Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's latest trailer revealed a new pocket monster coming with Gen 9 in the form of Greavard, a cute Ghost-type pup with a sinister spin in its Pokedex entry that states how it inadvertently absorbs the life force out of those who play with it. Greavard's reveal trailer is shot as a found-footage meets livestream hybrid, and the unnamed character who finds the Pokemon in the wild is seemingly there on behalf of Naranja Academy. Naranja Academy and Uva Academy are the version-exclusive schools in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, and the fact that it was specifically someone from Naranja Academy to find the critter makes it look like it could be exclusive to one version of the game.
The playing character in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet wears clothes that match the color of their respective schools by default, with Naranja Academy having orange bits and details. The follow-up trailer for Greavard shows in-game shots with the new Ghost-type Pokemon, and the main character is shown exclusively wearing Naranja Academy's default uniform, which gives credit to the theory that this creature is indeed a version exclusive for Pokemon Scarlet. Because the official website for Gen 9 games doesn't specify whether this is the case, and because some leaks disclosed another evolution line of Dark-type dogs that could instead be exclusive to Pokemon Violet, this could reignite the debate surrounding version differences.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Greavard Could be a Version-Exclusive in Disguise
Despite the fact that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are just 24 days away from launch, The Pokemon Company has been consistently silent about the version-exclusive critters in Gen 9, with the only official mentions being Armarouge and Ceruledge. According to the leaks and then to the official Gen 9 website, Armarouge and Ceruledge will be exclusive to Pokemon Scarlet and Violet respectively, but they will share the same base form that can be found in both games.
Furhter version differences in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet come from the box Legendaries being obtainable in their respective games, and then from Stonjourner and the Larvitar line being exclusive to Pokemon Scarlet, whereas Eiscue and the Bagon line are exclusive to Violet. The Pokemon franchise has a long history of version-exclusive critters, and it's hard to believe that these are all the differences out there in Gen 9 games, especially when one considers the so-called Paradox Pokemon. Paradox Pokemon are allegedly different versions of existing critters that have unique features, Abilities, and type combinations, and there should be several of them that only come in each version of the game.
As such, not revealing beforehand the main differences and exclusive critters for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is far from ideal, especially considering that pre-orders have been available for months now. Greavard being an exclusive for Pokemon Scarlet would make sense, at this point, but it should be clearly stated to allow Pokemon fans who are still on the fence about which version to pick to make an informed choice. In the case of Armarouge and Ceruledge, the official Gen 9 website does state that they are only found in different versions of the game.
The reason why Greavard's page doesn't specify this information yet could be that the Dark-type dog Pokemon talked about by leakers has yet to be revealed, for example. There's also a chance Greavard won't be a version-exclusive pocket monster at all, but in that case, fans are still left wondering which critters might be in one game and which in the other. At three weeks from launch, this is quite problematic. Overall, Greavard's addition to Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is most likely something that fans will be looking forward to, but it could spark controversies if it ends up being a version-exclusive without being announced as one.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet release on November 18 for Nintendo Switch.