Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are coming this November for Nintendo Switch, but very little is officially known about Generation 9 games. The Pokemon Company's silence about Pokemon Scarlet and Violet could be a new marketing strategy to make the games a hot topic within the community, or it might be a consequence of the excessive amount of details shared about Pokemon Sun and Moon in 2016. Still, there are several alleged leaks and rumors online about what Generation 9 is all about, with some of them being more reliable than others, and an interesting bit is that many of them hint at Fuecoco evolving into a quadrupedal creature.
If Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Fuecoco truly evolves into a crocodile-like Pokemon that stands on four legs, it would be the very first Fire-type starter evolution to have this feature. Normally, Fire-type starters either start out as quadrupedal Pokemon and evolve to be bipedal, or they are bipedal all along. Actually, this is the case for almost all Pokemon species in existence, as becoming bipedal or being born with that characteristic is typically one of the traits that define evolution the most, as real-life animals tend to develop physical attributes that allow them to survive more easily.
Fuecoco's Evolution Could Be a Very Unique Pokemon
There are no quadrupedal Fire starter Pokemon in the franchise, considering that Quilava doesn't really count because it's either depicted as standing on two legs or four, only to then evolve into Typhlosion, a bipedal Pokemon. Furthermore, only five Pokemon species see their bipedal form evolve into a quadrupedal creature, and one of them is also not exactly quadrupedal -- Darmanitan. Its basic form, Darumaka, stands on two legs, but Darmanitan has legs and arms that it ends up standing on, much like monkey species do in real-life, or even similar to how Infernape is rarely depicted. This stands true for both the Unovan form in Gen 5 and the Galarian form in Pokemon Sword and Shield, which instead is an Ice-type critter.
The other species that share Fuecoco's rumored trait are Meowth evolving into Persian, Bagon into Shelgon and Salamence, Oshawott and Dewott into Samurott, and Ursaring into Ursaluna. There are Pokemon that develop more limbs with their evolutions and do end up standing on all fours when that happens, such as Roggenrola being a bipedal critter that then evolves into Gigalith by developing more legs. It's a weird evolutionary trait in general because typically species that evolve or adapt to stand on two legs don't "revert" to stand on all fours, which also happens in nature.
For example, the theory of evolution suggests that humans becoming bipedal creatures allowed for the larynx to lower and for the tongue to then become more agile, which in turn granted mankind the ability to speak and produce more articulate sounds. Similarly, many Pokemon evolve into bipedal creatures because they gain the ability to use their hands to wield objects, battle more efficiently, or maybe grab berries and other food in the wild. As such, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Fuecoco line could be one of the very few Pokemon species with this evolutionary trait, making it all the more unique.
It's also worth mentioning that quadrupedal Pokemon tend to be less nimble than their bipedal counterparts, and the rumors surrounding Fuecoco's Hidden Ability in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet might come true if this is the case. This is typically reflected in the games via a lower Speed stat, but it remains to be seen what will happen in the case of this cute fiery crocodile. Still, it's interesting that Fuecoco is breaking more patterns with its presence, as its inclusion debunked a long-standing theory about Fire starters, and it is supposedly also going to be the first Fire-type of its kind to stand on four legs.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet release for Nintendo Switch on November 18, 2022.
