Pokémon Scarlet and Violet introduced over 100 new Pokémon species, and the addition of these new creatures will of course draw comparisons to the older, iconic creatures from the series’ history. Paldea’s new batch of Pokémon is an eclectic group with great highs and tragic lows. If anything, the quality of the Pokémon reflects Scarlet and Violet's mixed reception.
Something that continues from Sword and Shield and Legends: Arceus is that old Pokémon are given some new evolutions, and these are the easiest to compare to their older counterparts. Kingambit, Bisharp’s unexpected evolution, is incredibly cool, but its hair chair is weird. Clodsire is a regional evolution for Wooper that is effectively just a brown Quagsire lying down, which is a fun enough design that works nicely. Some deserving, overlooked Pokémon finally received evolutions after a long wait. Farigiraf is just a bigger Girafarig wearing a hoodie, and fans have definitely made better designs, but it's fine enough, even though its lack of tail is a bit strange. Dunsparce deserved an evolution more than any new Pokémon, but Dudunsparce, its new evolution, is a disappointment.
Pokémon Scarlet & Violet’s Starters Are A Step Up
Without a doubt, the starters for Scarlet and Violet are a huge step up from Sword and Shield's trio. Having secondary types is of course always a huge help that allows the designs to be more versatile, but more than that, there’s a greater mix of designs. Skeledirge being quadrupedal is a break from the entirely bipedal trio from the previous gen's headliners. Quaquaval is essentially an aquatic Blaziken, imitating what makes that design stand out. Meowscarada might be the most popular starter from Scarlet and Violet, but its design is the weakest of the trio. Nonetheless, it’s thankfully much less anthropomorphic than the previous cat starter Pokémon, Incineroar.
Scarlet & Violet's New Pokémon Designs Are A Mixed Bag
The rest of Paldea's offerings are similarly solid. All the dog Pokémon are absolute highlights, especially Fidough and its evolution, Dachsbun. Kilowattrel is the first two-stage regional bird since Swellow, and strongly resembles its very cool predecessor. Pokémon Scarlet’s Paradox Pokémon from the past are mostly inventive and interesting, making them real standouts of the roster. Tinkatuff’s line is adorable with their increasingly large hammers and brutal Pokédex descriptions. Koraidon and Miraidon are both incredibly designed mascots for their respective games, keeping the tradition of the mascots being some of every generation’s strongest inclusions. Speculation was rife about whether the Scarlet and Violet mascots were the same Pokémon, but they're instead just similar-looking counterparts, like Reshiram and Zekrom or Zacian and Zamazenta. All in all, the highs of the generation provide some of the series’ best designs that stack up with some of the most popular creatures.
Unfortunately, Gen 9 doesn't have singularly successful new designs. Pokémon Violet’s futuristic Paradox Pokémon come from a SpongeBob-esque future where everything is chrome, with all of them just being metallic versions of existing Pokémon. Iron Valiant is the only unique design because it merges Gallade and Gardevoir, two popular Pokémon in their own right. Gimmighoul looks like Reddit’s Snoo and evolves into something resembling the Cheestrings mascot, both contributing to the argument that Pokémon designs are getting worse. Pawmi’s evolution line is particularly uninspired; Pawmi itself is the weakest Pikachu clone, and it evolves into Pawmo, a bipedal version of itself, before becoming just a slightly bigger Pawmo as Pawmot. The Pawmi line feels like a lazy Gen 1 line with the lack of differences between each form.
As recency bias fades, it will be interesting to see what the consensus is about how Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s new creatures stack up to the older designs. The highs may seem less impressive and the lows could become more endearing.
Source: Nintendo of America/YouTube