Area Zero Guide Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

By Dave Acuñaon
Pokemon Scarlet Violet Area Zero cover

Area Zero is a location in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet that is found in the middle of the Great Crater of Paldea. It has been designated as the quarantine location for Paradox Pokémon that came through the time machine that Professor Sada or Professor Turo created.

In this guide, we will be going through the details about Area Zero, talk about its history and its significance to the plot of the game, and share some info that can give some light on what might be in store for a possible DLC.

Area Zero History

More than a century before the events in the game happened, Area Zero has been greatly studied due to the Tera Crystals growing inside the crater that appear to be giving Pokémon heightened power through the process dubbed as the Terastal phenomenon. However, the power that these Tera Crystals give only worked within the crater and immediately dissipate when terastallized Pokémon were brought outside of the crater.

Professor Sada or Professor Turo, if playing on Scarlet or Violet respectively, managed to make a breakthrough by placing the Terastal energy into a ball called as a Tera Ball. This allowed trainers to terastallize their Pokémon temporarily even when they are outside the crater.

Seeing the potential of the Tera Crystals, the professors attempted to harness their powers to create a time machine in order to connect to the past (Sada) or future (Turo). This endeavor was fueled by their fascination and dream of being able to learn more about the Pokémon from those distant eras, so much so that they wanted to bring them back to the present time by sending out Pokéballs to capture these Pokémon.

The time machine worked and the experiment was a success. They managed to bring different kinds of Pokémon, including Koraidon and Miraidon, Pokémon who are believed to be the ancestor and descendant of the modern day Cyclizar, respectively. After more attempts, they managed bring another species of the same Pokémon in the hope of making them breed in the present, however it’s a more hostile an territorial one.

Because of this, the more aggressive Koraidon/Miraidon fought against the lesser one. In the attempt of saving the lesser one from being harmed, the professors put themselves in between the two which caused their demise. The battle also caused the destruction of the research facility, putting a stop to the project that the professors were working on.

In the aftermath, the time machine remained operational, but without the guidance of the professors, the Pokémon kept going through the machine and eventually populated the entire crater. Luckily, the AI that the professors developed has somehow prevented the problem from worsening, but it can only do so much as the now dubbed Paradox Pokémon has started appearing in areas outside of the crater.

How to access Area Zero

To access Area Zero, you must first complete all three story paths of the game, namely:

Finishing all story paths will allow you to gain Arven, Nemona, and Penny as your companions as you journey down into Area Zero.

The main entrance to the crater is located just south of Medali. This leads to the Zero Gate which serves as the elevator that descends to the upper levels of the crater. The entrance also starts the fourth story path of the game called The Way Home.

Upon reaching the bottom of the elevator, you can then explore Area Zero. Your first venture in here will be limited as your Koraidon or Miraidon will be back in its weak state, so you won’t be able to explore areas that cannot be reached without their help.

Area Zero will remain as a greyed out area in the minimap regardless of how many times you’ve ventured in it, which makes navigating within it a bit challenging. The research stations can be used as fast travel locations, but only if you access the warp pad from the Zero Gate or within the other research stations. You can still move out of the crater to the other fast travel locations in Paldea. However, getting back into the crater requires you to fast travel to the Zero Gate first.

You can also enter the crater from the outside perimeter by using your Koraidon or Miraidon to climb up the rockface. However, whichever side you enter will not matter as you’ll always arrive at the same point where you first landed with your companions.

Navigating Area Zero

On your first venture into Area Zero, you’ll be accompanied by Arven, Nemona, and Penny. Your Koraidon or Miraidon will be out of commission at this point so you’ll have to make it through the entire crater on foot.

You will have to visit the four research stations found in the different regions of the crater. These research stations have beds where you can heal up your Pokémon, as well as warp pads that allow you to travel between the visited stations and Zero Gate.

The paths around the crater lead towards the lower strata of the crater which can be accessed through a cave. Deep within the the cavern is the time machine.

Pokémon in Area Zero

The diversity of Pokémon in Area Zero is mixed between present day Pokémon and Paradox Pokémon. Other than the Titan Great Tusk or Titan Iron Treads that appear in the Asado Desert, all the other Paradox Pokémon can only be found within the crater.

Past Paradox Pokémon: (Scarlet exclusive)

  • Great Tusk
  • Slither Wing
  • Sandy Shock
  • Scream Tail
  • Brute Bonnet
  • Flutter Mane
  • Roaring Moon
  • Koraidon (only one)

Future Paradox Pokémon: (Violet exclusive)

  • Iron Treads
  • Iron Moth
  • Iron Hands
  • Iron Jugulis
  • Iron Thorns
  • Iron Bundle
  • Iron Valiant
  • Miraidon (only one)

Present Day Pokémon: (*Scarlet or *Violet exclusives)

  • Raichu
  • Venomoth
  • Dugtrio
  • Golduck
  • Hypno
  • Chansey
  • Vaporeon
  • Jumpluff
  • Espeon
  • Umbreon
  • Murkrow
  • Girafarig
  • Dunsparce
  • Sneasel
  • Phanpy
  • Donphan
  • Masquerain
  • Sableye
  • Meditite
  • Medicham
  • Numel
  • Camerupt
  • Swablu
  • Altaria
  • Buizel
  • Floatzel
  • Honchkrow
  • Gible
  • Gabite
  • Weavile
  • Pawniard
  • Bisharp
  • Braviary
  • Deino *S
  • Zweilous *S
  • Volcarona
  • Talonflame
  • Floette
  • Gogoat
  • Hawlucha
  • Lycanroc (Midday and Midnight)
  • Salandit
  • Salazzle
  • Corviknight
  • Frosmoth
  • Cufant
  • Copperajah
  • Dreepy *V
  • Drakloak *V
  • Lokix
  • Pawmi
  • Pawmo
  • Dachsbun
  • Nacli
  • Naclstack
  • Garganacl
  • Tadbulb
  • Bellibolt
  • Espathra
  • Varoom
  • Glimmet
  • Glimmora
  • Greavard
  • Houndstone
  • Flamigo
  • Farigiraf
  • Dudunsparce

Area Zero and the possible DLC expansion

There are a couple of things that suggest that Scarlet and Violet may be getting a possible DLC expansion in the future, much like how Sword and Shield got The Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra. Apart from the possibly connected hints such as the unmapped region on the northeast side of Paldea, and possibly another rival/neighboring academy briefly mentioned in the Champion Assessment, there are a lot of details sprinkled within the crater, plus some more unanswered questions.

A Third Legendary Pokémon

The Scarlet and Violet books as well as some notes found in research stations suggest that there is an entity that may or may not be alive within the depths of Area Zero. This entity was discovered by Heath, the author of the two books, and it was described as a disk with hexagonal-shaped plates for its shell.

Apart from these notes, there haven’t been any other clues or sightings that would directly refer to this entity or help shed light as to what it is. But out guess is that it may have something to do with the time machine itself due to the hexagonal-shaped plates that was also the theme of the room where the time machine resides. It may have been an entity or a Pokémon that was created by the time flux caused by the time machine itself, in a sort of predestined way or whatever is the opposite of it.

Paradox Versions of Legendary Pokémon

Both the Scarlet and Violet books also show sketches of Paradox Pokémon of what appears to be Suicune for Scarlet and Virizion for Violet. Although the general appearance of these two sketches make them look more like those two Pokémon, there are parts of their bodies that closely resemble parts from Pokémon that they are related to, namely, Entei and Raikou, and Cobalion and Terrakion.

Mysterious plate and symbols

Although Area Zero may not be the setting where the expansion takes place, there are still some areas in it that provide some possible clues that may be relevant in the events within the expansion.

Within a cave on the side of the crater is an oddly geometric symbol etched on the ground. This same symbol was also mentioned in the book, but no other details about what it is or its significance has been seen in the game.

Inside the cave that houses the time machine is a metal plate that shows some symbols and a crude map of Paldea. Within the map is the crater and 10 indentations that roughly show the locations of the major towns of the region.

If you like this guide, be sure to check out our other Pokémon Scarlet and Violet articles:

Type Weaknesses and Resistances:

Pokémon League:

How to Evolve:

Legendary Pokemon:

Check out this video by GamersPrey showing how to go through Area Zero for the first time: