Pokemon Scarlet and Violet didn't just give us new monsters to catch. It gave us a gut punch. If you’ve played through the ending of the Gen 9 games, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Honestly, the story of Professor Sada and Turo is probably the darkest narrative thread Game Freak has ever pulled on, shifting the series from "catch 'em all" whimsy to a high-concept sci-fi tragedy about obsession and the literal ghost in the machine.
Most players walk into the Paldea region expecting a fun treasure hunt. What they get instead is a mystery involving a missing parent, a neglected son named Arven, and a laboratory at the bottom of a giant crater that holds a secret so grim it feels more like Black Mirror than Pikachu.
Who Were the Real Professor Sada and Turo?
Let's clear the air on something basic but vital: depending on which version you bought, you’re dealing with a different temporal obsession. In Pokémon Scarlet, you meet Professor Sada, a woman dressed in primal, prehistoric furs whose name is derived from the Spanish word pasada (past). In Pokémon Violet, it’s Professor Turo, a sleek, futuristic researcher whose name comes from futuro (future).
They aren't just scientists. They were visionaries who became obsessed with a concept called the "Terastal energy" found deep within Area Zero. This wasn't a casual hobby. They wanted to build a time machine. Sada wanted to bring ancient Pokémon into the present; Turo wanted to pull them from the distant future.
But here is the twist that most people forget while they're busy battling: the person you talk to for 90% of the game isn't actually human. The real Professor Sada and Turo died years before the game even starts.
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It’s a heavy realization. While you’re out there collecting badges, you’re actually communicating with an AI—an Artificial Intelligence construct built by the original Professor to continue their work. The real humans were killed in a lab accident involving the "Box Legendary" Pokémon (Koraidon or Miraidon). Specifically, a second, more aggressive specimen of the legendary Pokémon attacked the one the Professor was protecting. The Professor stepped in the way. They didn't survive.
The AI is hauntingly self-aware. It has all the memories of the original person but lacks the "soul" or perhaps the reckless biological drive that led to the catastrophe in the first place. This creates a weird, emotional friction when you finally meet them in the Great Crater of Paldea.
The Obsession with Paradox Pokémon
Why did they do it? Why risk everything for a few weird-looking monsters?
The Paradox Pokémon—creatures like Flutter Mane or Iron Valiant—represent a biological impossibility. The Professor Sada and Turo narrative explores the idea that "the dream" is often more important to the dreamer than reality itself.
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- They ignored their son, Arven, leaving him with only a Mabosstiff for company.
- They ignored the safety protocols of Area Zero.
- They ignored the fact that bringing these invasive species into the current ecosystem would literally destroy the Paldean environment.
The AI explains this perfectly. It realizes that the original Professor’s dream was a nightmare for everyone else. This is where the game gets smart. It asks: if a genius creates something that can destroy the world, is it the creation's fault, or the creator's? The AI eventually decides to help the player shut down the time machine, even though doing so means the AI itself must leave this timeline or be deleted.
Why the AI Reveal Hits So Hard
It’s about the eyes. If you look closely at the character models for the AI versions of Professor Sada and Turo, their movement is just a bit too stiff. Their logic is too perfect.
When you reach the bottom of Area Zero, the AI reveals the truth with a chilling lack of emotion. "I am an artificial intelligence," it says, basically. It’s a moment of pure cosmic horror. You realize that Arven has been trying to reconnect with a parent who has been a pile of bones in a cave for years.
The battle at the end—the Paradise Protection Protocol—is essentially you fighting a computer program that has been hijacked by the original Professor’s "final directive." Even in death, the real Sada and Turo’s obsession was so strong that they programmed their AI to kill anyone who tried to stop the dream. That’s dark. Like, "this is a kids' game?" dark.
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The Legacy of Area Zero
Area Zero remains one of the most atmospheric locations in Pokémon history. The music shifts from sweeping orchestral themes to glitchy, synth-heavy tracks that signal something is wrong.
Experts in game design often point to this as a "tonal pivot." For eight generations, Pokémon Professors were mentors—kindly older people like Oak or Rowan who gave you a starter and a pat on the back. Sada and Turo broke that mold. They were antagonists, not because they were "evil" like Team Rocket, but because they were short-sighted and deeply flawed humans.
They represent the dangers of unchecked scientific advancement. In the The Indigo Disk DLC, we even get a glimpse of a potential "hidden" encounter involving a crystal pool that suggests the Professors might have had some inkling of the multiverse beyond just their own time-stream.
Moving Past the Paradox
If you're looking to fully experience the story of Professor Sada and Turo, you can't just stop at the credits. There's more to do.
- Complete the Post-Game Tournament: This triggers specific dialogue with the school staff that fleshes out the Professors' reputations.
- Visit the Crystal Pool in Kitakami: If you have the DLC and the right legendary Pokémon in your party, you can trigger a cutscene that acts as a poignant "final goodbye" across time.
- Read the Lab Journals: Scattered throughout the four research stations in Area Zero are journals. Don't skip these. They document the slow descent into madness and the breakdown of the relationship between the two Professors (as it’s hinted they worked together before splitting into version-exclusive timelines).
Basically, the Professors aren't coming back. Their story is a closed loop of tragedy. But for Arven, and for the player, understanding their failure is the only way to protect the future—or the past—of the Paldea we actually live in.
To truly wrap up this chapter of your journey, take the following steps:
- Head to the Research Stations in Area Zero and read every single journal entry in order; they provide the timeline of the AI's creation that the main cutscenes gloss over.
- Bring Terapagos to the Crystal Pool in the land of Kitakami (from the Teal Mask DLC) to witness the secret encounter that provides the ultimate emotional closure for the Professor’s arc.
- Check the Scarlet/Violet Books in the school's entrance hall to see the "sketches" of Paradox Pokémon that the Professors were obsessed with before they ever saw them.