How does Obedience Level work in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet?

The Obedience mechanic might be confusing for some, especially since it was the same for all games until it was changed in Pokémon Legends Arceus and Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, so if you thought you knew it from the previous games, now it is a bit different.

In the Pokémon games, your trainer has an Obedience Level, which defines up to which level Pokémon will obey you, this level increases whenever you meet certain requirements, often Gym Badges; you can normally check your Obedience Level on your Trainer Card.

How it used to be

In almost every Pokémon game up until Pokémon Sword, Shield, Brilliant Diamond, and Shining Pearl, the Obedience mechanic was only used when you traded in a Pokémon whose level was too high or became too high above your own Obedience level to prevent players from using a high-level Pokémon to complete the game too quickly.

Any Pokémon you catch will obey you no matter what level, even if you have no badges and managed to level it up too high.

For example:

If you manage to catch a Pokémon way above your obedience level, it will still obey you because you caught it.

If you traded Pokémon, the Pokémon you received will obey you if it is below your obedience Level, but the moment it surpasses that level, it will stop listening to your orders until you get the appropriate badge/stamp.

How it is now

Starting with Pokémon Legends Arceus and Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, the mechanic now applies to the Pokémon you catch as well, but there have been other changes. Each Pokémon has an Obedience Level, which is set to the level it had when you caught it or when you received it from another Trainer.

If the Pokémon caught/received has a higher level than your own Obedience Level, it will disobey you until you get the appropriate Rank or amount of Badges.

If the Pokémon’s Level was below your Obedience Level when you caught it or received it, it will obey you at all times, even if it surpasses your Obedience Level.

For example:

If you catch a Level 19 Pokémon in Scarlet and Violet and have no Gym Badges, it will obey you even if you level it up to Lv. 100; the same applies if you received it via trade; if it was below Level 20 by the time you received it, it will obey you all the way to Level 100.

In the same scenario, if the Pokémon was level 21 when caught/received, it will start disobeying you until you get the first Gym Badge, then it will start obeying you at all times, even if it surpasses your Obedience Level again.