokemon, who may even play with each other!

Have Picnics for Quality Time with Pokemon

Give Your Pokemon a Shower!

You can even give your Pokemon a shower during a Picnic! This keeps them squeaky clean after a long day on the road.

Pokemon Eggs in Picnics

You can sometimes find Pokemon Eggs when interacting with the table during a picnic. It's currently unknown how often this occurs and if it is still possible to obtain Eggs through the Daycare. We will keep you up-to-date as more information becomes available!

Explore Paldea With Your Friends

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet allows you to team up with up to three other players, a first in the mainline Pokemon games. Discover new Pokemon as you explore the various areas of the region with friends and family!

Use the Union Circle to play together

You can use the Poke Portal and choose Union Circle to invite three friends to play together.

As seen in the Pokemon Presents August 3rd video, three players are shown descending from a portal to join their friend and were later seen exploring through the open fields and cheering each other during a Pokemon battle.

List of Multiplayer Features

All Tips and Tricks Guides

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Related Guides

Game8 Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Wiki Front

All Categories
Pokedex	Story Walkthrough
Train and Breed	Tera Raids
Tier List	Movesets & Best Builds
Competitive Battle	Rental Teams
Maps and Locations	Tips and Tricks
Moves	Abilities
Items	Sandwiches and Recipes
Clothes and Accessories	Game Mechanics
Characters	News and Game Info
The Teal Mask DLC	The Indigo Disk DLC
Ditto Trading Board (30208)