When compared to some of their predecessors, Pokemon Scarlet & Violet pack in an awful lot of content, with countless questlines for players to complete. The most notable ones involve toppling titans, beating base leaders, and becoming the very best Pokemon trainer around by defeating the Elite Four and becoming Champion. However, those who explore Paldea a bit more thoroughly will likely stumble across something a lot more mysterious than any of that.

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Driven into the ground throughout the region are 32 Ominous Black Stakes, with players given the option to pull them out of the ground by interacting with them. The games provide no real indication as to what might happen if they decide to do so, nor are the consequences of opting to pull them out immediately obvious. That's not to say that Pokemon Scarlet & Violet players shouldn't pull the stakes out whenever they find them though, as doing so can lead to some very worthwhile rewards a little later on.

What Are the Ominous Black Stakes in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet?

There are four sets of Ominous Black Stakes in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet, each with its own unique colored glow. Pulling out all eight stakes of any given color will grant access to a secret shrine, inside of which players will be able to find and catch a powerful Legendary Pokemon. Each set and their respective shrines are generally confined to a specific portion of the map, with players needing to fully upgrade Koraidon or Miraidon by beating all five Titans in order to reach them all and pull them out of the ground.

Green glowing stakes can be found around Casseroya Lake in the northwest part of Paldea and will grant access to the Groundblight Shrine and the Dark/Ground-type Legendary Ting-Lu. Chi-Yu, a Dark/Fire-type Legendary, can be encountered in the Firescourge Shrine, which is in the northeastern part of Paldea and can be unlocked by finding all of the blue glowing stakes. The southwestern portion of Paldea is where players will find yellow glowing stakes and the Icerend Shrine, which houses the Dark/Ice-type Legendary Chien-Pao, while southeast Paldea is the home of the Grasswither Shrine, purple glowing stakes, and the Dark/Grass-type Legendary Pokemon Wo-Chien.

Pokemon Scarlet & Violet are available now for the Nintendo Switch.