Pokemon Scarlet and Violet marks the first main series open-world game in the Pokemon franchise. Being so open-world, Paldea is home to a number of cities and towns that are made to make the region feel real and lived-in. As the game is populated by large swaths of wild areas, these cities and towns are important central hubs for gyms, Pokemon Centers, and other quests.
Despite being the most pre-ordered Pokemon game of all time, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is also the lowest rated in the franchise so far. Do the cities and towns in Paldea refllect this low rating, or are they the diamonds in the rough? Here are all the citeies and towns in the game, ranked.
12 Los Platos
Los Platos has a Pokemon Center, and that's about it. It's not a bad town necessarily, but it's by far the least fleshed-out in the game. There's really no reason for it to be a town, aside from the fact that it has a Pokemon Center.
Pretty much all the houses and buildings in Paldea are empty, but the main issue with Los Platos is that they're all empty, and there are no people walking the streets to remind players that it's an actual town. A purposeful ghost town could be a fun idea for a Pokemon town, but this just feels unfinished.
11 Zapapico
Zapapico is another city that feels unfinished. While not every city needs a gym, the absence of one in Zapapico stands out specifically because there is a battle area. Without a gym in this area, the battle court stands out as a strange addition to a town that is otherwise kind of nothing.
Conceptually, the town is well-themed as a mining town. In practice, however, the houses and apartments built into the cliffside are super easy to miss. They really just make the area feel like a random battle court, some paths, and two Pokemon Centers.
10 Cabo Poco
As the first town the player encounters, Cabo Poco is meant to make a good impression — but it's also not meant to be all that much. Cabo Poco is home to the player's home, Nemona's home, and a private beach. While that doesn't seem like much, the location does a decent job of setting up the game.
Unfortunately, it feels a little too similar to too many locations in the game. It doesn't have anything that particularly makes it unique, but it's not terrible, either.
9 Artazon
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Artazon is ranked relatively low because of its wasted potential. A Grass Gym town whose leader is an artist sounds like a wonderful idea in theory, but it's not executed particularly well. It feels surprisingly lacking in landmarks for such a creative town.
Artazon is littered with random statues of Sunflora, which certainly fit the theme, but that's about it in terms of grass-themed art. There are a few other 'weird statues' in the town, but they don't match the main theme at all.
8 Porta Mirinada
Players will encounter Porta Mirinda as they complete their gym test for the Water Gym. Upon arrival at Cascarrafa, the player is sent to Porta Mirinda to return Gym Leader Kofu's wallet, which he has left behind on his way to the auctions.
There's no gym in this town, so it definitely feels a little isolated, and more of an extension of Cascarrafa than its own town. Still, the auction houses do give the town a distinct feel, and it's certainly one of the more interesting locations in the game.
7 Cascarrafa
Cascarrafa is a city with a lot to love. Home to the Water Gym, the city is nicely themed around real life Portuguese coastal towns. As one of the major cities in Western Paldea, it's home to a lot of shops that can actually be interacted with. At these stores, players can purchase food, clothing, and accessories.
The lifts give the city a unique feel that isn't present in a lot of the game. It is, however, annoying that the buildings can't be climbed here, as it would be especially useful.
6 Alfornada
Home to the Psychic Gym and its leader Tulip, Alfornada is neither good nor bad. It's a small town in the southwestern region of Paldea, making it quite difficult to get to, but not significantly. Arguably, the main appeal of Alfornada is the area just outside of it, which is home to many high-level and interesting Pokemon.
Alfornada does get points for being lovingly crafted, however. The Alfornada Gym features the menu sprites from Generation 1 along the outside of the building and the sidewalk, which gives it a nostalgic retro feel.
5 Mesagoza
Mesagoza is a central hub city akin to Jubilife, Castelia, and Lumiose City from Generations 4, 5, and 6. Unlike a lot of the game, it's very well modeled and textured — which makes sense, given that the player is expected to spend a lot of time here. There are several useful shops and fun clothing stores, which add to the sense of scale the town has.
However, it suffers from the same problem many of the towns do, in that the buildings do not have an indoor space. Plus, being surrounded by the loading zone for the Pokemon league can make the free climbing and flying feel a little clunky.
4 Cortondo
As what is expected to be the first gym the player tackles, Cortondo is actually a very sweet town. Thanks to the open detached plan of the houses, and significant number of NPCs that can be interacted with, it feels far less empty than the other towns in the game.
It feels like a small town that's just getting by, which adds to the charm. While it's small, it does very well for setting up the stakes of the player's first gym, with a fairly easy match.
3 Medali
Being one of the few cities in the game that actually has an indoor space, Medali is already ranking high above the rest. This plain-looking town really pulls on the charm of being average and unassuming, which matches perfectly with the Normal-type Gym Leader Larry.
Being home to the Treasure Eatery, the player spends a good amount of time interacting with the city and its inhabitants. Players are more motivated to uncover this little secrets of the city, in part during the Gym Test. Thanks to this, it feels a lot more lively than a lot of the locations in the game.
2 Montenevera
Montenevera is a small town in the Paldea region located on the northern side of Glaseado Mountain, and home to the Ghost Gym on the Victory Road path. As one of the more unique locations in the game, Montenevera manages to live up to the legacy of other snowy towns like Circhester, Snowbelle City, Iccirus City, and Snowpoint City.
There are several points of interest, shops, and food carts that give this area a unique feel. The battle stage makes for a nice landmark, and the combination of Ghost Gym and winter town feels well-thought-out.
1 Levincia
Home to the Electric Gym, Levincia is a city with a solid theme. Levincia is all about lights, cameras, exposure, fame, which all tie in beautifully with Streamer Iono, the Electric Gym Leader. There's also a nice contrast, as it's an Electric Gym harbor city. The battle stadium is a great landmark, and really ties the city together.
It's the one place in the game where the empty buildings sort of make sense, as they're all high-rise skyscrapers are more for show, which makes sense for the city and its theme.
Pokemon Scarlet & Violet are available now for the Nintendo Switch.