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Warning: Major Pokemon Scarlet and Violet spoilers ahead
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's imminent release was accompanied by a plethora of leaks coming from players who got their copies early, ROMs becoming available online, and fans datamining information about every detail of Gen 9 titles. There is a stark contrast between what players know officially and what has been leaked thus far, with the entire Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Pokedex leaking online as well, revealing every single new critter before launch. This includes starter evolutions, Paradox Pokemon, regional forms, regional fakes, and everything in between.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Paradox Salamence and Paradox Tyranitar have been getting a lot of attention from fans of past games, but the former got the better outcome of the two as it has higher stats and a better type combination. Gen 9 of Pokemon games will also be featuring cross-generation evolutions for several fan-favorite pocket monsters, and some of them will feature peculiar evolution methods to make them more interesting, a concept that Gen 8 was no stranger to. There are only four cross-gen evolutions in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, and players already officially know one of them in the form of Farigiraf, which was revealed in a trailer several weeks ago.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet: Dunsparce Cross-Gen Evolution, Dudunsparce
The first leaked cross-gen evolution comes in the form of Dudunsparce, which is the evolution of one of the most ridiculed critters in the entire franchise. Many fans have been consistently vocal about it getting an evolution in modern games, and Pokemon Scarlet and Violet finally gave Dunsparce an evolution, but the final product is not something everyone enjoys. Dudunsparce is just a lengthier version of its base form, and it gets one or two additional "segments" to its body that make it bigger, and it stays pure Normal-type.
This is not what fans expected and many believe Dunsparce's potential was wasted in this case, but at least the Pokemon's leaked stats are good enough to make it a good choice all the same. Nevertheless, its Hidden Ability, Rattled, seems like an oversight because it boosts the user's Speed stat when hit by Ghost or Dark moves, with Dudunsparce being immune to Ghost-types.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet: Primeape Cross-Gen Evolution, Annihilape
Pokemon fans who feel nostalgic about Gen 1 will be happy to know that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's rumored Primeape evolution is real, and it's called Annihilape. This Pokemon is a Fighting and Ghost hybrid, which makes it the first of its kind after Marshadow, and also makes it a great critter to use all around due to its immunities and offensive capabilities.
However, this may be bad news for Fuecoco fans who don't want to have repeated types on their team and still use Annihilape, as Fuecoco's final evolution, Skeledirge, is a Fire and Ghost hybrid. Still, Annihilape doesn't get many Ghost-type moves in its arsenal, making a case for it to still be used despite potential repetitions.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet: Bisharp Cross-Gen Evolution, Kingambit
Possibly the most interesting of the bunch and also the one that has the most players excited among cross-gen evolutions is Kingambit, which evolves from Bisharp. Kingambit retains its pre-evolution's type combination in the form of Dark/Steel, which is great to use against many types, including Fairy.
Similarly to how Annihilape faces type repetition issues, it's worth noting that Kingambit's Dark type is widely used by Paldean Pokemon, including Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's final Sprigatito evolution, which is Grass/Dark. Yet, Kingambit got one of the highest Attack values in the entirety of Gen 9, and it also learns a signature move called Kowtow Cleave upon evolving from Bisharp, making it one of the most interesting critters in the game.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet release on November 18 for Nintendo Switch.