It’s finally been confirmed that Pokemon Scarlet & Violet’s region is called Paldea, so here’s everything we know about the Gen 9 location and the countries that inspired it.
Pokemon fans around the world were shocked when Game Freak revealed that the ninth generation will be launching in November 2022. The new RPG is the series’ first open-world title and looks to be even more ambitious than Legends Arceus.
While the name of the region featured in the new games was initially absent from trailers, it’s now finally been confirmed that the location we’ll be exploring in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet is called Paldea, and it appears to be based on Spain and Portugal.
Pokemon Scarlet & Violet region is called Paldea
It’s been confirmed that Pokemon Scarlet & Violet will take place in a region called Paldea, which appears to have been heavily inspired by Mediterranean countries like Spain and Portugal.
The Pokemon Company has described Paldea as being “a land of vast open spaces dotted with lakes, towering peaks, wastelands, and perilous mountain ranges” which suggests a lot of variety.
Pokemon Scarlet & Violet map revealed
The official Pokemon Twitter account shared a first-look at the Paldea region map from above. While it doesn’t include any area names, it does give us a good idea of what to expect from Scarlet & Violet.
There’s one major city at the center of the map, while the rest of Paldea will be free to explore at your own pace, with lots to see including a farming village and a port town with a bustling market.
What country is the Paldea region based on?
Even before it was confirmed, many fans had assumed that this region would be based on Spain and its surrounding countries based on iconic landmarks and names featured in early trailers.
Here are all the hints so far that point to the Paldea region being inspired by Spain:
Gen 9 Pokemon starters are influenced by Spanish language
The three Pokemon Scarlet & Violet starters incorporate Spanish into their names. Fire-type crocodile Fuecoco is a mashup of “fuego” (fire) and “coco” – which is a mythical ghost in Spanish lore.
One theory is that this Pokemon will be the series’ second Ghost/Fire-type following Hisuian Typhlosion. This would be fitting as the character looks to be shaped like a pepper, making the species a ghost pepper.
Game Freak / The Pokemon CompanyThe Gen 9 starters have intriguing names that reflect the new region’s location.
Similarly, the “gatito” in Sprigatito means “little cat” in Spanish, which perfectly describes the adorable Grass-type feline. This starter is rumored to evolve into a Puss In Boots-style final evolution.
A hidden map looks identical to Spain
In the live-action portion of the Scarlet & Violet reveal trailer, a map in the office is spotted pinned to the wall. Upon further inspection, it looks almost identical to Spain – including the Balearic Islands to the right of it.
Game Freak / The Pokemon CompanyA hidden map can be seen in the Pokemon Violet & Scarlet reveal trailer.
Spanish landmarks
Perhaps one of the biggest giveaways of Paldea’s inspirations is that Pokemon Scarlet & Violet clearly has locations based on famous Spanish landmarks.
Halfway into the original reveal trailer, we got our first glimpse at one of the game’s major towns, which features a towering castle-like building with spiked rooftops.
The building is a perfect match to the La Sagrada Familia Church, which also has pointed rooftops and windows embedded in its circular towers.
Game Freak / The Pokemon CompanyGen 9 features a major landmark in Spain.
While most of these things point towards Spain being the main influence on Paldea, it’s likely that the Gen 9 Pokemon games have also been inspired by otherr nearby countries including Portugal.
One big reason for this is that former Managing Director Junichi Masuda reportedly visited Portugal during Scarlet & Violet’s development, so it seems like the overall region appears to be the inspiration.
While we wait for more information on Paldea, check out all the new Pokemon revealed so far, information on the new Terastal phenomenon, and everything we know about the game’s Legendaries.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet have been announced with a short trailer during the Pokemon Presents for Pokemon Day 2022. As the kickoff to Gen 9, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet will introduce players to a whole new region with new Pokemon. With release dates later in 2022, this continues the three-to-four year pattern that each generation of Pokemon generally follows. Despite this, and greater hype seemingly built around Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, information on the games are still sparse.
The reveal of the new starter names Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly offers some idea about where their inspiration comes but not too much else. The Spanish influence in their names is strong and only the first in a series of clues about Pokemon Scarlet and Violet taking place in a region based on Spain. When combined with the reveal trailer from the Pokemon Presents, more evidence adds up that appears to confirm many fans' suspicion despite Game Freak not identifying the region's inspiration by name as of yet.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Catalonian Design
Early on in the trailer, a live-action portion shows a guard entering a cluttered room full of different artifacts, memorabilia, and miscellaneous items. While not all of these feel incredibly significant, there is a corkboard with a map that stands out at the 56-second mark. The map itself is surrounded by different postings, but it includes an image of the Iberian Peninsula as well as the Islas Baleares. This is substantial evidence that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet will take place in a region inspired by the peninsula, likely with a special emphasis on the country of Spain itself. When combined with Spanish terms in the name of the new Fire-type starter Fuecoco and Grass-type starter Sprigatito, the evidence begins to add up.
Further support appears later in footage from Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's announcement. The first scene of game footage depicts a castle-like city in the background with magnificent spires towering over the landscape. As the reveal for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet continues, closer shots of this structure provide more information. While the building itself is reminiscent of other castles that have appeared in previous Pokemon games it bears a striking resemblance to a real-world landmark: Antoni Gaudi’s La Sagrada Familia located in Barcelona, Spain.
Other views of the city provide more evidence that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet’s region will be based on locations from the Iberian Peninsula. The architecture of the city itself is light with mosaics and tile art spread throughout its different sections that invoke imagery of Barcelona. Alongside designing La Sagrada Familia, Gaudi also did numerous works throughout his native city that used these mediums and techniques, suggesting Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are probably drawing on his work to flesh out the Spanish-inspired region - rather than a Pokemon Gen 9 inspired by India as some may have believed.
Evidence of the Iberian Peninsula in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet
In the last moments of the Pokemon Presents 2022, the main character enters their home where smaller details are noticeable. While the architecture present is different than views from the larger city, there are some pretty important sights that point to Spain and the rest of the Iberian Peninsula as Pokemon Scarlet and Violet’s influence.
The pictures leading up the stairs inside depict a woman dancing, as well as windmills. The dancing figure is reminiscent of forms used in Flamenco dances. Flamenco itself has been a part of Spanish culture for centuries, and the art is easily recognized by many people. Given its prominence, it makes sense that there would be something associated with Flamenco in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.
The windmills also have significance as they have a striking resemblance to the Spanish-style windmills described in Don Quixote, found near Consuegra. While large windmills aren’t special in themselves, the design stands out thanks to their white bases and dark tops. This aesthetic also shows up earlier in the trailer with windmills in the region that use a similar color scheme but are much taller than their inspiration. It suggests that multiple Spanish cities have been pulled on for the new region.
Topping all of this off are the final moments of the trailer. The in-game footage ends with a shot of a Nintendo Switch, but just before this a portion of a map can be seen at the 2:19 mark. It looks a lot like the coast of Portugal with three islands added. Portugal has several islands as part of its territory that these could be, but there’s also the likelihood that the real world has been changed for design purposes. This likely means the map that’s seen shows the western coast of the Iberian Peninsula, with the Islas Baleares moved from the eastern to the western portion of the region.
Overall, the Pokemon Scarlet and Violet announcement is full of little pieces of inspiration that give players a better understanding of everything incorporated into Gen 9’s new region. Seeing as only a portion of this location has been shown, it could be a situation where a larger or smaller area are focused on than players expect. Either way, this is all major considering there was the possibility that no Pokemon Gen 9 presence would appear with the Pokemon Presents.
Many fans feel that the supporting evidence is strong enough to confirm Spain is the focus without official confirmation. The maps used in the trailer suggest the Iberian Peninsula as a whole, but it’s clear that what’s been shown so far is strongly tied to the country of Spain specifically. It will probably take a little while longer for The Pokemon Company to deliver an answer for players, but for now there’s still a lot of fun to be had in picking apart that trailer and hypothesizing about Pokemon Scarlet and Violet doing what's best for the series.
Pokemon: Scarlet and Violet are set to release in late 2022.
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