Pokémon Adventures: Scarlet & Violet Chapter 3 Review - Team Star Isn’t a Racing Team?!

The third chapter of Pokémon Adventures’s Scarlet & Violet arc brings us humor, new Pokémon, and exciting plot developments! This chapter is a fun and fast-paced addition to the story after the previous chapter was mostly focused on giving us some much-needed context. I really enjoy everyone’s characterization so far—it just keeps getting better and better.

As usual, there will be spoilers ahead! If that’s a concern, make sure to enjoy the chapter for yourself on the CoroCoro website before reading!

This chapter picked up during the excitement of last chapter’s ending, starting off with a bang. Violet’s technique to get Iron Treads above ground by using Fire-type moves was quite clever, and it was great to see that pay off with the Titan’s emergence. It was funny to see Arven get offended when Violet gave him a tip on type-matchups during the chaos, but Violet’s genuine apology shows that he really is well-meaning, something Arven realized for himself.

We finally got to see the other two members of Violet’s party—a Nymble and a Paldean Wooper! Although they don’t get a chance to shine in this chapter, I appreciated this moment because it was the first time we could consider Violet as a Pokémon Trainer instead of “Silly, rich guy who likes racing and just so happens to have a Pokémon.” Plus, Violet’s ability to be a Pokémon Trainer ends up getting explored in this chapter, so this was a nice foreshadowing.

It’s not just Violet who’s learning more about being a Trainer in this chapter, but Arven as well! Even though Arven is already familiar with things related to Pokémon, we can see that he seems to be limiting himself as he waits for Mabosstiff to heal. I think it’s sweet that he eventually recognizes that catching a Pokémon isn’t a betrayal to Mabosstiff, but instead a pathway to healing it.

I liked Rotojī’s idea about getting Arven his first Pokémon through a trade with Violet, but I will say that it’s a little odd that Violet is shown battling Smoliv with Scovillain after he’d traded it to Arven. If Violet was the one weakening the Pokémon for Arven to catch, why couldn’t he have used his own Pokémon against Scovillain and let Arven catch it in the first place? Anyways, this scene was fun to read; I did love how excited Violet was to have someone rely on him for the first time, as well as Arven’s protectiveness over Mabosstiff when he was temporarily trading it to Violet.

Violet’s calm, absurd refusal to train his Pokémon was surprising, even coming from him. When Arven grew frustrated with Violet and denied being his best friend, it was funny to see Violet turn to Rotojī in tears and claim he hadn’t done anything wrong. This shows us once more how much Violet’s upbringing has shaped him. He genuinely doesn’t understand the problem since he’s never been expected to do anything for himself. It made me laugh to see Rotojī convince Violet that Arven had only been mad because he’d just really wanted to train with Violet. I also want to point out how much I love every time Violet refers to Arven (someone he has just met hours ago!) as his best friend. I hope this stays as a running gag and eventually becomes something he just accepts.

It was great to see Team Star make their first appearance in this chapter! I love how Violet instantly assumed they’re a racing team, because of course that’s how he sees the world. I like how they’re portrayed as genuinely wanting to help Penny, and I loved seeing her utterly shatter them with her words. The little subplot with Fuecoco feeling restless, culminating in the 1v2 battle against Team Star, was fun to see. It also did a great job of showing how Violet is already growing as a Trainer. Violet understanding his Pokémon’s needs and ultimately finding a way to fulfill them is a sign that he has great potential.

This chapter was a lot of fun, and I really enjoyed the comedy throughout it. The focus on becoming a Trainer gave new opportunities for Violet and Arven’s dynamic to grow. Just like the second chapter, I really appreciated how the two are shown to be similar, yet completely different. Violet’s characterization continues to be something I look forward to every chapter; he’s such a lovely blend of endearing and frustrating, and it just cracks me up. Also, while this is still the beginning of the story, I would really like to see more from the second protagonist that keeps being hinting at. It’s nice that Violet and his character development get a lot of focus, but I hope this doesn’t mean she’ll have less time to grow as the story unfolds.

Some exciting things happened this chapter! Do you like the new party additions? How do you feel about Team Star’s introduction? Most importantly, are Arven and Violet going to have BFF bracelets by the end of this arc?