Although Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are just 25 days away from launch, this generation's reveal cycle has been quite lacking compared to past entries in the series. A month from launch, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet have only revealed 19 Pokemon, including the three starters and the box Legendaries, and there is currently no indication whether new trailers will be released by the end of the month or in the first few days of November. The majority of news surrounding Gen 9 games actually comes from the myriad leaks and rumors that were shared by trustworthy sources over the months, such as Riddler Khu.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Pokedex allegedly contains 103 species in the base game, with many of them being Paradox Pokemon, a special subset of critters that seem to be tied to the overarching story of Gen 9. These, alongside the Legendary quartet of Chinese folklore-inspired monsters and both Koraidon and Miraidon, could be among the most powerful Pokemon in Gen 9 due to allegedly good Abilities and stats, but that's pretty much everything players know about them at the moment. However, there are also non-Legendary Pokemon from Pokemon Scarlet and Violet that seem to be overpowered to a degree, and it's worth taking a look at why this might be the case.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Strongest Pokemon Could be Non-Legendaries
One of the strongest critters in the entirety of Gen 9 seems to be the so-called "coin" Pokemon, a Paldean species that's Ghost and Steel type. This Pokemon apparently has a special requirement for its evolution, where players need to catch a huge number of specimens of the base form, combining the idea behind the souls required for Spiritomb or Zygarde's cells with Pokemon Legends: Arceus' approach to the Pokedex and completing tasks. However, it seems that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet already nerfed this overpowered Pokemon before launch, according to Riddler Khu.
Pawmi's evolution is also a good candidate for the most overpowered Pokemon in Gen 9, and that's because of the rumored signature move it will have, which only has 1 PP and allows players to revive a Pokemon in battle without using items. This alone could skyrocket Pawmi's evolution to one of the most broken pocket monsters in the history of the franchise because of how game-changing having an on-demand mid-fight revive actually is. On top of that, this Pokemon is allegedly going to be the first-ever Electric/Fighting hybrid, which is a very good combination both offensively and defensively.
Sprigatito's final evolution also seemingly has access to an undisclosed overpowered Hidden Ability. Sprigatito's Hidden Ability could be something that makes it very powerful in terms of utility, such as Shadow Tag or Prankster, an offensive Ability like Moxie or Adaptability, or a defensive tool like Magic Guard. Knowing that this Hidden Ability is going to be so strong from the same source that confirmed that other overpowered Abilities like Protean and Libero are getting nerfed makes Sprigatito an even better pick for endgame and competitive content.
Last but not least, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet seem to include a three-stage evolution line that wields a hammer and is Fairy and Steel in terms of typing. Fairy/Steel is a combo Zacian proved to be OP already in the past, and so did Mega Mawile in Gen 6 of competitive Pokemon, and having a non-Legendary pocket monster that evolves twice and has this type combination bodes very well for Gen 9. Furthermore, this Pokemon is allegedly the ace of one of the Elite Four members, meaning it's all the more likely to be quite powerful. Overall, Gen 9 seems to have a lot of mighty creatures that players could have on their teams, and that's a good sign.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet release on November 18, 2022, for Nintendo Switch.