It has been a good year for Pokemon fans, and gamers have got to enjoy a strong release in Pokemon Legends: Arceus already. Fans can also look forward to Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, which is the next mainline entry in the hugely popular franchise. As usual, gamers will explore a new region and discover new Pokemon species as they embark on an epic adventure. However, as much as players love seeing new Pokemon designs, fans are also keen on seeing old favorites receive renewed attention.
Fortunately, it appears that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet will not be neglecting Pokemon from previous generations, and some of them will be getting new evolutions. Additionally, rumors suggest that the upcoming games will toy around with new regional forms and new forms of current Pokemon from the past and the future. Hence, while there will be new Pokemon to discover, players will also get to learn new things about classic Pokemon from previous generations.
Scarlet and Violet Start a New Pokemon Adventure
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet were announced in February 2022, and fans of Fire-Type Pokemon will have Fuecoco, Water-Type lovers can choose Quaxly, and Grass-Type fans have Sprigatito. Since then, gamers have also gotten a look at the generation's legendary Pokemon. For Pokemon Scarlet, Koraidon graces the cover while Pokemon Violet has Miraidon.
Gamers have already been trying to figure out what the next game will be about and where it will take place. Using clues in the announcement trailer, some gamers have speculated that the next Pokemon region is inspired by Spain. Fans have also speculated that the game will feature some form of time travel, as "Korai" is the Japanese word for ancient, while "Mirai" means future. These theories have been further bolstered by subsequent leaks that suggest that players will be interacting with Pokemon from different eras.
Leaked and Rumored Cross-Gen Evolutions in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet
Several leaks have revealed a lot of alleged details surrounding the upcoming game, including Pokemon from previous generations that may be getting new evolutions. All should be taken with a grain of salt, but so far, past Pokemon that have been named include Primeape (which will have a Fighting/Ghost Dual Type final evolution), Wooper, Girafarig (which will have a Psychic-Type evolution), Dunsparce (which will have a Normal-Type evolution), and Bisharp.
They also claimed that regional forms will be making a return, with Wooper getting a Poison-Type regional form and Tauros getting three different regional forms. According to leaks, the forms will be exclusive to each of the three areas of the region, and one of the forms will be Fighting-Type, while the other two forms will be dual-types, though the exact typing has yet to be revealed. This is good news for fans of Generation One Pokemon, as it seems that Tauros will be getting some extra attention.
Leaks also suggest that new kinds of Pokemon will make an appearance, but they will be based on Pokemon from previous generations. In the next game, players can expect ancient Pokemon, future Pokemon, and convergent species. The ancient and future Pokemon are Pokemon that have time traveled, and they typically have high stats. According to leaks, Pokemon that will receive ancient forms include Jigglypuff, Amoonguss, Volcarona, Misdreavus, and Salamence, while Pokemon that will receive future forms include Deliberd, Gallade, Volcarona, and Hariyama. Convergent species follow a process similar to convergent evolution in the real world and involve unrelated Pokemon having a similar form. So far, Diglett and Dugtrio are the only Pokemon that are rumored to have a convergent form, and Diglett's "regional fake" is Water-Type.
Pokemon From Previous Generations Are Not Getting Neglected
While the new evolutions are nice, it does seem like there are some missed opportunities with past Pokemon like Eevee if it does not receive new evolutions. In the past, Eevee evolutions, also known as Eeveelutions, have been favorites, and fan art of evolutions Eevee types that do not exist yet illustrate just how excited gamers get about the idea. Including a Dragon-Type Eeveelution or a Poison-Type Eeveelution would be an easy way to please long-time Pokemon fans.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are scheduled to launch on 18 November 2022 on Nintendo Switch.