Things Only Adults Notice In Pokémon Scarlet And Violet

The "Pokémon" franchise has been going strong for nearly three decades. While the series has never strayed far (if at all) from its child-friendly roots, the developers have realized that people of all ages play their games. So, sometimes coders, artists, and even localizers hide little nuggets that fly over the heads of children.

"Pokémon Scarlet" and "Pokémon Violet" carry on the proud tradition of including small details that young audiences will likely never understand or even recognize. We're talking about Pokédex entries that deal with heavy subjects and designs that reference concepts too mature for younger gamers. "Pokémon Scarlet" and "Violet" also embraces streamer culture and modern trends in ways that are more likely to stick out to the adults in the audience. Join us as we explore the Paldea region to unearth moments in the "Pokémon Scarlet" and "Violet" that only adults notice.

Mankey and its evolution Primeape are probably the most pitable Pokémon in the series, because they are always angry. Granted, this fury is a source of power for the primate-like puffballs, but it is also a potential burden — one that grants them even more strength in "Pokémon Scarlet" and "Violet." These games introduced a slew of new attacks, one of which is Rage Fist. This move powers up the more its user is hit, and only Primeape can learn it. Moreover, Primeape gained a new evolution, Annihilape, which is tied to Rage Fist. Primeape can't evolve unless it levels up after using Rage Fist 20 times. On one hand, this development gives the Pokémon some much-needed attention. On the other hand, it seems to kill Primeape.

According to the Pokédex in "Pokemon Sun," Primeape can become so angry it just up and dies. Given Rage Fist's description and mechanics, it's easy to connect the dots and guess that the angrier Primeape gets, the stronger it becomes. The Pokémon may die once it crosses the anger threshold, only to resurrect as a fighting zombie. Annihilape is part Ghost-type, and its "Scarlet" Pokédex entry states that the Pokémon gained new power when its anger crossed a "critical point." In some ghost stories, spirits are created out of sheer anger. The same appears to apply to Annihilape.

Of course, adult gamers also know that anger and anxiety can be an unhealthy emotion, one that results in high blood pressure, irritated skin, stomach problems, and more. Most of us don't become more powerful from it, but it's upsettingly easy to understand how unchecked anger could outright kill a Pokémon.

"Pokémon" has been around long enough for Game Freak to draw inspiration from almost every corner of the animal kingdom — and beyond. Of course, other studios have also drawn from the same pool to create games that the younger "Pokémon" target demographic can't play just yet.

Two Pokémon introduced in "Scarlet" and "Violet" are Tadbulb and its evolution Bellibolt. These Electric-type creatures are based on tadpoles and frogs (which is old hat for the franchise). But, aside from its type, its eyes are what set Bellibolt apart. No, not its real eyes; its fake eyes. Bellibolt features two large bumps on the side of its head that resemble eyes, while its real eyes are tiny yellow dots above its mouth. These bumps are reminiscent of real world animals that use eyespots to deceive would-be predators, such as the Cuyaba dwarf frog, but older gamers may recognize this specific mimicry pattern from another game.

In the "Dark Souls" series, few monsters are as reviled as the Basilisk. These creatures are infamous for their ability to cause instant death via a cloud of concentrated Curse, and they are immediately recognizable by their frog-like appearance and giant, bulbous eyes. Except those aren't eyes; they're giant bumps that only resemble eyes. The Basilisk's real eyes are tiny yellow dots above the mouth. Sound familiar? It should, because that's literally the same design as Bellibolt. Sure, Bellibolt isn't a Poison-type and it waddles around instead of hopping, but it channels the same animal mimicry concept as the "Dark Souls" Basilisk.

Pokédex entries tend to hide many disturbing details. Did you know Mega Houndoom is so hot that its body is constantly melting, or that Sliggoo is blind and tends to dissolve its own friends, thinking they're food? You probably wouldn't if you ignored the Pokédex, but it's not often that you find Pokédex entries that might be lying to your face.

The entire Nacli line, which was introduced in "Pokémon Scarlet and Violet," is one big reference to salt. Nacli and its evolutions, Naclstack and Garganacl, are based on rock salt. Their signature ability is Purifying Salt, which protects them from status conditions and Ghost-type moves, and they are the only Pokémon that can learn the damage-over-time attack Salt Cure. Even their names reference the chemical formula for salt, NaCl. So far, so factual — at least until you examine Garganacl's Pokédex entry.

According to "Pokémon Scarlet," Garganacl can heal injured Pokémon by sprinkling salt on them. While the Nacli line can learn plenty of defensive moves, they can't learn any support skills that heal allied Pokémon. However, Garganacl can learn Salt Cure, which lets them toss salt over a target ala Garganacl's Pokédex entry. However, the move damages them instead of curing them, because that's exactly what "curing" is. Garganacl is basically curing meat for preservation. So, despite the Pokédex saying otherwise, Garganacl isn't healing Pokemon by literally rubbing salt in their wounds, it's, um, figuratively rubbing salt in their wounds by doing so literally. That's a horrific little subtlety that probably goes right over younger players' heads.

The "Pokémon" franchise has plenty of hidden mechanics most gamers will never use, let alone encounter. One example is the Pokérus, a very rare status effect that has been around since Gen 2. The Pokérus (short for "Pokémon Virus") doubles the effort values (EV) Pokémon gain after battle, which affects the stats they receive when leveling up. As its name suggests, the Pokérus is highly contagious. Any Pokémon that fight wild Pokémon with the Pokérus get infected, and it will spread to other Pokémon in the player's party. Since the odds of encountering the Pokérus are 1 in 21,845, gamers can go through numerous playthroughs without ever acquiring it. Apparently, the developers at Game Freak asked themselves why they should bother placing such a rare mechanic in the game if few people will ever get to use it, and seemingly just got rid of it. 

X user @mattyhourkhana_ claimed that they dove into the game code of "Pokémon Scarlet and "Violet" and discovered these entries don't have any assets or code for the Pokérus — not even status icons. @mattyhourkhana_ even tried forcibly injecting the Pokérus into "Scarlet" and "Violet," but infected Pokémon received the normal amount of EV per battle and couldn't spread the digital disease. Odds are good that no one would have noticed that Game Freak removed the Pokérus if someone hadn't hacked into the game and checked. This also weirdly mirrors the number of diseases that are kept in check by routine vaccinations, making the "Pokémon" world look even more like our own.

"Pokémon Scarlet" and "Violet" sport many dog-themed creatures. There's the bread-like Fidough, the ironically cute Maschiff, and Greavard, the most dangerous of this first-stage lot. Sure, Maschiff and Fidough have better stats, but unlike the others, Greavard drains the life of anyone near it. This deadly fact is corroborated by the poulterpup's dedicated trailer and the "Pokémon Scarlet and Violet" website. You may think surviving would be as easy as running away, but never underestimate the power of loneliness.

None of Greavard's Pokédex entries mention its ability to siphon life energy, but its "Violet" entry states the creature is so lonely that it will follow anyone who gives it the slightest attention. Even if people run away from Greavard to escape its vampiric aura, it will still chase after them, eventually catch up, inadvertently kill them, and then restart this cycle all over again when someone else inevitably notices the lonely Greavard. It's like the ultimate toxic friend-turned-stalker. Makes you wonder just how many Pokémon researchers lost their lives studying this creature before they realized they should let dead dogs lie. Given the number of Twitter users who have said they would gladly die for Greavard, this Pokémon probably has its own dedicated cemetery.

The "Pokémon" franchise evolves with the times. When smartphones became staples of modern society, Game Freak gave each trainer a Rotom-powered phone. Since streaming is so popular now, the company implemented the franchise's first streamer Gym Leader, Iono, in "Pokémon Scarlet" and "Violet." Game Freak also decided to feature one of the more controversial sides of streaming.

When Nintendo and Game Freak introduced audiences to Iono, they gave her a streaming-style trailer. This video set up Iono's personality and tendency to interact with viewers — as any good streamer should — and this behavior continued into the games proper (albeit with less voice acting). Her pre-battle cutscene is full of off-screen viewers tuning in for the battle, most of whom just leave quick comments in the chat. One fan, "Electro King," gifts Iono 5,000 Pokémon Dollars. She thanks them, but otherwise brushes them off.

Audiences who have been around the streaming block may interpret this act as an example of what is colloquially called "simping." Though the meaning of the word has come under debate, it has been used to denote people (often males) who dote on streamers (or anyone else) with gifts and attention (often unreciprocated). Many view the term "simping" as an insult, and popular streamers such as Pokimane have even called it a misogynistic term. Whether or not you agree with her, it's easy to connect the dots between the perceived practice of simping and Electro King's actions.

Many Pokémon are predatory by nature. Sure, players can feed them curry, sandwiches, and berries, but look at the jaws of an Aerodactyl. Those serrated teeth weren't made for tearing up ferns. But when it comes to the world of Pokémon, eating the creatures a Pokémon hunts is a kindness, one that isn't shared by the franchise's latest Fairy/Steel-type. Fairly early into "Pokémon Scarlet and Violet," players can catch Tinkatink, a diminutive pink Pokémon that carries around a rattle-like metal hammer. This Pokémon eventually evolves into Tinkatuff and finally Tinkaton, each with sequentially larger hammers. In fact, Tinkaton's oversized mallet is almost eight times as heavy as the Pokémon itself. Where do these miniscule blacksmiths get all the raw material? Fellow Steel-type Pokémon.

While Tinkatink starts by pounding iron scraps to create its first hammer, "Pokémon Scarlet" states that Tinkatuff forge their weapons out of metal gathered from Pawniard and Bisharp, meaning Tinkatuff hunts these Pokémon, kills them, and smelts their bodies down into hammer components. Tinkaton create their mallets the same way, except in bulk. According to various "Scarlet" Pokédex entries, they knock Corviknight out of the sky and use the remains to craft their oversized weapons. Tinkatink and its evolutions are the closest "Pokémon" has ever gotten to channeling "Monster Hunter" — for now, at least. They're also one of the clearest representations of the brutal circle of life in the wild of the "Pokémon" world. 

The "Pokémon" series relies on suspension of disbelief. Gamers should just accept that children between the ages of 10 and 16 are allowed to travel the world unsupervised and capture legions of superpowered animals, and while there are schools in the "Pokémon" universe, they're quite different from ours. In a series first, when players set out on their journey in "Pokémon Scarlet and Violet," they begin in a school — and all classes are related to Pokémon. Understandable, since every region in the series has caught a permanent case of Pokémon fever. Players are mostly paired up with students around the protagonist's age, but then gamers start exploring Paldea and battling other trainers.

As with prior entries, "Scarlet" and "Violet" lets players challenge different trainer classes, one of which is the Student type. At first, these are an evolution of the "School Kid" battled in previous games, which are invariably young children. However, you'll start to notice that Students come in a wide variety of ages. Some look like they could be students at a high school or college. Others look old enough to be going through a midlife crisis or living in a retirement community. Some are young enough to be in first grade, yet all of them are considered in the realm of "Students." The curriculum of Paldea's premier school is clearly geared towards anyone who wants to learn more about Pokémon, but it's still weird seeing children who need booster seats study and train alongside adults who are one year away from developing liver spots.

"Pokémon Scarlet" and "Violet" may have introduced a ton of new creatures and mechanics to the franchise, but the developers definitely didn't forget about the series' roots or the folks who have been playing these games since the beginning. In the town of Alfornada, players can spot mosaics of the original Generation 1 Pokémon sprites on the walls and streets surrounding the local Gym. 

For younger gamers who may have only played through the more recent entries in the franchise, these may just seem like cutesy images of various generic animals. Longtime fans, however, will recognize these as the sprites displayed in the player's party to represent specific Pokémon types in "Pokémon Blue," "Red," and "Yellow." Gen 2 introduced more varied sprites, while later entries would eventually give every individual Pokémon its own sprite in the party select screen. This Gym design is both a great callback for Gen 1 fans and an incredible reminder of how much "Pokémon" has transformed over the years — and how much the fans have grown up along with it.