Summary
Pokemon Scarlet and Violetbroke the mold of the classic formula and storytelling of past games in the franchise, and they did so with great new ideas that should carry over to Gen 10 and beyond - something the DLC expansions are also expected to do. From the tradition-shattering role of Professor Sada and Turo inPokemon Scarlet and Violetto Gen 9 games completely doing away with the concept of tall grass as all past mainline games knew it, there’s a lot riding on the next titles' shoulders even before they’re announced. Recently, a new trailer for the first DLC, The Teal Mask, revealed that players will be able to catch a critter called Poltchageist - whose leaked evolution is a huge missed opportunity.
One of the more lukewarm additions to Gen 9 games was the new take on regional forms with the so-called regional fake Pokemon, which are essentially entirely new creatures that share similar names and appearances with other existing pocket monsters. The only ones in the base games werePokemon Scarlet and Violet’s Toedscooland Wiglett, respectively inspired by the Tentacool and Diglett lines. Although there were only two of these species, Poltchageist was set to be quite revolutionary in many ways, but its leaked evolution doesn’t deliver as much.
RELATED:Pokemon Scarlet and Violet DLC Gives One Type Special Attention Like the Base Games
Poltchageist’s Leaked Evolution Sinistcha Missed a Big Opportunity in The Teal Mask
Leaks surrounding Poltchageist have been circulating for a while now, with rumors about an ediblePokemon Scarlet and Violetregional fakestarted by renownedPokemoninsider Riddler Khu. These rumors were initially concerning a set of four Pokemon that were supposedly gaining the Grass type in exchange for their Ghost or Poison types, with the involved critters being Weezing, Swalot, Drifblim, and Spiritomb. Khu asked fans if they thought any of these four would be the actual regional fake, but eventually hinted at it being Sinistea with a matcha tea theme.
This is exactly what fans got with Poltchageist when it was revealed. However,Poltchageist inPokemon Scarlet and Violetbroke three regional fake rulesthat were inferred by taking a look at Toedscool and Wiglett. In fact, both of these critters kept similar names to their original counterparts and not only didn’t keep their original types but gained new ones that were on the opposite side of the spectrum - Ground/Grass in place of Water/Poison and Water in place of Ground, respectively. As such, when Poltchageist was revealed to be Grass/Ghost and also to be a Sinistea regional fake, it broke the mold.
Pokemon’s The Teal Mask leaked evolution for Poltchageistis called Sinistcha, and it basically inverted the name of the original Pokemon, with it still being Grass and Ghost. Given that Poltchageist could have easily been seen as a critter combining both Sinistea and Polteageist into one Pokemon, its evolution could have instead been based on a different creature altogether, merging multiple ideas. For example, several fans started imagining Poltchageist’s evolution as a Spiritomb regional fake tied to matcha tea, which was an interesting concept because it would have turned what little players knew about the Gen 9 gimmick on its head.
This doesn’t mean that future regional fakes, assuming they will still be a thing in Gen 10 and other games, such asaPokemon Legendssequel, couldn’t operate under different rules once more. There are plenty of options for Game Freak to make new Pokemon inspired by existing lines, and crossing them with one another could not only prove refreshing compared to regional fakes like Toedscool and Wiglett, but it could pave the way for even more gimmicks in the franchise. For example, this could also lead to the popular community-made concept of Pokemon fusions, and the sky would be the limit.
Pokemon ScarletandVioletare available now for the Nintendo Switch.
MORE:Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Indigo Disk DLC Breaks a Massive Starter Tradition
