Even though Pokemon fans are always looking forward to the next generation of games, nobody quite expected that 2022 would be the year. Pokemon Legends: Arceus seemed like more than enough to sustain the Pokemon franchise this year, and Nintendo already has plenty of other games coming out in 2022. Nevertheless, Game Freak is hard at work on Pokemon Scarlet and Violet right now, with the intention of releasing these Generation 9 games before the end of the year. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet details are limited for the moment, aside from occasional leaks, but the games likely won't remain mysterious for long if they'll be out before 2023.
There are plenty of details that Game Freak could spotlight first, but the Legendary Pokemon featured in Scarlet and Violet are bound to be a top priority. Every core Pokemon game is defined by its Legendary mascot after all. While there are all kinds of interesting directions that Scarlet and Violet's Legendary mascots could go in, ideally these mascots won't be Fairy types. In fact, it would be best if Scarlet and Violet avoided adding new Fairy-types Legendaries overall. The type has inspired some highly compelling Pokemon, but it's time for other Pokemon types to get the Legendary spotlight.
A Shift in Legendary Pokemon
In recent years, Game Freak has frequently given the Fairy type center stage when designing Legendary Pokemon. Pokemon X and Y's Xerneas was a Fairy type, which stood to reason, since X and Y debuted the type. After that, Sun and Moon featured several Fairy types in the form of the four highly important guardian deities, and Sword and Shield featured the Fairy-type Zacian as one of its two mascots. On top of these, Fairy types already have two Mythical Pokemon: Diancie and Magearna. Thanks to these many representatives, Fairy has quickly become a rather common type among Pokemon's rarest monsters, and in the process, it has kept several other types low on representation.
Ideally, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet will move away from that pattern. The Fairy type has made major contributions to Pokemon game balance, and it has led to some very charming new Pokemon, but it doesn't need to dominate Legendary Pokemon design anymore. Pokemon has so many interesting types that it feels wasteful to focus so heavily on one particular type when designing Legendary Pokemon. Scarlet and Violet's mascots, as well as the other Legendary and Mythical Pokemon available, ought to focus on some other types in order to introduce some variety to the Pokemon lineup.
Alternative Types for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Legendaries
Instead of emphasizing Fairy-types, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet ought to take a lot at some of the most under-represented Pokemon types. For instance, Bug-types don't have a Legendary representative at all; they merely have the Mythical Pokemon Genesect, as well as a couple Ultra Beast Pokemon. Poison-type Pokemon may have Eternatus as a Legendary Pokemon, but the Generation 8 Poison/Dragon type is the only Poison-type Legendary to date. Ground, Rock, and Normal also all have only a handful of Legendary Pokemon to their names to date. It'd be great to see Pokemon Scarlet and Violet spotlight Bug, Poison, and their other underrepresented peers with some exciting new Legendaries.
If Game Freak really wants to introduce a new Legendary Fairy-type in Scarlet and Violet, then hopefully it's at least a relatively unimportant Legendary, rather than a Pokemon that defines the game's story or a central principle of Scarlet and Violet's region. The type has more than enough visibility at this point, and Scarlet and Violet will be more unique overall if it focuses on a surprising set of types for its core Legendary Pokemon instead of reusing some familiar types. Like every Pokemon generation before it, Generation 9 has the chance to change the franchise for the better. Scarlet and Violet can do so by diversifying the Legendary pool
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet release in late 2022 for Nintendo Switch.
