After finishing the main story in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, you are allowed to do whatever your heart desires, and there’s no “right way” to experience the postgame content. However, there’s a chance that you might want some tips to point you in the right direction, so we have prepared this extensive postgame guide for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet on Nintendo Switch. If you haven’t finished the game, we highly recommend returning to this guide after you’ve witnessed Ed Sheeran blasting “Celestial” at you during the credits, as we’re about to enter spoiler territory.
- Interested in changing your Pokemon’s tera type, check out our guide here.
Pokemon Scarlet And Violet Postgame: Gym Rematches
Following the credits, your trainer will wake up in their dormitory and will be immediately summoned to the Director’s Office. After a series of cutscenes, Paldea’s Champion, Geeta, will task you with battling the game’s eight gym leaders for a second time. Unlike last time, each gym will use a full team of six Pokémon with a much higher-level cap. They’re going to be using Pokémon in the level 60-70 range, so you will want to make sure that you have a strong team to tackle these rematches.
Pokemon Scarlet And Violet Postgame: The Ace Tournament
The Ace Tournament is introduced prior to the previously mentioned Gym Rematches but can’t be tackled until you complete Geeta’s task. Now that you’ve finished the eight gyms, again, it’s time to head back to the Academy to participate in The Ace Tournament. In your first attempt, you will be facing the following trainers:
- Pokémon Trainer Arven
- Instructor Jacq
- Instructor Dendra
- Champion Geeta
Upon completing the tournament for the first time, you unlock the ability to tackle the battling event at any time you want. Additionally, repeat playthroughs of the tournament will net you various rewards including the elusive Gold Bottle Cap, which has a 1% chance of appearing as a reward. Also, it’s worth mentioning that your opponents will be randomised on each visit, and can include trainers such as Penny, Nemona, Director Clavell and more. Serebii has full documentation of the battles you will face here.
Pokemon Scarlet And Violet Postgame: Shiny Hunting
Since Generation II, the act of shiny hunting has been a popular postgame activity for a lot of people, and Pokémon Scarlet and Violet introduce new methods for tracking down a shiny Pokémon. There are four unique methods for shiny hunting in Scarlet and Violet, which includes:
- Mass Outbreaks
- The Sandwich Method
- Random Encounters
- Masuda Method
If you played Pokémon Legends Arceus earlier this year, mass outbreaks may seem somewhat familiar, and you’d be correct if you made that observation. There are some slight differences this time around, as instead of encountering a limited number of Pokémon, mass outbreaks can now yield up to 100 respawns of a species.
Making Sandwiches are another way to increase shiny chances in Scarlet and Violet, as you can create recipes that activate something called “Sparkling Power”. This can then be combined with a specific encounter power for a Pokémon type, such as Fire or Grass, to increase your chances of finding a shiny of that element.
The final two methods should be recognisable to series’ veterans, as they’ve been around for a long time now. Firstly, there are random encounters, a very straightforward shiny hunting method where you run around until you find a shiny. However, unlike Pokémon Legends Arceus, shiny variants won’t make a sparkling chime when they spawn in, meaning that you will have to pay closer attention to your surroundings. This also applies to the previous two methods we explored here.
Finally, there’s the Masuda Method, which got its name from the series game director, Junichi Masuda. This shiny hunting tool is activated when you breed a Pokémon from another region with one from your native area. For instance, you could breed a Japanese Ditto with any Pokémon from your game to raise your chances of hatching a shiny version of it.
Pokemon Scarlet And Violet Postgame: 6 Star Tera Raids
After wrapping up the Gym Rematches and Ace Tournament, Instructor Jacq will call you to talk about powerful Tera Raid caverns appearing in Paldea. He will then task you with completing a variety of 5 Star Tera Raids for research purposes, however, you must be the host of the raid for the next stage to become available.
Now that you’ve tackled roughly 10 5-Star Raids, Jacq will call you again to report sightings of Tera Raid caverns with a dark black aura surrounding them. Congratulations, you’ve now unlocked 6 Star Tera Raids! These are a brutal challenge in comparison to the other levels of raids, as the Pokémon in the cavern will be battled at Level 95. However, completing these raids are essential for receiving some amazing rewards, such as Ability Patches, Bottle Caps, and Nature Mints.
Pokemon Scarlet And Violet Postgame: Gotta Catch Em’ All
It’s the series’ mantra, after all! Since the very beginning, catching every single species of Pokémon has been an important element of the gameplay experience. In Scarlet and Violet, there are 400 species of Pocket Monster that can be tracked down and captured. As this entry is an open-world game, it might take a while for you to find the species you’re looking for, so good luck!
That’s everything you need to know about the postgame in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet for Nintendo Switch. Although we’ve provided some general recommendations, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is designed to be approached in a multitude of different ways due to its open-world environment, so feel free to experience the game however you want!
For more Pokemon Scarlet and Violet guides, keep reading The Games Cabin.