One of our favourite new features in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet has to be the new Pokédex. Instead of being a dry encyclopaedic list of Pokémon you've seen and caught, ScarVi takes the boring old 'Dex formula and throws it out of the window in favour of a stylish bookcase of Pokémon. And it's gorgeous.
We began to notice that some of these "book covers" had a little personality to them after catching a few 'mons, and as we evolved those 'mons, we realised that some of them had stories, too. So we've gathered up some of our favourites in the hopes that you can appreciate them just as much as we do!
Family Portrait
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet's 'mons like to hang out with each other more than ever before. Whether it's a Pawmo supervising a group of Pawmi, or a Sawsbuck frolicking through a meadow with a trail of Deerlings behind it, we love seeing evolutions hang out with their former selves.
And so does the Pokédex, which is full of cute little family portraits:
It's Dangerous Out There
It's a dog-eat-dog Fidough-eat-Fidough world, and Pokémon are not exempt from being part of the food chain. The Pokédex entries show bug Pokémon being chased down by birds, bird Pokémon being hunted by cats, and sea creatures being hunted by... other sea creatures:
Baby Friends
Did you know that the Baby Pokémon hang out while their parents aren't looking? It's incredibly cute, even if we think it's a bit mean that no one invited Mime Jr.
Point of View
Cool Reference, Bro
Some Pokédex entries are subtle references to Pokémon lore, the anime, Pokédex descriptions, and past games.
There's Meowth trying to capture a Pikachu, just like Team Rocket:
And a touching reunion of Pikachu with a couple of the Pikachu-likes from other generations:
Ampharos is pictured hanging out by a lighthouse, a reference to how its tail is used as a guiding light and the fact that it was the light in the Olivine City lighthouse in Pokémon Gold and Silver:
There's a neat reference to Oranguru's Pokémon Moon 'dex entry: "Deep in the jungle, high in the lofty canopy, this Pokémon abides. On rare occasions, it shows up at the beach to match wits with Slowking."
From Violet's Pokédex entry for Garganacl: "Many Pokémon gather around Garganacl, hoping to lick at its mineral-rich salt."
From Scarlet's entry for Pyroar: "The females of a pride work together to bring down prey. It’s thanks to them that their pride doesn’t starve." The females are the ones with the slicked-back mane, surrounding the male with the larger mane:
From Froslass' Legends: Arceus entry: "A Pokémon inhabited by the soul of a woman who died bearing a grudge in the snowy mountains. Legends of Froslass placing deathly curses on misbehaving men send shivers down my spine." From its Moon entry: "The soul of a woman lost on a snowy mountain possessed an icicle, becoming this Pokémon. The food it most relishes is the souls of men." Things aren't looking good for this Courier...
Pictures Tell A Thousand Words
Some of the Pokédex images tell a story over one or two or even three images, like Drifloon contemplating kidnapping a child:
Or Santa Delibird handing out gifts in the snow:
Or the story of lil baby Axew learning from its elders, who might look fierce, but are very sweet really:
What do crickets, bees, and squirrels have in common? Apparently, they all love Kricketune's music:
Hawlucha and Hariyama, two Pokémon that love wrestling, having a tussle:
The inspirational Palafin superhero and his admiring fans:
How about the Sunflora of Artazon hanging out with the Sunflora statue?
Or the Stunky that's just too stinky:
Or some Greedents getting peckish:
Or this Shellder that's following Slowpoke around, ready to chomp on his tail:
Or the story of Tandemaus buying a house, settling down, and having kids:
Weaviles about to drop the more fire album of 2022:
Or our personal favourite, the ongoing rivalry between mortal enemies Zangoose and Seviper:
Ooooh, Pretty
Some Pokédex pics are just really pretty, or really cute. They don't have a story or a reference... We just like looking at them!
We're really hoping that this Pokédex picture party continues in future Pokémon games, because whether we're finding references or just appreciating the cute art, it's a delight. Plus, it's far more interesting than a boring old Pokédex!
Have you picked up on any Easter Eggs or references in the Pokédex yourself? Tell us in the comments!
Comments 16
Too bad, my boy Sawk is not present in Pokemon Scarlet / Violet. 😟
I love this feature of the game.
What a shame they didn’t give them enough time to really polish this game because underneath it all is probably the best Pokémon game since the jump to 3D. There’s a lot of love that’s gone into it, I don’t think it’s fair at all to call them lazy or complacent for all of its shortcomings as so many people keep saying
The feature I never knew I needed until I had it.
It's been a blast catching Pokemon in SV since there's always the excitement of what they're going to do for their Pokedex picture. Sometimes it's boring, sometimes it's not but it's always exciting and that's what makes me love this addition. A few of my personal favourites would be:
I could go on for ages though: this is an absolutely brilliant little addition that I hope sticks around for Gen 10.
You know... that Dragonite one might also be a reference to the anime, if the giant Pokémon from that Indigo League episode is one (basically, giant Pokémon that looks like Dragonite shows up at lighthouse)
forgot the best one
Those Pokemon look very good, and some awesome compositions on show there, love the way they are your own pokemon playing cards too.
This is funny cause at first I was cursing the Pokédex cause I didn’t realize you had to click again once you entered the Pokédex to get the list. Then I was annoyed that it was books. I was looking for efficiency at the time, but I guess I just hadn’t got use to it yet.
I know I'm probably alone here, but I really wish they still used the cel-shaded art style like they did in Omega Ruby/Sapphire and X/Y back on 3DS. They still look really good today.
When I play Dragon Ball Z Kakarot (2020) or Dragon Ball FighterZ (2018), it feels like I'm playing in an actual episode of the anime. It's breath-taking.
Scarlet/Violet graphics just look like Pokemon Go with a little more detail, and I think it's a huge missed opportunity for a game based on an anime.
It's worth considering that the majority of people love and remember Dragon Quest VIII not because it was incredibly innovative, but because the cel-shading and colorful art style they implemented made the game gorgeous to play over a decade later.
@Kirbyo I was gonna say the same thing! Definitely a reference to the anime I think
So the photographer taking the pic of the drifloon and the child just watched and did nothing huh
@CMS_Glalie Not my point at all.
I just meant the graphics look poor compared to other anime-style titles and I'm surprised they went with this no outlines/washed out colors style rather than the vibrant colors/hard outlines style they've done in many previous Pokemon games.
@Astral-Grain,
Seriously, the Pokemon have looked awesome since Sword and shield in my opinion, but do get your point, and we can't all like the same things I suppose.
I like that they've added pictures to the pokedex this time round.
Some of those are really fun.
I like the picture for Pawniard's entry. They're weirdly cute when they look like they're dancing.
@Astral-Grain Let's Go still has the most ideal Pokemon art style IMO (minus the character proportions). A palette swap of Let's Go graphics into Scarlet/Violet would be my dream game.
@Ulysses Let's Go definitely has more vibrant colors than Sca/Vio, but I think that hard outlines/cel-shaded style would knock it from "pretty" to "gorgeous"
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