Pokemon Scarlet and Violet send players on three major adventures across the open-world Paldea region. "Victory Road" chronicles a typical journey to collect eight Gym Badges, "Starfall Street" tackles the antics of delinquent Team Star members, and "Path of Legends" sees the protagonist gather legendary herbs by defeating Titan Pokemon alongside Arven. However, Arven's powerful story carries further into Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's endgame as the player delves into Area Zero to discover the origins of Paradox Pokemon appearing from the past (Scarlet) or future (Violet).
Many memorable Paradox forms for popular monsters were introduced, well beyond Great Tusk and Iron Treads as the baseline past and future variants of Gen 2's Donphan. Some have even proven to be powerhouses in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's VCG scene, with Scream Tail winning a regional championship last February despite its modern equivalent Jigglypuff not having much use outside Super Smash Bros. This isn't the first time Game Freak has introduced powerful monsters from the distant past, but despite being thematically similar, it's unlikely Primal Groudon and Kyogre will rear their heads in Scarlet and Violet without a varied presentation.
Primal Reversion in Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire
Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire set many standards for the wider franchise, including its box art Legendaries being integral to the plot as Team Magma and Aqua attempted to use Groudon to expand the land or Kyogre to expand the seas, respectively. The 3DS remakes Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire added even more depth to these monsters by leaning into their ancient origins. Generation 6 was renown for its Mega Evolution battle mechanic, but Groudon and Kyogre received a special variant of the idea called Primal Reversion.
By holding the Red or Blue Orb, respectively, Groudon or Kyogre took on Primal forms when entering battle. Not only did they physically transform into more vicious counterparts covered with glowing spots, they also received more powerful variants of their weather-setting Abilities and 100 extra base stats. Unlike Rayquaza, which got a Mega form through the use of the move Dragon Ascent, Primal Groudon and Kyogre are considered the "true" forms of these ancient Legendary Pokemon from when they had more of nature's energy.
Both Primal Reversions were incredibly powerful, meta-defining Pokemon in Generation 6 and 7, especially alongside Legendaries such as Xerneas and the Z-Move mechanic. However, Pokemon Sword and Shield removed both Megas and Z-Moves in favor of the Dynamax gimmick. Groudon and Kyogre were also unavailable in the Galar region until the Crown Tundra DLC expansion reintroduced Legendaries through the Dynamax Adventure feature. As of this writing, Hoenn's super-ancient Pokemon are still unavailable in Scarlet and Violet.
Primal Groudon and Kyogre May Still Have a Place in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet
Primal Reversion and Paradox forms seem to be in a similar vein, at least going with past Paradox monsters from Pokemon Scarlet version. However, bringing back Primal Groudon and Kyogre (even in Scarlet and Violet's two-part Hidden Treasure of Area Zero DLC) seems unlikely for the same reason they weren't in Sword and Shield: the rest of the Megas would have to follow. If anything, fans may get Paradox Groudon or Kyogre through a special raid akin to Walking Wake - perhaps directly alluding to the Primal form like how Roaring Moon has elements of Mega Salamence.
One could also consider Primal Dialga in the conversation, it being a variant of the Gen 4 box Legendary from the spin-off Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky, which predates Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. It seems more unlikely for Game Freak to canonize this material in the mainline series, but technically Pokemon Legends: Arceus also introduced ancient "true" forms of Dialga and Palkia that could make the transition onto another Switch game. Whether Hoenn's Primal or Sinnoh's Origin transformations make it into Pokemon Scarlet and Violet remains to be seen, but Legendary Tera Raids certainly set a precedent for them to follow.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are available now for Nintendo Switch.