Pokemon Scarlet & Violet are two of the most unique games in the Pokemon franchise to date. With an open-world style and a mountain of cool Pokemon to catch, there are plenty of ways to improve your experience and get better at the game.
Whether you’re an experienced Pokemon fan or a new player picking up a Pokemon title for the first time, we’ve pulled together our top tips to help you get more out of your chosen game. We’ll be looking at everything from leveling tips to advice for acing battles.
Here are the 11 best tips for Pokemon Scarlet & Violet that you need to know.
Catch Pokemon Early to Fill Up Your Roster
It is important to maximize how many experience points you’re getting early in the game. Since it is an open-world game, you are free to roam wherever you want to go.
However, you might find yourself under-leveled when trying to take down specific Titans, crews, or Gym Leaders. If you have a lot of Pokemon to use in battle, you can easily use Pokemon types to your advantage and bridge that gap.
You can also use some other Pokemon as bait, so you can let your strongest Pokemon recover when you are in a pinch.
This strategy also helps if you want to complete your Pokedex.
Start Battling Early
When you are playing solo and trying to progress through the story, it is best that you battle a few Pokemon and fight the trainers you encounter for experience points.
There are a lot of ways to level up fast, but this tip is mostly for players who intend to do it solo. Tera Raids are still a bit better, but you want to combine that strategy with this, so you don’t end up being under-leveled or losing money.
Utilize Your Weak Pokemon
When you are having trouble battling against a strong trainer like Gym Leaders, Team Star Leaders, and others, you can always sacrifice your other Pokemon to heal up your strong Pokemon as a last resort.
This is because item usage always goes before the first move in a battle. For example, you could send out a level 5 Pokemon to take a hit from a level 40 Pokemon while you heal up the stronger Pokemon in your team.
Join Online Tera Raids ASAP
There are multiple star ratings for Tera Raids, each indicating their difficulty. You can access higher star Tera Raids in special events, where you can catch rare Pokemon with unique qualities and traits.
The reason why you want to do Tera Raids is that they give you Exp Candies. These candies level up Pokemon and give them experience.
The amount of Candies that you can get from Tera Raids varies and it does depend on the difficulty level, but you’ll always get a good amount and they can vary in size too.
You can do a Tera Raid with friends or join a random online Raid.
Catch Strong Pokemon in Tera Raids
If you beat a Tera Raid Battle, you can catch the Tera Pokemon afterwards. There is no pressure to catch the Pokemon as this does not affect the rewards you get, but it is a guaranteed capture if you choose to catch it.
This can be a great way to pad out your Pokedex with rare and powerful Pokemon, and to learn more about the different Tera Types in the game as well. Make sure to keep an eye out for Tera Shards as you progress through the game, too.
Chanseys Give More Experience
When you encounter Chanseys out in the world, you should fight them if you want some easy experience points. They give a much bigger chunk of experience points compared to other Pokemon.
You can find Chanseys in grass, flower, and mountain biomes. Technically, they can be found almost anywhere, including Area Zero! They have a very low spawn rate.
Use Outbreaks to Shiny Hunt
Hunting for shiny Pokemon is a big deal in the Pokemon community. A lot of players just play the game for just completing the Pokedex or finding as many shinies as they can.
You can capitalize on Outbreaks in the region to go shiny hunting. Outbreaks appear as a question mark on the map.
These Outbreaks have a specific Pokemon that will spawn in mass numbers in the area. You can continuously quick battle with them until a shiny spawns. It’s not possible to accidentally defeat a shiny Pokemon with quick battles as your Pokemon will actually refuse to fight a shiny and just return to you instead.
Outbreaks are also a great way to level up if you pick a focus Pokemon with a type that combats the most popular type in an area. For example, put a Fire Pokemon in the first slot of your party and head to a forest/field area with Grass Pokemon.
Quick battles aren’t the most lucrative in terms of experience points but they can get you useful items and help save you some time while leveling, too.
Outbreaks are different in each world. You can take turns hosting a world if you are playing with friends so you can see different Outbreaks.
Capture Dittos for Breeding
Dittos can spawn in Tera Raids or in the overworld. If you are looking for Dittos in the overworld, they will disguise themselves as other Pokemon.
There is no way of telling if there are Dittos in the area unless you fight them. Go to the Pokemon Center in Medali or Port Marinada, as Dittos usually spawn near that area.
Once you have a Ditto, you should keep them for breeding. If you start a picnic with a Ditto and any Pokemon (any gender) you want to breed, they will start giving you eggs.
Ideally, you should get multiple Dittos with different natures, EVs, and IVs to breed your perfect competitive Pokemon.
Use Candies Wisely
Rare Candies and Exp Candies are, unsurprisingly, uncommon in the game. You can get them from things like Tera Raid Battles but they’re not particularly easy to come by. Therefore, you should make the most out of them at all times.
Use Rare Candies on Pokemon that are just about to level up or only have a few experience points on their level bar to get the most out of them.
Rare Candies increase a Pokemon’s level by 1. It doesn’t matter how close they are to leveling. The level will just increase by 1 and start again at 0 experience points at that level.
Use the appropriate number of Exp Candies to level them up. It is also best to use Rare Candies on high-level Pokemon because it is much more efficient. Leveling up quickly is much harder at a higher level so it reduces how long you need to grind for.
Breed Pokemon from Different Countries
If you have ever heard of the term ‘Masuda method,’ you are probably a shiny hunter. The method is a simple way of improving the odds of obtaining shiny Pokemon quickly.
Get a Ditto captured by a player from another country and use this Ditto for breeding. Using two Pokemon from different countries increases the odds of a shiny Pokemon hatching from an egg. The odds are still extremely low, but it is a lot better than the current odds.
Interact With All Tera Raid Dens
When you interact with Tera Raid Dens in your world, it gives you League Points. League Points are a type of currency that you can use to buy items such as Pokeballs, healing items, cosmetics, and a lot of other things.
If you are playing with other players in a Union Circle, you will notice that there will be Tera Raid Dens specific to other players in your group.
You won’t be able to host that particular raid, but you still gain LP from interacting with it.
Other Things to Focus On
Once you’ve got to grips with all the tips in this list and optimized your Pokemon Scarlet & Violet experience, spend some time reading about the different types and weaknesses in the game. Whether you’re using quick battles or trying to take down a gym, understanding the strengths and weaknesses of your team is essential.
If you’ve already looked into Individual Values and Tera Types, have a look at your Pokemon and their Friendship levels, too. It may seem like a small feature but having a high level of Friendship can be significant in important battles.
