5 Paldea trivia in Pokemon that you may not know

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet introduced fans to the vast and expansive Paldea region. No place has come close to Paldea’s level of exploration encouragement, thanks to its many different environments, as well as the titles’ approach to gameplay and narrative. With both of their DLCs released, new content for the games has come to a halt, and we can assume that Game Freak has moved on to future projects.

While we await the release of the upcoming Pokemon Legends: Z-A title, here are five fun facts about the Paldea region players may not know.

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5 fun facts about the Paldea region from Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

1) Deeper origins

Paldea's geographical inspiration is a bit more complex than many fans initially thought (Image via Game Freak)

During its initial reveal, many players assumed that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Paldea was solely based on the country of Spain. While this is partially true, the region was inspired by the Iberian Peninsula as a whole. It is home to many different cultures and territories.

When trainers play through Scarlet and Violet, they will notice many different cultures in Paldea’s cities and people. One province is drastically different from the next, complete with distinct music and environments to accompany them.

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2) Pokemon's first true open world

Scarlet and Violet aimed to be the first truly open-world game in the franchise, and they did not disappoint in this regard (Image via Game Freak)

While Game Freak has experimented with open-world aspects before, like in Pokemon Legends: Arceus' and Kanto's map designs, as well as the latter half of the Johto titles, Scarlet and Violet were the first games to fully embrace them. These games offered complete freedom of their map, allowing players to finish various objectives in whichever order they wish.

Exploration was also highly incentivized, with many provinces of the region hosting their fair share of caves and dungeons. There are also various stakes scattered around the map, which reward trainers with encounters with the region's Legendary Pokemon.

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3) Second Box Legendary

While many games offer additional Box Legendaries from previous generations, Paldea is the only region where players are given two of their respective Legendary (Image via Game Freak)

Box Legendaries are some of the most valuable creatures in the Pokemon franchise. Not only do these creatures boast the highest stats, but they also often possess a signature move and ability. For this reason, most games only give one of these Legendaries to a player per playthrough. However, this changes in Scarlet and Violet.

While it makes sense in the games' narrative, completing the story not only rewards the player with access to either Miraidon or Koraidon depending on their version, but it also gives them the opportunity to catch another Legendary. They can find this second Legendary at the bottom of Area Zero, where the final battle of the main story is hosted.

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4) Paldea Academy's real-world inspiration

The player's respective school is based on a real-world building, but not a school like some would think (Image via Game Freak)

Depending on the version that is being played, the player's avatar will attend either Uva or Naranja Academy. Like many other landmarks in important cities of the Pokemon world, this building does have a real-world inspiration. However, where other landmarks like Lumiose Tower and Liberty Garden are kept relatively similar to their inspiration, Paldea's changes it entirely.

Unlike its in-game counterpart, which functions as a school, the Sagrada Familia is actually a church located in Barcelona, Spain. The cathedral's massive size and architecture are very similar to that of the player's respective school. This also fits with the fact that the Paldea region is based off of the entire Iberian Peninsula, as Barcelona lies on its eastern coast.

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5) Team Star's origin

Team Star has a special naming scheme for each of its elite members (Image via Game Freak)

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's evil team has a special naming theme that some players may have not picked up on in their initial romp through the Paldea region. Since the gang is called Team Star, it is fair for each of their main members to have an interstellar naming pattern.

The leader of the crew, Cassiopeia, is named after the constellation. Each of the five elite members of the team — Giacomo, Mela, Atticus, Ortega, and Eri — are five of the brightest stars that make up this constellation. This is a fitting pattern, given the close-knit bonds each of the members share.