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Pokémon Scarlet & Violet: What Are The Differences? All Version-Exclusive Pokémon And More

Pokemon Scarlet Violet Key Art
Image: The Pokémon Company

The next generation of Pokémon is here! Pokémon Scarlet & Violet kick off the 9th generation of the Pokémon RPGs in style with a few significant changes, including a wholly open world and the chance to tackle the Gyms in whatever order you see fit! But before you dive into the vast Paldea region, budding Trainers first need to decide whether they’ll be Team Scarlet or Team Violet.

Like with most Pokémon games, the biggest difference will be the list of version-exclusive Pokémon, but Scarlet & Violet are also introducing a few other differences depending on what version you pick up.

To find out exactly what you’re getting in each version of Generation IX, read on.

Pokémon Scarlet & Violet – Version Exclusive Pokémon

Here, you’ll find a list of all of Pokémon exclusive to each version as they’re announced (thanks to Serebii):

Pokémon Scarlet – Exclusive Pokémon

Pokémon Violet – Exclusive Pokémon

Pokémon Professors

For the first time in the series’ history, Pokémon Scarlet & Violet are introducing version-exclusive professors.

If you pick up Pokémon Scarlet, your Pokémon Professor will be Sada. If Violet is more your thing, you’ll be greeted by Professor Turo.

World and story themes

In an exciting twist, fans have noticed a few key differences in the aesthetics of Pokémon Scarlet & Violet. Scarlet seems to embody the past, while Violet looks to the future.

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You might have already noticed these things just looking at Sada and Turo, but Sada is wearing cavewoman-like attire, and Turo is wearing a skintight bodysuit under that lab coat. Also, their names are pretty important! Sada comes from pasada, the Spanish word for past, while Turo comes from futuro, the Spanish word for future.

Plus, those legendaries certainly have a few visual differences. Koraidon, Scarlet’s legendary, looks like a prehistoric bird-like dinosaur. Miraidon is a metallic lizard with pixelated eyes.

The legendaries’ forms

Box art legendaries are the standard in the Pokémon series, but Koraidon and Miraidon have many more differences than their colours and initial appearances. Each legendary has a different form to help with travelling across the many different terrains of the Paldea region — Koraidon’s are all ‘Builds’ while Miraidon’s are all ‘Modes’, again emphasising that past vs future theme the games seem to be going for.

Bikes

Many people noticed that Koraidon and Miraidon seemed to have wheels in their designs when they were first revealed, but we now officially know that both Pokémon can turn into bikes!

Our prehistoric dragon, Koraidon, turns into Sprinting Build Koraidon, a motorbike-looking ride that (for some reason) doesn’t use its wheels! Miraidon, however, transforms into ‘Drive Mode Miraidon’, and it looks like a very sleek jet bike and uses ‘energy’ to accelerate.

World Overview Pokémon Scarlet And Pokémon Violet 0 39 Screenshot
Image: The Pokémon Company

Water

Again, your water transportation will look entirely different depending on whether you have Scarlet (Koraidon) or Violet (Miraidon).

Koraidon’s ‘Swimming Build’ puffs up its front wheel (or throat) to use as a floatation device, and it uses its powerful legs to paddle across the water. Miraidon’s ‘Aquatic Mode’ looks like it could come out of a futuristic Wave Race game and uses its jet engines on its legs to move in the water.

World Overview Pokémon Scarlet And Pokémon Violet 0 41 Screenshot
Image: The Pokémon Company

Gliding

And, being dragons, these two can fly! Or glide, at least. And to match their past and future theming, each legendary has a specific form it takes when taking to the skies.

Our Scarlet mascot, Koraidon, unravels its tendrils to reveal some grand wings on its head, which it uses to soar through the air for its ‘Gliding Build’, making it look even more like a prehistoric bird. Miraidon, on the other hand, looks like a glider fit for James Bond, as ‘Glide Mode’ makes its antennae extend and spread out what The Pokémon Company calls “a membrane of energy”.

World Overview Pokémon Scarlet And Pokémon Violet 0 43 Screenshot
Image: The Pokémon Company

Your school

In Pokémon Scarlet & Violet, your character goes to a prestigious school in the Paldea region. Age isn’t an issue, and everyone there is attending to learn more about Pokémon. But there are some pretty key differences depending on whether you’re more partial to the colour red or purple.

Name and emblem

While the school will always be situated in the Paldea region’s largest city — Mesagoza — the name of the school your character attends, and its emblem will be totally different.

If you pick up Scarlet Version, then you’ll attend the Naranja Academy. In Violet Version, your school is called the Uva Academy. If you know your Spanish, then you know these translate to the ‘Orange Academy’ and ‘Grape Academy’, respectively.

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Of course, it wouldn’t be a unique school without a unique colour scheme and an emblem. The Naranja Academy has an orange emblem in a rich orange colour, while the Uva Academy’s is proudly purple and embellished with a bunch of grapes.

Uniform

One of the first things we saw in the initial Scarlet & Violet trailer was the different coloured uniforms, and this matches whichever academy — and version — you go for.

In Pokémon Scarlet, your uniform has a blue hat, orange tie, and orange striped shorts. Your shoes are black (with a matching backpack), and your socks are white with an orange stripe. In Pokémon Violet, swap the orange for purple, the black for brown, and the blue hat for a white one, as well as black socks with a yellow stripe.

Pokemon Scarlet And Violet Trainers
Image: The Pokémon Company

If you don’t like the base outfit, don’t worry! Customisation is back, and you’ll be able to buy new clothes and change your outfit throughout the game.

Your character isn’t the only one with a colour-coded outfit, either. Clavell, the director of your academy, has a different coloured suit depending on your version. Again, Scarlet’s is a burning orangey red colour, while Violet’s is a rich purple.

Pokemon Scarlet Violet Clavell
Image: The Pokémon Company

We’ll be adding more details to this guide as we get closer to Pokémon Scarlet & Violet’s release, so make sure you bookmark this page and come back for the latest details!

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