Ahead of the Pokemon Presents, there were plenty of rumors and leaks regarding Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, and most of them were proven fake. However, one leak was proven accurate except for one claim regarding a new Nintendo Switch model.A lot of Pokemon content got new updates and announcements in the presentation, but Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are perhaps the most exciting. Not only are they adding paradox forms for Suicune and Virizion in 7-Star Raids, but the official "Hidden Treasure of Area Zero" DLC was announced. It includes new and returning Pokemon, brand new legendaries, and is split into two parts: The Teal Mask (Fall 2023) and The Indigo Disk (Winter 2023). If this leak is to be believed, a new Switch model will be released alongside Winter 2023.Shared and verified as posted ahead of the event by aggregate account Centro Leaks, the would-be leaker claims to be a programmer on an outsourcing team for Pokemon. They accurately share the name of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's DLC, certain minor updates, the names and types of Paradox Suicune and Virizion, and details regarding the new legendaries. All indeed appeared at the Pokemon Presents in some form except the final claim: that the outsourcing team is working on a major graphics patch for new Nintendo Switch models set to release alongside DLC 2, so in Winter 2023.
This should be taken with a grain of salt, since nothing was officially confirmed, but it would be odd to make this one false claim among getting everything else right. The fact that the claims are only tied to one of the game announcements today too reinforces how much access this one employee has, instead of just being some scattershot wish list. That said, it should be noted that this claim doesn't necessarily reference a "Switch 2," "Switch Pro," or successor as those rumors are common. Since its initial launch, there have been the new Lite and OLED models, while the "main" Switch console actually has two models: one that had a worse battery life than current models. As such, this rumor could put to another model upgrade, minor or otherwise, versus a new Switch handheld.
Either way, it's an exciting prospect - even if this new model was not at the Pokemon Presents. If it is set to release this winter alongside Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Indigo Disk DLC, fans should learn more in the coming months. The Switch OLED was announced in June 2021 and launched the following October, so that's likely why, if legit, it was not revealed at the February 27 event.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are available now on Nintendo Switch.