Area Zero of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet holds some of the newest and most exclusive things when it comes to the mainline Gen 9 Pokemon titles, as well as an essential element of the whole story of both games. After going through the whole game and completing the three separate story routes, the player arrives at the actual finale of the game and discovers the secret and history of Area Zero as well as the Professors of both games, Professor Sada and Turo. Going through it, the finale gives what possibly is one of the most unique and best endings the Pokemon franchise has had to offer from its mainline games in quite a while, and the Postgame ending is something that no Pokemon fan shouldn’t know.
This article goes through some of the key elements of the postgame story and is heavily spoiler-filled. We do not want anyone who hasn’t played through the game and experienced the Ending themselves to read this because we think it is an amazing conclusion to the base game, so please do not read ahead of the lower heading. If you’re a Pokemon fan, we’d recommend you play through the game to reach Area Zero to experience all of its secrets. You can read our other article that ambiguously touches on the contents of Area Zero without any major spoilers to give you a feel of what it contains.
This article will go through the postgame event as it happens and discuss the story of Area Zero, how it is something unique for the franchise and why it is possibly one of the best endings for a Pokemon game.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Postgame Area Zero:
The Secret of Area Zero:
Area Zero of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is the major conclusion and the converged end path of the three main paths of the base game. After the player goes through Titan Pokemon, becomes the Champion, and helps conclude Team Star’s disbandment, a new path opens up with many new friends made along the way. The player isn’t alone, and he cannot be so if they want to venture into Area Zero, which holds many secrets as well as great danger. This is how the postgame is made the player can only unlock after he finishes the main base game.
The history of Area Zero entails events where sceptics adventured into the great crater of Paldea in order to discover it and the secret of Terasalisation, the signature aspect of Paldea. Professor Sada and Turo were some of the people who ventured in along with teams in order to study and discover the power behind Terastal Pokemon and Area Zero. Their aim was simple, use the Terastal power to harness time, an aspect that both professors wanted to merge into the present so that Pokemon of ancient or future times would live in the present to make a truly worthwhile and amazing Pokemon world. However, despite partial success, it does not mean the ending was all well and happy.
The Start:
The Player with his new close and trusted friends all play a role to make the perfect team together to venture into Area Zero in the Postgame. The player gathers Arven who is the son of Professor Turo and Sada, who was with the player when either Professor asked them to come to Area Zero to find them. They have Nemona join as a capable champion herself to back them all up with some strong fighting power. And finally, they have Penny, the genius with technology who can solve and access data from the abandoned labs in Area Zero. The player also has their friendly Pokemon, the Legendaries of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, Koraidon and Miraidon, surrounded by mystery themselves with a close relation to Area Zero. This is the small ground that makes up the new venturing party in the game.
As they dive in, they find that the land is different, the Pokemon are different, and the whole atmosphere is altogether nothing like the rest of Paldea. Once they enter the first thing they need to do is gain access to labs. With each lab they go deeper into the crater of Area Zero, beholding many Paradox Pokemon and the mysterious geography of the land until they finally see the main entrance that looks to be where Professor Sada or Turo is. The inner depths of the crater are full of crystals that resemble Tera Orbs, and they hint at the power of Terastalisation in them. From inside this lab comes many new Paradox Pokemon, and the team is surrounded. Luckily the player’s friends have their back and this allows them to go inside, where they finally meet Professor Sada or Professor Turo. But something is very odd.
The Midpoint:
Professor Sada and Professor Turo seem to be in fact robots, shells of the actual professors who are still nowhere to be seen. This is where the secret starts to unravel.
Professor Sada and Professor Turo vowed to get the past and the future to the present, and while trying to do so, they lost their actual bodies and lives. The only thing that has them survive is their reflection in robots who have been programmed with the thoughts and lives of Professor Sada and Turo. Now either robot holds the knowledge and the secret of the lab and the professors. It is this lab that controls time, which made Paradox Pokemon travel to the present, as the lab is a whole time machine in itself. The robot Professor is the key. This is all shared by the robot itself, who still carry the memories of the professors and hence their aspirations and thoughts.
This unravelling comes with a hard choice as well. Professor Sada and Turo are hence no more, and the robots are the key that is making the Terastal Power fuel the time machine. The outcome will be a grave one for Paldea as the Terastal Power is something beyond control and too dangerous, and so now, the player needs to defeat the Professor to shut down the lab and the time machine to save Area Zero, Paldea, and all the Pokemon. While the robot Professor tells all of this, they also tell the player that because they made the robot and programmed it with their own memories, the robot’s body will retaliate when the player tries to shut down the lab. And so hence, the final boss looks to be the Professor themselves, Professor Turo in Violet and Professor Sada in Scarlet. The player will have to defeat them and their Pokemon, wiping out the last remaining hint of both Professors in the process. This is a harder thing to swallow when the player realises the robot still cares deeply for Arven, the child of the real Professor, and admits sadness for not giving Arven enough time when the Professor was alive and with him.
The Finale:
The battle commences, and the lab once again starts to gain massive power from the Terastal Phenomenon. Among the Pokemon is another Legendary Pokemon, the same one the player has. This is the Koraidon or Miraidon that previously defeated and scarred the player Legendary Pokemon, which is the reason for the state of ho how they found it in the first place from Arven.
Koraidon or Miraidon is scared to face defeat once more but with the lab’s power and the Terastal Power absorbed by the robot Professor, Pokeballs no longer work. Koraidon or Miraidon and the player are the only things standing from defeat and the ruin of Area Zero and all of Paldea.
Facing overwhelming odds, Koraidon and Miraidon finally get the courage to fight for the player and the rest, for Penny and Arvena and Nemona, and so it stands tall, finally unlocking its Fighting prowess. The opponent Legendary is still strong however, after a close battle, the player’s Koraidon or Miraidon finally come out victorious and overcome their past trauma of defeat. With the robot Professor and the Paradox Pokemon defeated, the lab starts to shut down. The robot professors themselves do the final work, but not before facing Arven and expressing their regret about not making the time they spent them him matter more. They were however still glad that Arven had become a very good and strong person, and that they are truly proud of them, and also happy that he has such good friends to keep him company. This is their final bittersweet farewell, and hence the lab shuts down, the Terastal Phenomenon saved, as well as Area Zero and all of its Pokemon, and all of Paldea.
The team leave Area Zero, and they’re all closer to each other with the whole experience of Area Zero. This is where the postgame finally concludes and the end credits start to roll in.
And so, this is the whole postgame ending of Area Zero that answers many unanswered questions.
Overall, it is certainly a unique twist to a Pokemon game’s ending, certainly darker than previous endings, and one that does well so using the world and the base game’s story to strengthen it. The in-depth feel of a major character, Arven, as well as the two others, was made through the whole story route revolving around them in the base game, which made it develop gradually as players got to the ending and then to the postgame. This evidently makes a lasting impression on the player, as no other Pokemon game previously comes with this much depth.
We’ll not decide for players about how the ending was, but at least for myself, as an old Pokemon fan who has played every single mainline Pokemon game from the Gameboy era to the modern Nintendo Switch, I felt that I had a truly worthwhile experience with Pokemon Scarlet and Violet’s Postgame Ending, enough to give me my money’s worth. The music was absolutely amazing, and so was the story, the looks were much better as compared to the base game and the overworld of Paldea and it was great overall.
The DLC and the Epilogue are separate from this and they themselves hold much to offer, which viewers can also think about if they manage to get through to Area Zero’s Ending in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet and like it. For myself, they do a splendid job of concluding the story for the base game and it is an aspect that I would like to see adapted even better in future Pokemon games.
For more on Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, check out the official Pokemon website that gives you all the information about the game and more.
