Pokémon Scarlet and Violet introduced an open-world structure to the main-series Pokémon games.
Released for Nintendo Switch in 2022, the pair takes place in the Paldea region. Unlike earlier main-series adventures that generally guided players through a fixed sequence of routes and towns, Scarlet and Violet let players explore a broad connected landscape with multiple story paths.
The games organize their main adventure around three campaigns: Victory Road, Path of Legends, and Starfall Street. Players can pursue these objectives in a flexible order, although the opponents’ levels do not fully scale to match the player’s progress.
Open-world does not mean every activity is completely unstructured. The games still use towns, routes, story events, battles, gyms, and progression gates. The milestone refers to the connected exploration model used across the Paldea region.