Pokemon Scarlet and Violet fans are patiently waiting for another trailer to drop, and for The Pokemon Company to reveal more about Generation 9. The official bits of information released thus far are surprisingly very few and far between considering the games are so close to release on November 18. As such, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet remain wrapped in mystery for the time being - though there have been multiple alleged leaks over the past weeks.
Perhaps the only assumedly credible source for these leaks is an individual who goes by the name Riddler Khu, an insider who has a proven track record after sharing a lot of correct details about Pokemon Legends: Arceus before its release. Among the various leaks that Khu shared about Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are the potential final types of Gen 9's starters, and also one regarding the Pokemon types used by Elite Four members and Gym Leaders. Today, Khu shared another riddle hinting at some form of "time travel" in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, with the riddle involving a 16-year-old movie starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock.
How Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Could Implement Time Travel
In The Lake House, protagonists Reeves and Bullock live two years apart in the same house, but they can still communicate through a time-bending mailbox. The overall plot involves time travel in many ways, as well as manipulation of the future and past, which is a common trope for the genre - but a trope that may be especially interesting if it's going to be applied to a set of Pokemon games. Prior to today's Twitter message, Khu said that their posts in July will be dedicated to leaks about characters, so many fans were quick to point out that this could affect the relationship between Professor Sada and Professor Turo, or maybe characters that are not yet known.
If there is some form of time travel in the games, it's possible that Pokemon Legends: Arceus was a testing ground thanks to its Space-Time Distortion Zones, which were an interesting gimmick that allowed players to get rare items and Pokemon. Space-Time Distortions allowed trainers to catch Pokemon from the future like Porygon, or fossil Pokemon when they were not available by other means. It's possible that something like this could be present in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, albeit in a different form befitting this new region.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet could have version-exclusive Pokemon with the themes of each game, Pokemon Scarlet being about the past (as shown with Professor Sada and Koraidon) and Pokemon Violet being about the future (as shown with Professor Turo and Miraidon). This could also work differently, in the sense that there could be version-exclusive alternate forms of specific Pokemon, such as the same monster appearing in Pokemon Scarlet with a more primordial design as others for Pokemon Violet are high-tech.
There is a clear past versus future theme in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, and seeing this baked into the mechanics and different Pokemon forms would be fascinating. Pokemon Legends: Arceus did introduce some form of ancient critters that evolve differently from the modern species, and it's not hard to imagine the same concept beng transposed to Generation 9. This remains speculation for the time being, but it seems entirely possible that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet end up featuring something like this given their apparent theming.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet release for Nintendo Switch on November 18, 2022.
