Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are coming in less than three months, and even though there have been multiple alleged leaks and rumors appearing online over the past few months, only four trailers have been officially released. In these four trailers, only a total of 12 new Pokemon were announced as part of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, which is quite underwhelming compared to past titles, such as Pokemon Sun and Moon. Gen 7 might be on the opposite side of the spectrum when it comes to reveals because The Pokemon Company advertised all the major features and many new critters coming with Pokemon Sun and Moon way before the games were actually released.
Right now, Pokemon fans can't make an informed decision about Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's pre-orders due to how little is known about Gen 9, particularly so when it comes to new pocket monster species and version-exclusive critters. This would be a quite concerning precedent to set for future games, and the information now available is even more scarce compared to what was revealed about Pokemon Sword and Shield or Pokemon Legends: Arceus before release. The fact that only 12 Gen 9 Pokemon are currently known is even weirder now that a known, reliable leaker stated that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet will feature 105 new monsters, excluding regional forms.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Fans Knowing Only 12 Monsters Ahead of Release is Not Good
According to the leaks, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's exact Pokemon numbers feature 84 new pocket monsters, 5 cross-gen evolutions, and 16 Paradox Pokemon, for a total of 105 species. Leaks also state that there will only be four regional variants in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, with them being one for Wooper and three for Tauros, bringing the final total to 109 critters. This is even more concerning when one breaks the known new Pokemon down, however.
Of the 12 known Pokemon, three of them are starters, two of them are the box Legendaries, one of them is the Legendary pre-evolution revealed at the World Championship, one is Paldean Wooper, and five of them are the various monsters from the June and August trailers. Game Freak is underserving Pokemon Scarlet and Violet fans who want to theory-craft their teams early on, before the games' launch, and this is not currently possible due to so much of the Paldean Pokedex not being available. Fans can still check leaks out to learn more about the new critters, but only some minor details are available at the moment.
Furthermore, leaks shouldn't be the go-to for information about games released a few months later, and the official channels should instead include as many details as possible so that fans can make a decision about whether they should buy the games or not. Pokemon games often score millions of sales on day one, and that's because the franchise is now extremely popular, to the point that even by not showing much, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet will still hit incredible numbers shortly after launch. Pokemon Legends: Arceus' sales are an indicator of this, but it shouldn't become the norm going forward.
Other franchises often can't get away with revealing so little before release, and while The Pokemon Company's silence might be a marketing strategy for Gen 9, it doesn't offer much to dedicated players of the series. Considering that Gen 9 allegedly features two new major forms with Paradox Pokemon and the so-called regional fakes, not revealing anything about them, especially considering that they will likely be version-exclusives, can disappoint many players. Ultimately, a new trailer in September seems like at this stage, but it's not impossible that the news drought will carry over to October, a month before release.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet launch on November 18, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.
