Pokemon Scarlet and Violet were announced on Pokemon Day, all the way back in February of this year, and ever since there have only been five trailers for the upcoming Gen 9 games. This is a quite low number of trailers for a set of mainline games that are going to be released in just a little over two months from now, but it becomes all the more worrisome when one factors in how many new Pokemon have been revealed thus far. Two months from launch, Game Freak has only showcased 15 new Pokemon Scarlet and Violet critters, with the leaked Paldean Pokedex allegedly including 105 new Pokemon total.
More importantly, with the lack of information about which Pokemon are included in Gen 9, Game Freak is underserving Pokemon Scarlet and Violet fans who want to build their teams beforehand. Version-exclusive Pokemon are also mostly left out of the equation despite Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's pre-orders being open for a long time now, which means that many fans won't be able to make an informed decision about which game to pick. And yet, one of the most interesting concepts from Gen 9 seems to be that of Paradox Pokemon, as leakers have called them, but this is something that has yet to be officially revealed.
Why Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Paradox Pokemon Should be Revealed Now
Paradox Pokemon are seemingly creatures that shouldn't normally exist in the region of Paldea, but for some reason they do, and they are divided into two main clusters, each making for a subset of version-exclusives for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. These Pokemon are also making up for quite a bit of the number of new pocket monsters, with a total of 16 Paradox Pokemon available on release, divided into two groups of eight each. Because Paradox Pokemon delve even more into the existing themes of past and future for Gen 9, they should have been revealed already.
This is not only because they make for a huge chunk of version-exclusive critters in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, but they also fit into the plot of the games, considering what has been showcased so far. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Legendaries might be Paradox Pokemon themselves, according to some leaks, and their presence in the game should have been introduced with this concept as a whole. However, five trailers in, Game Freak has been very silent about this new feature and how it might play out in Gen 9 games.
Based on the leaks, Paradox Pokemon are more of an endgame feature than something that players can look forward to in their early playthrough, but they are very interesting nonetheless. This is because Paradox Pokemon are allegedly different forms of existing Pokemon that even have new type combinations, rather than being entirely new species, and this take is especially intriguing after the success of regional forms from Gen 7 onward. Paradox Pokemon's type combinations are also a compelling thing to discover, as leakers suggested that all of these pocket monsters have two types, even if their base forms only have one.
Because Paradox Pokemon could be such a driving force for the marketing team of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, they shouldn't be cards that Game Freak keeps close to the chest, but instead, they should be revealed sooner rather than later. Heading into October with no Paradox Pokemon officially revealed would be a huge missed opportunity for Game Freak, and also a disservice to the Pokemon fans who are eager to learn more about Gen 9. Outside of the leaks, the information currently available for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is still scarce, and officially disclosing details about Paradox Pokemon could change that.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are set to release on November 18, exclusively for Nintendo Switch.