Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are less than three months away, and many fans are eager to start their adventure in the Paldea region with brand-new companions Fuecoco, Sprigatito, and Quaxly. Despite the fact that Gen 9 is four trailers deep into their reveal cycle, very little is currently known about Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's new pocket monsters, leaving most of the information available coming from leaks. Scarlet and Violet have only officially revealed 12 new Pokemon, and this may be concerning when comparing Gen 9 to past games.
Leakers suggest that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's number of new species is 105, with them being divided into 84 Gen 9-exclusive evolution lines, five cross-gen evolutions, and a total of 16 Paradox Pokemon. Paradox Pokemon were initially imagined as ancient and future forms of existing critters, but it has been suggested that their name should be taken more literally with potential different type combinations from their original variants. As it stands, no leaks indicate that the three starters and their evolutions have a Paradox form in Gen 9 games, which is a missed opportunity that potential DLC should fix.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Starters Should Have New Forms in DLC
Pokemon Sword and Shield featured Dynamax and Gigantamax Pokemon, with the former being a universal gimmick that any critter could use, whereas the latter was more akin to Mega Evolutions in that only a select few pocket monsters could employ it. Gigantamax Pokemon didn't only become bigger with better health and moves at their disposal, but their original form also changed into something different - an example being Leon's Charizard. Gen 8 introducing a Gigantamax version of Charizard but not one for the three Galar starters in its base release was disappointing.
This was fixed with the DLC for Pokemon Sword and Shield, with the final evolutions of all three starters getting their own Gigantamax form and exclusive move. Much like Cinderace, Rillaboom, and Inteleon didn't get their own forms when the base games launched, so could Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's starters get a Paradox form when the DLC becomes available. Because there still seems to be a difference between the Paradox Pokemon available in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, respectively, it's possible that the three starters could get even two forms each.
This would make Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's version exclusives more interesting than they currently are, even though The Pokemon Company hasn't revealed much about this aspect of the games except for a couple of returning critters being exclusive to each game. If the rumored Paradox Pokemon are officially revealed, having 16 of them dedicated only to non-Gen 9 Pokemon would be a missed opportunity, even more so if the starters are cut out of the gimmick entirely.
Because the Terastal phenomenon can be used by any creature in the Paldea region and doesn't appear to come with unique forms for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's starters, letting these three critters have something extra down the line would make sense. Starters are often the heart of any new entry in the mainline Pokemon series, so Scarlet and Violet should learn from the success of Gigantamax forms from Gen 8 to see why it matters that Paradox forms include Gen 9's main companions. This could also make the case for a Pokemon Scarlet and Violet DLC expansion more interesting, as players wouldn't have just a slew of returning Pokemon to catch, but also enticing, never-before-seen forms.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet release on November 18, 2022, for Nintendo Switch.