How does obedience work in Scarlet and Violet?

Question

It looks like high level Pokemon won't obey your commands even if you are their original trainer now. Does it work by the Pokemon's current level relative to how many gym badges you have, or is it what level the Pokemon was when you caught it?

Answer 1

Starting in Legends: Arceus, this applies even to non-outsider Pokémon, but is based on met level instead of current level. In Generation IX non-outsider Pokémon are treated as outsider Pokémon for this purpose if they have ever been traded, even if they are traded back to their Original Trainer.

https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Obedience

Honestly I could've sworn it was always like this but apparently yeah this a recent thing. Basically if it's a Pokemon you yourself caught then it depends on the level you caught it. I can confirm from experience, I caught a high-level Slacking myself and it did not obey me until I got more badges while similarly leveled Pokemon I caught earlier still did.

In addition, regardless of the original trainer any Pokemon traded even once will now also be treated like outsider Pokemon.

Comments

So if I catch a Pokemon below level 25, raise it to level 50 (before I can catch Pokemon that will obey at that level), trade it to another trainer who then trades it back to me... does it obey?

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I'd assume not, since it would be considered an outsider for obedience purposes in Gen IX.

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Unless the mechanics have changed in recent generations, Pokemon that are traded back behave as though they were never traded because their TID, SID, etc. match once again.
https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Outsider_Pokémon#Specific_requirements

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"In Generation IX non-outsider Pokémon are treated as outsider Pokémon for this purpose if they have ever been traded, even if they are traded back to their Original Trainer"
From the source linked in my answer.

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My bad.

Answer 2

Here are the levels and badge number requirements for Scarlet and Violet:

1 Gym Badge Lv. 25
2 Gym Badges Lv. 30
3 Gym Badges Lv. 35
4 Gym Badges Lv. 40
5 Gym Badges Lv. 45
6 Gym Badges Lv. 50
7 Gym Badges Lv. 55
8 Gym Badges Pokémon of All Levels

Also,

Pokémon that you've caught below the Level limit will always listen to you, even after they've been raised to exceed the level limit. As an example, even if you do not have a badge, a Pokémon you've caught below Lv. 25 will always listen to you, even after they exceed Level 25.

However, if you try to use Pokémon that were caught beyond the level limit, they are more likely to disobey you. Make sure that the Pokémon you catch do not exceed the maximum level allowed by your current number of badges. If you insist on catching them, you'll have to earn more badges before they obey.

Source