Highlights

  • Recent leaks suggest more new playable mons are on the way to Pokemon Unite, giving the game more Pokemon Scarlet and Violet representation.
  • The addition of Miraidon and Ceruledge shows that the game seems to favor Pokemon Violet over Pokemon Scarlet.
  • Sales data and popularity of Pokemon Violet's mons like Miraidon and Ceruledge confirm its status as the more popular version of the Gen 9 games.

Recent leaks suggest more new playable mons are on the way to Pokemon Unite, and they are set to give the game more Pokemon Scarlet and Violet representation. So far, the only Gen 9 critter that is playable in Pokemon Unite is Meowscarada, but a recent datamine of the game's public test server reveals that Miraidon and Ceruledge are on the way as well. While it's great to see more Gen 9 mons becoming playable characters in Pokemon Unite, the addition of these mons shows that the game seems to be favoring one version of the Gen 9 games over the other.

Coming off the heels of Pokemon Unite's latest addition, Magikarp, seeing leaks suggesting two popular Gen 9 creatures are coming to the game should have fans excited. Alongside Miraidon and Ceruledge, this datamine also revealed that Gen 8's Falinks is planned to join Pokemon Unite's roster as well. However, the addition of Miraidon and Ceruledge demonstrates Pokemon Unite's bias for one Gen 9 game over the other, with both of these critters being available exclusively in Pokemon Violet.

pokemon-day-wish-list-2024
Related
Pokemon Day Wish List

With the anniversary of the Pokemon series coming up later this month, there are several new games that would be very exciting for fans if announced.

Pokemon Unite's Miraidon and Ceruledge Leaks Suggest the Game is Favoring Pokemon Violet

Why Pokemon Violet is Getting More Representation than Scarlet

The Pokemon franchise has always utilized version-exclusive creatures as a way to encourage players to trade with each other, going back as far as the original Gen 1 titles, which utilized the Game Boy Link Cable to facilitate trades between players. However, there often ends up being one version of a generation's games that is more popular than the other, usually due to the critters that can only be caught in that version of the game. For Pokemon's Gen 9 games, it would appear that Pokemon Violet is the more popular version, with the popularity of mons like Miraidon and Ceruledge being confirmed by their addition to Pokemon Unite.

Sales data for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet also confirms that Pokemon Violet is the more popular version of the two, with the game just barely outselling Pokemon Scarlet. Part of the reason for this disparity in sales could be the tendency for Pokemon versions with a cool-toned color palette to be more popular than ones with a warm-toned color palette. By this same logic, the cool blues and purples of Miraidon and Ceruledge would make them more popular than the warm reds of their Pokemon Scarlet counterparts, Koraidon and Armarouge.

Other Pokemon Violet Exclusives that Could Join Pokemon Unite

Compared to past Pokemon generations, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet don't have many version-exclusive Gen 9 mons, with the main exception being Paradox Pokemon. Pokemon Unite has yet to feature any Paradox Pokemon, which is surprising given how popular they are among fans, to the point where many fans are designing their own future and past Paradox Pokemon. While Miraidon will technically be the first one to join Pokemon Unite's roster, there are a lot of other popular Violet-exclusive Paradox Pokemon that could be added in future updates.

Following the theory that mons with cool-toned color palettes are more popular, Paradox Pokemon like Iron Jugulis and Iron Crown seem like obvious candidates out of Pokemon Violet's line-up. Although they break the color theory, mons like Iron Bundle and Iron Hands are already popular within the competitive Pokemon scene, and they would make great additions to Pokemon Unite's roster as well. As Pokemon Unite continues to fill out its roster with more Gen 9 critters, it will be interesting to see if this trend of favoring Violet exclusives over Scarlet ones will continue, or if Pokemon Unite will shift to focus on adding non-version exclusives in the future.