Among the new cross-gen evolutions introduced in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, Kingambit was an interesting addition to the Pawniard and Bisharp line, but it does seem like the Gen 9 newcomer missed out on expanding its chess-related potential. Not only do these three hold the privilege of comprising the only evolution line with Dark/Steel as a type combo, but it is the only line that is explicitly influenced by chess pieces. As a result, players have been anticipating the introduction of future cross-gen evolutions in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet or regional variants that could take advantage of this inspiration, except Kingambit doesn't seem to have met these expectations.
However, it's clear that Kingambit has multiple pros and cons behind its overall design and in-game usage, demonstrating that Game Freak was at least attempting to expand this unique evolution line further in meaningful ways. Between its Pokedex entries in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet to various specific details about the Pokemon itself, Kingambit brings together multiple different influences into its final design beyond just chess, such as its samurai aesthetic or the concept behind its signature move. Though this might have led to the evolution line's relationship with chess being overlooked, it could be easily corrected moving forwards.
How Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Kingambit Connects to Chess
The most obvious and immediate detail about Kingambit is its name, which is a portmanteau of the actual chess move "King's Gambit." Without over-explaining the strategy of the move itself, it does reflect Kingambit's evolution method where the player must defeat multiple Bisharps with their own Bisharp, likely paralleling how chess pieces "fight" one another and how the move requires the sacrifice of one's own pawn. Pokemon Violet's Pokedex entry partially touches on this, referring to how Kingambit might command armies but relies on brute strength, such as using its own army as cannon fodder in order to win battles.
Additionally, the more competitive players of the Pokemon community have pointed out that Bisharp is better than Kingambit when the two are compared. While this is only true in certain scenarios such as with specific held items like an Eviolite or Choice Scarf, it does reflect the real-world hierarchy of chess pieces. For instance, Kingambit's low Speed could mirror how a king can only move one space at a time, and Bisharp's competitive edge could be explained by a bishop's ability to move further across the board and doesn't have to avoid direct confrontation like a king would when it's in check.
How Kingambit Moves Away From Chess
However, the Pawniard line is not exclusively influenced by chess, which could explain why Kingambit feels like such a divergence from the rest of its evolution stages. For example, both Pawniard and Bisharp drew design inspiration from Japanese kaiju as Pokemon, as they appear to resemble traditional humanoid villains or bandits typically seen in these movies. Therefore, Kingambit's design emulating Japanese samurai armor isn't so far-fetched, and the line demonstrates the increasing hierarchy from henchmen through to leader and then to king. This is also reflected in Pokemon Scarlet's Pokedex entry, suggesting only one Bisharp over all others evolve into Kingambit.
However, this hierarchical transition directly contradicts the Pawniard line's allusion to chess which complicates Kingambit's relationship with the game. Simply put, while a pawn can be promoted to another piece of the player's choosing when reaching the opponent's side of the board, it can become literally anything else but a king. While this could have been excused as an oversight were other evolutions introduced alongside Kingambit for other chess pieces like rooks or knights, it seems Game Freak was using kaiju influences with Baxcalibur among other Gen 9 Pokemon and decided to pass on this chess influence.
This is further showcased in the actual evolution method for Kingambit too. Though the method does reflect how King's Gambit operates as a chess move, it muddies the water by having the Bisharp evolve into the king and not Pawniard, especially when it is the pawn used for the King's Gambit itself. Moreover, the king's role in chess is primarily defensive and non-confrontational, especially since the goal is to get checkmate on the king. Therefore, it seems contradictory for both its Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Pokedex entries and evolution method that Kingambit evolves from a Bisharp forced to become the strongest or most aggressive of its own kind.
How Kingambit Could Improve Its Chess References
Since Kingambit's low Speed is only a small reference to its chess counterpart, Game Freak could have gone further with its other stats, moves, and Abilities. For instance, since a king avoids confrontation, increasing Kingambit's defensive stats would make it a better tank with more defensive moves to support this. Then, while its signature Ability Supreme Overlord is a good comparison to a king where Kingambit is more powerful as the last Pokemon standing, the Pokemon's signature move should have also reflected this defensiveness. Basing the signature move on castling, for example, it could have been a better parallel to Baton Pass, redistributing its increased stats when switching Pokemon.
Additionally, reframing Kingambit as a defensive Pokemon could better inform its evolution method since its aggression and strength don't match a king's actual use in chess. In fact, Kingambit's evolution method could have been a throwback to the likes of Runerigus or Basculegion which would have required it to either endure a certain number of hits or take so much damage before it could evolve. This would still reflect its "strength" to survive all the attacks against it and simultaneously would have avoided introducing yet another odd evolution method in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.
Crucially though, since Kingambit kept up the chess references, it shouldn't have been introduced alone in Gen 9. Considering that Pokemon Violet introduced Iron Valiant, a hybrid between Gardevoir and Gallade, it's surprising Game Freak didn't consider a queen would accompany the king as a new gendered Pokemon evolution. Given that Gallade was introduced after Gardevoir as a male counterpart, Kingambit will now similarly need a queen retroactively added to balance the chessboard. However, this would bring new potential for a fast-attacking queen to contrast Kingambit's slowness and replace its current use while using onna-musha as inspiration in keeping with the samurai concept.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are available now for Nintendo Switch.
