According to a recent and reliable leak, it seems Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Paradox Salamence will be a Dragon/Dark-type. Although Paradox Pokemon have yet to be confirmed, many reliable rumors point toward 7 Ancient Paradox Pokemon that will be exclusive to Scarlet and 7 Future Paradox Pokemon that will be exclusive to Violet.
The Ancient Paradox Pokemon in Pokemon Scarlet reportedly include Amoonguss, Jigglypuff, Misdreavus, Volcarona, Salamence, Donphan, and Magneton (with Ancient Suicune supposedly coming in Pokemon Scarlet DLC), while the Future Paradox Pokemon for Violet include Delibird, Gallade, Hariyama, Volcarona, Donphan, Tyranitar, and Hydreigon (with future Virizion joining via DLC). Many of these Pokemon change typings and are all dual types, with many fans speculating on these and seemingly learning about them through Pokemon Scarlet and Violet leaks.
One of the most prolific leakers in the Pokemon community is Riddler Khu, who has previously leaked accurate information. Khu has a tendency to make obscure riddles, however, and recently mentioned that, for Salamence, "swap T with Chicken." Many followers of Khu's riddles have deduced that the T stands for Type, and that the C+Chinese character stands for Chicken. Khu has, for one reason or another, referred to Hydreigon in the past as a Chicken, leading fans to believe that Salamence will drop its Flying type and become a Dragon/Dark-type.
Since Salamence is an Ancient Paradox Pokemon, the belief is that this form is before it learned to fly or a form of Salamence that never learned to fly. This also suggests that, if Ancient Salamence and Future Hydreigon are swapping types in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, the latter will be a Dragon/Flying-type. Of course, something could be lost in this riddle, so fans should wait until Game Freak or The Pokemon Company see fit to properly introduce these new forms.
It should be noted that neither company seems particularly giving with this new Pokemon generation, however. Counting Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's recent reveal of Grafaiai, there have only been 13 new Pokemon confirmed, with the games only a little over two months from launch. For many fans, this unfortunately means the only real source of info is Khu, Kaka, and other known leakers. Of course, this is good and easy to avoid for fans who want to go in blind, but for those who enjoy these reveals, it's been a bit of a dry season.
What makes it even odder is that, per the massive Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Pokedex leak, there are about 105 new Pokemon coming to the region. This means only 12% of the Pokedex has been revealed, and while not every new Pokemon would get a proper pre-launch reveal, it's odd that so few are. Either way, Paradox Pokemon are an interesting concept, and it'll be interesting to see how they impact each game.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet release on November 18 for Switch.
