What is Pokemon Scarlet & Violet’s region? Paldea explained

It’s finally been confirmed that Pokemon Scarlet & Violet’s region is called Paldea, so here’s everything we know about the Gen 9 location and the countries that inspired it.

Pokemon fans around the world were shocked when Game Freak revealed that the ninth generation will be launching in November 2022. The new RPG is the series’ first open-world title and looks to be even more ambitious than Legends Arceus.

While the name of the region featured in the new games was initially absent from trailers, it’s now finally been confirmed that the location we’ll be exploring in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet is called Paldea, and it appears to be based on Spain and Portugal.

Pokemon Scarlet & Violet region is called Paldea

It’s been confirmed that Pokemon Scarlet & Violet will take place in a region called Paldea, which appears to have been heavily inspired by Mediterranean countries like Spain and Portugal.

The Pokemon Company has described Paldea as being “a land of vast open spaces dotted with lakes, towering peaks, wastelands, and perilous mountain ranges” which suggests a lot of variety.

Pokemon Scarlet & Violet map revealed

The official Pokemon Twitter account shared a first-look at the Paldea region map from above. While it doesn’t include any area names, it does give us a good idea of what to expect from Scarlet & Violet.

There’s one major city at the center of the map, while the rest of Paldea will be free to explore at your own pace, with lots to see including a farming village and a port town with a bustling market.

What country is the Paldea region based on?

Even before it was confirmed, many fans had assumed that this region would be based on Spain and its surrounding countries based on iconic landmarks and names featured in early trailers.

Here are all the hints so far that point to the Paldea region being inspired by Spain:

Gen 9 Pokemon starters are influenced by Spanish language

The three Pokemon Scarlet & Violet starters incorporate Spanish into their names. Fire-type crocodile Fuecoco is a mashup of “fuego” (fire) and “coco” – which is a mythical ghost in Spanish lore. 

One theory is that this Pokemon will be the series’ second Ghost/Fire-type following Hisuian Typhlosion. This would be fitting as the character looks to be shaped like a pepper, making the species a ghost pepper.

Similarly, the “gatito” in Sprigatito means “little cat” in Spanish, which perfectly describes the adorable Grass-type feline. This starter is rumored to evolve into a Puss In Boots-style final evolution.

A hidden map looks identical to Spain

In the live-action portion of the Scarlet & Violet reveal trailer, a map in the office is spotted pinned to the wall. Upon further inspection, it looks almost identical to Spain – including the Balearic Islands to the right of it.

Spanish landmarks

Perhaps one of the biggest giveaways of Paldea’s inspirations is that Pokemon Scarlet & Violet clearly has locations based on famous Spanish landmarks. 

Halfway into the original reveal trailer, we got our first glimpse at one of the game’s major towns, which features a towering castle-like building with spiked rooftops.

The building is a perfect match to the La Sagrada Familia Church, which also has pointed rooftops and windows embedded in its circular towers. 

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While most of these things point towards Spain being the main influence on Paldea, it’s likely that the Gen 9 Pokemon games have also been inspired by otherr nearby countries including Portugal.

One big reason for this is that former Managing Director Junichi Masuda reportedly visited Portugal during Scarlet & Violet’s development, so it seems like the overall region appears to be the inspiration.

While we wait for more information on Paldea, check out all the new Pokemon revealed so far, information on the new Terastal phenomenon, and everything we know about the game’s Legendaries.