Pokémon Scarlet And Violet: How To Unlock Surfing

The most exciting "Pokémon Scarlet" and "Pokémon Violet" feature for many fans is how much the new titles revolve around freedom of exploration. From the get-go, the games tell players to set out with their Pokémon partners and forge their own path around the diverse landscapes and locales of Paldea. Of course, that unrestricted open-world philosophy has limits, especially during the titles' early hours. New players will find that their character doesn't possess the ability to swim, and trying to venture across deep bodies of water will make the player's screen fade to black before tossing them back onto the shoreline. 

To start traversing Paldea's many rivers and lakes and its surrounding ocean, players must unlock the ability to surf across the water. However, getting this upgrade plays out differently in "Pokémon Scarlet" and "Pokémon Violet" compared to many previous generations. Unlike certain earlier entries in the series, there's no Surf HM that you have to sacrifice one of your team's precious move slots for, nor is water travel gated behind defeating some middle-game Gym Leader. In fact, players can gain the surfing skill pretty early on in the game — provided that they know where to go and what to fight.

After getting through the early hours of "Pokémon Scarlet" or "Violet," and once the school-wide treasure hunt has begun, Arven will task players with fighting five Titan Pokémon spread across the region — a campaign known as the "Path of Legends." Crucially, defeating each of these bosses grants a new traversal ability to the rideable mount legendary Pokémon, Koraidon or Miraidon. 

The ability to cross water is locked behind Bombirdier, the Open Sky Titan. Thankfully, players can reach this boss without much trouble in the early game. From Mesagoza, take the western gate out of the city. Continue northwest through Cortondo and keep going that way until reaching the center of Paldea's west coast. Keep an eye out for the white windmills that signal the area. Players can also check the map for directions, as it has the location marked by default.

Once there, players can spot Bombirdier flying around a mountain with boulders careening down. Outmaneuver the boulders and reach the top to initiate the multi-stage battle. Bombirdier is a Level 19 Flying/Dark type, so a modestly-trained team should do the trick (Auto-Battles are great for quickly leveling up if needed). Once Bombirdier is defeated, players will see a cutscene with Arven, and Koraidon or Miraidon will subsequently gain the ability to ferry the player across the water. 

Now, take a dip and treat yourself to some rare water-type Pokémon absent from the collection.