Pokémon Scarlet & Violet make a big change to the standard Pokémon formula — defeating all eight Gym Leaders is no longer the only task you need to take on.

As soon as you reach Mesagoza and start attending the Naranja/Uva Academy, you'll be given three separate paths to take... take on the gyms and defeat the Elite Four in Victory Road; find the Herba Mystica and fight Titan Pokémon in Path of Legends; and defeat Team Star in Starfall Street.

But in what order can you tackle them in, and in which order should you do them in? Let us help you...

Pokémon Scarlet & Violet: Which Path Should I Play First?

What path can I do first?

Any of them! You don't have to tackle the gyms first — Pokémon Scarlet & Violet let you tackle any of the three paths in any order.

So, if you want to start by taking on Team Star in Starfall Street, you absolutely can!

Am I locked into a path when I start one?

Nope! One of the best things about Pokémon Scarlet & Violet is that you don't have to do any single story path in one go. Instead, you can jump between all three paths as you see fit.

Of course, if you want to complete one of the paths at a time, you absolutely can. So if you want to experience your more traditional Pokémon journey first, then you can just go and tackle all eight gyms without touching any of the other paths.

The only restriction you have is obedience. Earning gym badges will allow Pokémon of higher levels to obey you, so it's perhaps worth prioritising Victory Road over the other two paths to ensure you can still control your team of Pocket Monsters.

Best Gym Order - In what order should I complete Victory Road?

Pokémon Scarlet Violet 2
Image: The Pokémon Company

You can take on the gyms in any order in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet.

However, each gym leader's team has a set level, and this doesn't scale or change depending on what level you are or how many badges you've collected. So Katy's team will always be between level 14-15 regardless of if you take her on first or last.

If you want to tackle the gyms in the "correct" order, then we recommend taking them on in this order:

  1. Cortondo Gym - Bug
  2. Artazon Gym - Grass
  3. Levincia Gym - Electric
  4. Cascarrafa Gym - Water
  5. Medali Gym - Normal
  6. Montenevera Gym - Ghost
  7. Alfornada Gym - Psychic
  8. Glaseado Gym - Ice

Once you've beaten all eight gyms, you'll then be able to take on the Elite Four.

Best Titan Pokémon Order - In what order should I complete Path of Legends?

Pokémon Scarlet Violet 3
Image: The Pokémon Company

Just like Victory Road, you can tackle the five Titan Pokémon in any order you see fit.

The Pokémon don't have visible levels, but they do vary in strength. As such, we recommend tackling these gigantic Pokémon in the following order:

  1. The Stony Cliff Titan - South Province (Area Three)
  2. The Open Sky Titan - West Province (Area One)
  3. The Lurking Steel Titan - East Province (Area Three)
  4. The Quaking Earth Titan - Asado Desert
  5. The False Dragon Titan - Casseroya Lake

After beating the fifth titan and getting the last Herba Mystica, you'll need to go to the Poco Path lighthouse for one last battle.

Best Team Star Order - In what order should I complete Starfall Street?

Pokémon Scarlet Violet 4
Image: The Pokémon Company

Starfall Street is exactly the same as the other two paths in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet — you can take on each base whenever you want, and in whatever order you want.

And like gyms, the Squad Leader's teams have a set level, so it doesn't matter if you take on Mela first or third, her team will always be level 26 and 27.

On that basis, here's the order we recommend taking Team Star down in:

  1. Team Star's Dark crew - West Province (Area One)
  2. Team Star's Fire crew - East Province (Area One)
  3. Team Star's Poison crew - Tagtree Thicket
  4. Team Star's Fairy crew - North Province (Area Three)
  5. Team Star's Fighting crew - North Province (Area Two)

When you've taken over all five bases, you'll then have to challenge the leader at Mesagoza.

Pokémon Scarlet Violet 5
Image: Nintendo Life

If you want to jump between all three paths — and we recommend you do to make the difficulty curve much smoother and more even — this is the best order to tackle all 18 objectives in, and when to do the final fights in each respective path

  1. Cortondo Gym - Bug
  2. The Stony Cliff Titan
  3. Artazon Gym - Grass
  4. The Open Sky Titan
  5. Team Star's Dark crew
  6. Levincia Gym - Electric
  7. Team Star's Fire crew
  8. The Lurking Steel Titan
  9. Cascarrafa Gym - Water
  10. Team Star's Poison crew
  11. Medali Gym - Normal
  12. Montenevera Gym - Ghost
  13. The Quaking Earth Titan
  14. Alfornada Gym - Psychic
  15. Glaseado Gym - Ice
  16. Team Star's Fairy crew
  17. The False Dragon Titan
  18. Team Star's Fighting crew
  19. Elite Four
  20. Poco Path Lighthouse fight
  21. Team Star's Leader

What happens when you've cleared all three paths?

Once you've completed Victory Road, Path of Legends, and Starfall Street (including their final objectives), you'll get a phone call from Arven who requests you meet him at Area Zero.

This area is inaccessible until you've beaten all three paths, and is the final area of the game, The Way Home.

That's it for our recommendations on which path you should play first, and the answer is — any! Let us know if our Pokémon Scarlet & Violet walkthrough guides are useful.