Pokémon Adventures: Scarlet & Violet Chapter 1 Review - Start Your Engines!

Hi, my name’s Vendredi, and I’ll be writing a series of reviews for Pokémon Adventures’s Scarlet & Violet arc! As a huge fan of both Pokémon Adventures and SV, I couldn’t wait to see how Hidenori Kusaka and Satoshi Yamamoto would take on the new games. SV has such a character-driven story—it seems like the perfect fit for Pokémon Adventures. There are so many great plot lines and lovable characters at their disposal. The first chapter has been out since August 21st, 2023 and is long overdue for discussion.

Before we dive into it, please keep in mind that there will be spoilers!

While the arc may be just beginning, we can already see some new creative choices for Pokémon Adventures. First off, the series has broken its long-held tradition of naming the male protagonist after the first game that the arc is based on. While we’d usually expect for him to be named Scarlet, this time he’s Violet. In addition, the story is set at Uva Academy rather than Naranja Academy. It’s also surprising to see that Violet’s appearance isn’t based on the default look for his game counterpart, Florian. This was a choice made by Yamamoto to distinguish Violet from Ortega.

The plot of this chapter follows Violet, Rotojī (his Rotom Phone), and Miraidon as they look for Arven, who they know to be a student at the academy. When Violet breaks into the staff room during his search, he is caught by Jacq who believes he is an intruder (as opposed to a student). Violet escapes by riding his Miraidon out of the building. He then challenges Clavell and the staff to beat him in a race, saying he will accept whatever punishment they choose for him if they win. Dendra takes him on, and Violet uses the commotion of the race as an opportunity to draw out Arven, who then stops the race. Violet invites Arven on a mission to locate Herba Mystica, but before they can leave, Nemona stops them and demands a battle with Violet.

I thought this was a nice start to the arc. It gave us a great introduction to Violet, who I’d been especially curious about. From the first look we got of him, I assumed I’d be annoyed with his character—he appeared arrogant, rude, and spoiled. After reading the first chapter, it seems like that was the truth—he calls himself a prince and insults Jacq’s clothes—but that’s just one half of his personality. Violet is also cheerful, clever, and severely obsessed with racing. Despite his overinflated ego, he is endearing to watch as he joyfully completes his search. The pure delight Violet takes in his experiences is contagious. It makes him a wonderful protagonist to root for.

I was also really charmed by the humor in this chapter. The characters seem to take everything too seriously, which creates some great dynamics. For example, after Violet gets himself in trouble for breaking in, Clavell doesn’t actually want to suspend or expel him—all he wants to do is talk to him. It was quite funny how Violet was oblivious to this, and it was even better to see Dendra instantly accept his challenge. Each of her antics got a laugh out of me, and it was lovely to see Pokémon Adventures give another NPC a chance to shine outside of the games.

The race scene is probably my favorite part, and not just because of Dendra. I love how natural it is for Violet to take a problem and make it related to his own hyperfixation of racing. The competence of the other competitors, as well as Violet’s true objective of finding Arven, really raised the stakes here. It was impressive when Violet stopped the opposing Cyclizar by making them hyper with his Fuecoco’s fire, reminding me of how much I love Pokémon Adventures’s creative ways to incorporate Pokédex entries into the plot. Things like that really make me appreciate the cleverness of the series’s writing style.

If there’s anything else I would have liked to see in this chapter, it would be more scenes with Nemona and her mysterious opponent. However, I understand the decision to not include them as much, since Violet appears to be the main focus, at least for the time being. This is only the first chapter after all, and there is plenty of time for this story to grow.

I had a smile on my face the entire time I was reading this chapter. It was a delightful introduction to an arc that I’m certain will only bring more joy as it continues. What did you think? How do you feel about Violet as the next protagonist of Pokémon Adventures?