The announcement of the ninth generation of Pokemon games, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, came as a surprise to many. The hope for a new generation of games was there, but it didn’t seem likely that the Pokemon Presents for Pokemon Day would include an announcement for an entirely new generation. Instead, many fans likely expected DLC for Pokemon Legends: Arceus and smaller announcements about future support rather than the major announcement of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet releasing later in 2022.
The news is welcome, though, as fans got to see stunning visuals of the region that Gen 9 will be using as well as the reveal of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet’s starters. The Water, Grass, and Fire-type trio continues a staple of the Pokemon franchise’s starters but Fuecoco, the new Fire-type starter, does break away from the zodiac fan theory that many Pokemon players have come to accept. This theory is founded on Pokemon’s Fire-type starters each having a corresponding figure in the Chinese Zodiac, and up until the reveal of Fuecoco, it’s felt like a feasible explanation of their designs.
Fuecoco's Break Away from the Zodiac
While some liberties have been taken in making Charmander and Cyndaquil adhere to the zodiac theory before the reveal of Fuecoco, no Fire-type starter Pokemon has strayed too far from what has been proposed. Each generation’s starter has had an inspiration that can be compared to one of the different characters in the Chinese zodiac with relative ease. This has been consistent since Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire’s Torchic evolutionary line, which fit the rooster incredibly well. The following games for Gen 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 all required minimal explanation for how their Fire-type starters matched with a corresponding character in the Chinese zodiac. The monkey, pig, dog, tiger, and rabbit motifs in each of their starters are rather on the nose and helped to further solidify Pokemon’s series-long tradition involving the zodiac characters.
Fuecoco, on the other hand, is a major break away from this, and the Pokemon’s design and description have left fans with the assumption that the new Pokemon won’t be able to fit into the zodiac theory. Even as fans of Pokemon continue to try and figure out what food Fuecoco is based on, it seems pretty clear to many that the Pokemon won’t be able to fill the remaining zodiac spots left regardless of if it’s a hot pepper, cocoa pod, or even another apple Pokemon as some have suggested. The chance for Fuecoco to evolve from the Fire Croc Pokemon to being a Fire-type snake, ox, horse, or goat Pokemon seems minimal at best given these circumstances. This makes Fuecoco’s design a major change for Pokemon and could signify that the franchise is indeed breaking away from the zodiac pattern that it has seemingly used for over 25 years.
Past Pokemon designs that use crocodiles and alligators as inspiration further support the idea that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet’s Fuecoco is breaking away from the Fire-type zodiac theory that fans have come to accept. Based on how the evolutions for both Sandile and Totodile have played out, it doesn’t seem likely that Fuecoco will ultimately evolve into a Pokemon who reflects one of the four remaining Chinese zodiac characters. Both Sandile and Totodile have kept their strong crocodilian design through to their final evolutions, suggesting that Fuecoco will most likely do the same thing. However, since Pokemon Scarlet and Violet could signal a return to form, there’s still the possibility of Fuecoco filling a missing zodiac position.
This could come in the form of a snake, or by extension a legless lizard. Because the zodiac theory has been lenient in the past, Fuecoco does still have a chance to fall within its parameters. Previous Pokemon like Snivy have evolved into limbless Pokemon, and there are quite a few classifications of limbless reptiles that Fuecoco could emulate to fill the position of the snake. Given what the Gen 9 starters could be based on, the chances of Fuecoco doing this look slim, and it’s more likely that the Pokemon is indeed a clean break from the Fire-type Pokemon zodiac theory that many fans have accepted.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are set for release in 2022 on Nintendo Switch.