The recent trailer for Pokemon Scarlet andViolet's DLC has revealed that Johtonian Wooper can be found out in the wild, resulting in players now questioning everything they had thought they'd known about regional variants. As one of Pokemon's more recent design staples, the "rules" around regional variants aren't strict, but there are certain expectations. For instance, egg Pokemon default to the region they hatch in with trades and transfers left as the only option for obtaining regional variants. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet had so far been the same, but this could change with The Teal Mask.
While it's not surprising that Scarlet and Violet would once again shake up the series' approach to regional forms after it pulled a switcheroo on fans with the Wiglett and Toedscool lines of "regional fakes", the appearance of a wild Johtonian Wooper is unusual. One optimistic perspective suggests that Game Freak is reconsidering how few regional variants Scarlet and Violet have, and Wooper's appearance in the recent trailer hints that new variants are coming akin to Gen 8's Galarian Slowpoke. But another angle notes that wild Johtonian Wooper in Kitakami breaks continuity, implying that Scarlet and Violet's DLC might be leaving the Paldea region behind.
Johtonian Wooper Gives Scarlet and Violet's Regional Variants A Second Chance
Though Scarlet and Violet included an ambitious number of gimmicks, their continuation of regional forms fell short with just two Pokemon. There are several factors fans believe led to this, such as the many new ancient and future forms, the introduction of regional fakes, and Tauros technically receiving three regional forms and not one.
However, this meant that Scarlet and Violet are dwarfed by their predecessors from Sun and Moon to Legends: Arceus for new regional variants. But just as Sword and Shield's DLC added new variants for the Slowpoke line and the legendary bird trio, Scarlet and Violet's DLC could be planning to do the same. One potential change that could be in the works is bringing previous regional variants to the wild areas in Scarlet and Violet's DLC as hinted at by Johtonian Wooper's appearance.
This could give players a lot more flexibility in obtaining regional variants from past generations, especially for shiny hunters and competitive players, without the reliance on trades or transfers. But a more exciting addition would be new regional forms altogether, perhaps inspired by the DLC's settings themselves or based on theorized Paldean regional forms, whether it's another Yamask variant for The Teal Mask or new Carbink and Diancie forms influenced by Terastallization in The Indigo Disk.
Wild Johtonian Wooper Implies Kitakami is Outside Paldea
Rather, the reveal of wild Johtonian Wooper points to more than just future regional variants in Scarlet and Violet. Instead, its appearance suggests Scarlet and Violet's DLC will break one of the core mechanics behind regional variants as a concept. While regional variants are eventually obtainable one way or another, they never appeared in the wild in other regions, with previous games making a point to offer players in-game trades of Pokemon with multiple regional forms.
This had been the case for Wooper in Scarlet and Violet, but The Teal Mask could be breaking this once implicit cardinal rule. At face value, this could be little more than Game Freak's decision to make previous regional forms available in the wild, but this still has potential consequences.
One explanation could be Game Freak taking inspiration from the real-world invasive species, meaning that Johtonian Wooper is still not native to Paldea but has recently invaded Kitakami. But if this isn't the case, then that Kitakami might not be in Paldea at all. Given that Scarlet and Violet's DLC trailer features several Gen 2 Pokemon such as Aipom, Gligar, Sentret, and Yanma, not to mention The Teal Mask's focus on Japanese folklore, Kitakami could secretly be part of Johto.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are available now for Nintendo Switch.
