Why won’t my Pokémon listen to me in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet?

You finally get it. You now know what your parent or guardian feels on a daily basis. The constant grunting, shrugging, and just plain indifference to whether you’re there or not.

If you listen carefully, you can hear someone raging about this very topic only streets away. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet has given fans the opportunity to feel like real pet owners, and it doesn’t feel great.

Your Pokémon aren’t listening to you and they’re embarrassing you in front of all the other trainers.

Fear not though—there is a reason they’re ignoring your commands. Even if you ask nicely, they still won’t listen.

Why aren’t my Pokémon listening to me in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet?

Prepare yourself, this might be hard to hear: you need more gym badges. Clearly, Pokémon were created with the ability to feel respect, as they aren’t having any of your instructions until you’ve earned them.

Firstly, you’ll need to check what level they are when you caught them. If they’re too high a level, they’ll have none of it. Good luck getting them to respond. 

Depending on the level of the Pokémon, you’ll need:

• One Gym Badge – Pokémon Level 25
• Two Gym Badges – Pokémon Level 30
• Three Gym Badges – Pokémon Level 35
• Four Gym Badges – Pokémon Level 40
• Five Gym Badges – Pokémon Level 45
• Six Gym Badges – Pokémon Level 50
• Seven Gym Badges – Pokémon Level 55
• Eight Gym Badges – N/A

If somehow, you’ve managed to get yourself an incredibly high-level Pokémon, they’ll flat-out ignore you. You’ll just have to wait to get all the gym badges before you can use any wild Pokémon caught above level 55.

So, get grinding, and soon enough, you’ll have earned the respect of all the Pokémon running around Paldea. Then you’ll be able to call yourself a Pokémon master.