Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are coming to Nintendo Switch in just over three months, and The Pokemon Company recently released the third trailer for these debut Gen 9 games. This trailer included many important bits of information, such as the reveal of the Terastal phenomenon as a battle gimmick or the fact that players will be able to ride the box Legendaries while exploring the Paldea region. Three new Pokemon also appeared briefly, including Paldean Wooper, the first officially revealed regional form for Gen 9.
A big part of the trailer was also dedicated to showcasing returning creatures in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, which allowed players to jot down a list of all the old Pokemon that are confirmed to be returning in Gen 9 - so far. This can help players prepare their teams for when Pokemon Scarlet and Violet come out, even though many fans often end up using mainly new creatures from any given region. When looking at the current Paldean Pokedex, some generations have it rough in terms of critter count, whereas others like Gen 4 have maybe too many representatives showing up.
Why Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Don't Need More Gen 4 Mons
While the generation with the most Pokemon in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet thus far is Gen 1, as there are a total of 32 critters from Pokemon Red and Blue, Gen 4 is the second-highest with 28 pocket monsters available. The reason this is particularly bad for Gen 4 is that both Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl and Pokemon Legends: Arceus came out very recently, and will be available on the same console as Scarlet and Violet.
Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl were Gen 4 remakes that came out on Switch in November 2021, and because they were remakes, they ended up including the full regional Pokedex for the Sinnoh region. This includes all Legendaries and Mythical Pokemon, with events that allowed all Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl players to get Shaymin and even Arceus. Not only that, Pokemon Legends: Arceus came out in January 2022, featuring mainly Gen 4 Pokemon due to it taking place in the Hisui region - an older iteration of Sinnoh.
Having at least 28 confirmed Pokemon from Gen 4 as part of the Pokedex for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, which will presumably be limited to around 400-to-500 entries before any DLC, is not ideal for fans who have been playing the other recent releases. Particularly unnecessary is the addition to Gen 9 of creatures like the Starly and Shinx lines, which are the early Route Gen 4 Pokemon that are often part of any Pokemon Brilliant Diamond, Shining Pearl, and Legends: Arceus teams.
It probably doesn't help that Gen 4 has plenty of pre-evolutions and evolutions of existing pocket monsters in its regional Pokedex, so having Pokemon like Murkrow and Magnemite in Gen 9 means their Gen 4 evolutions will also be present. While 28 Gen 4 Pokemon is a lot, that's probably not even all of them, and more will appear in the Paldean Pokedex over time both in the base games and in DLC. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet should give Gen 4 creatures a break, and instead reprise more Pokemon that haven't been in Switch titles yet.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet launch on November 18 for Nintendo Switch.
