The Pokemon Sword and Shield era is rapidly coming to a close now that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are only three months away from release and the World Championship for Gen 8 is taking place in London. Gen 9 games will likely revolutionize the franchise with new additions and many pocket monsters, which seems extremely likely considering the leaks about Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's exact number of Pokemon. One of the most interesting aspects of new mainline Pokemon games is discovering exciting type combinations both new and old that change meaning and shape in the new generation, creating unique critters.
An example is that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's new Fire Pokemon will have a unique concept; according to the leaks, it will have two different split evolutions based on the version one is playing, and they will be a fiery warrior and a flaming sword, completing each other. The leaked Pokedex also includes multiple Pokemon Scarlet and Violet critters with unused type combinations, such as a Poison/Steel engine Pokemon and Fire/Grass hybrid chili pepper pocket monster. And yet, a type combination that catches the eye in Gen 9 comes from the rumored hammer Pokemon, which is allegedly going to be a three-stage monster that's also Fairy/Steel.
Why Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Could Replace Zacian With a Better Pokemon
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This leaked monster is a big deal because Fairy/Steel is one of the best type combinations in the game, if not the very best, as it comes with a weakness to Fire and Ground, but also with a total of nine resistances and immunity to two types. On the defensive side, Fairy/Steel Pokemon are very desirable because of these reasons, but also because by being half Fairy-type one of the immunities is to Dragon-type moves, which is often considered one of the strongest types in the game alongside Fairy and Steel themselves.
Notoriously, Fairy/Steel Pokemon have been the best of their format every time they've been available, and especially so with Mega Mawile and Zacian, both dominating competitive matches due to their incredible typing and offensive capabilities. However, all four existing Fairy/Steel Pokemon are one-stage critters, and while Zacian has great stats because of it being a Legendary Pokemon, it is also often restricted in tournaments to some degree or simply takes that slot if available, reducing the options for other powerful pocket monsters. Furthermore, Zacian is limited to not being capable of Dynamaxing or Gigantamaxing in Gen 8, and it needs a specific held item to increase its performance.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are allegedly adding a Fairy/Steel Pokemon that has two evolutions and is the ace Pokemon of one of the Elite Four members, meaning that it's probably going to have amazing stats due to its evolution stages and great offensive coverage. If this is indeed the case, it could be one of the strongest Pokemon ever because it doesn't depend on any item, unlike Zacian, nor on any gimmick, unlike Mega Mawile. It will be a regular Pokemon that is in no way restricted in terms of use when it comes to major competitions unless the ruleset specifically bans it because of its dominant usage.
As such, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet could introduce a Fairy/Steel Pokemon that is better than Zacian, which is currently considered the best of its kind due to how high its Attack stat is with the help of the Intrepid Sword Ability. Another strength of Zacian is its move pool, something that could prove hard to beat for a non-Legendary Pokemon. If this critter comes with a decent regular Ability or Hidden Ability, however, it's very likely going to be one of the highlights of Gen 9 as a whole.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet release on November 18 on Nintendo Switch.
