The October Pokémon Scarlet and Violet update trailer has revealed that many of the Generation 9 leaks that appeared online months ago were actually real. Following the first Pokémon Scarlet and Violet gameplay trailer in June, a flood of Gen 9 leaks were posted on social media that supposedly spoiled major details about the Paldea Region RPGs. While many fans were skeptical about the rumors, an official Game Freak update has proven that the leaked information was true.
In July, a massive trove of alleged Pokémon Scarlet and Violet leaks began to appear online. The information originated from a mysterious leaker who started posting detailed information about the Paldea region games all throughout September. The Pokémon community was stunned when the latest Pokémon Scarlet and Violet trailer confirmed that the leaker was actually legitimate all along. Below is a list of every Gen 9 Leak that’s come true so far.
Scarlet & Violet’s Ridable Legendary Pokémon Koraidon & Miraidon
The first leak appeared in May when infamous Pokémon leaker Riddler Khu posted a tease about Scarlet and Violet Legendary Pokémon Koraidon & Miraidon. The popular riddle account revealed that Gen 9 would feature two Dragon Pokémon as the region’s Legendaries. The leak also stated that Scarlet and Violet box mascots would be ridable mounts that players are given early in the story and that they could transform into five traversal forms. The information was confirmed a few weeks later when Game Freak released the game’s first official gameplay trailer at the beginning of June. In future updates, both Koraidon and Miraidon can be seen flying, swimming, and climbing mountains.
Leaked Screenshots of Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Gym Leaders
In July, the Pokémon community was rocked when a mysterious leaker named Kaka appeared out of nowhere and posted alleged screenshots of the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Gym Leaders. After the user deleted their account, Centro LEAKS re-uploaded the collage of photos on Twitter. While many fans were highly skeptical of the blurry images at the time, the August Pokémon Presents confirmed that the pictures were in fact real after the video featured Glaseado Gym Leader Grusha. A third trailer further confirmed the leaked images, as Artazon Gym Leader Brassius could be spotted in the story campaign video that was posted in September. The mysterious leak account even unveiled one of the game’s rivals Penny a month before her debut.
New Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Girafarig Evolutiont Farigiraf
Following the surprising Gym Leaders leak in July, the same mysterious leaker returned to post additional details about Pokémon Scarlet and Violet‘s features. In a tweet re-uploaded by YouTuber realblaines, the insider posted a screenshot of a new regional form of Johto Pyshic-type Girafarig. The bizarre design was later confirmed to be Pokémon Scarlet and Violet‘s Farigiraf in a fourth trailer that Game Freak released on October 6. The official unveiling of Farigiraf shocked many fans, who realized that the Pokémon was leaked over three months ago. The Gen 9 evolution also confirmed that every leak that had been posted by the Kaka account was actually real. The leaker also claimed that Scarlet and Violet have a handful of evolutions that are like Farigiraf, where the variant are slight tweaks on classic Pokémon designs except backward. The insider described them as “regional fakes”, and called them “meme” Pokémon due to their hilarious look.
Paldea Region’s Name
Another leak from July was the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Paldea Region name. According to the leaker who was re-posted by Centro LEAKS, the new games would take place in a region called Paldea which is a mixture of Pokémon and the Spanish word for village, Aldea. Compared to past titles, Game Freak delayed the reveal of the Gen 9’s regional name for seven months. In comparison, players knew about Sword and Shield‘s Galar region in February 2019. So for many fans, this was the first time they had a name for the location of Scarlet and Violet. Nintendo eventually confirmed the leak was accurate during the August Pokémon Presents which was titled “Welcome to Paldea”.
Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Terastal Battle Mechanic
One of the biggest features to leak early on from Gen 9, was the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Terastal mechanic. In July, the Kaka insider account posted a leaked screenshot of a new Pokémon that appeared to be in a crystal-like state. In a series of tweets reported on by Centro LEAKS the account explained: “The crystallization seems to be the main gimmick of the region. All Pokémon can use it, and most NPCs use it in-game. It’s activated by a new ball-like item.” The massive leak was proven true during the Gen 9 August update when Game Freak unveiled the new Paldea Region battle gimmick called the “Terastal Phenomenon.” Just like the leak had stated a month earlier, the new battle feature is activated by a ball called a “Tera Orb”. The mysterious insider also provided additional details on how the feature worked, which was featured in the Pokémon Presents trailer.
New Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Regional Form Types With Wiglett Leak
Although Pokémon Scarlet and Violet‘s Wiglett was recently unveiled on September 29, it was also another Gen 9 character that was leaked months ago. As a part of the massive July leaks, the same insider had claimed that Scarlet and Violet would feature a new series of Pokémon clones. The leak claimed that the new variant was based on “convergent evolutions”, and featured new Pokémon evolutions that looked similar to other Pokémon lines. In an example re-uploaded by Centro LEAKS, the leaker described a new Water-type eel Pokémon that behaves and looks identical to Diglett. The bizarre description was eventually proven to be true when Nintendo uploaded a trailer in September revealing the debut of Diglett clone Wiglett.
Gen 9 Version Exclusives Armarouge & Ceruledge
Just like Farigiraf and Wiglett, the Gen 9 leaker had also released early details of Scarlet and Violet Pokémon Armarouge & Ceruledge. In an August tweet, the Kaka insider revealed details about two new Pokémon which are a fire blade and a fire warrior. In a quote re-tweeted by Centro LEAKS, the account explained that the two characters were actually a dual-split evolution line that would be exclusive to each version of the Gen 9 RPGs. The leak was proven accurate during a September trailer that ended with the announcement of Armarouge & Ceruledge. Just like the leak had described, Armarouge is a Scarlet-exclusive character that is called the “Fire Warrior Pokémon”, while Ceruledge is a “Fire Blade Pokémon” that can only be found in Pokémon Violet.
Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Picnic Breeding Feature
In October, Game Freak revealed that the new Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Picnic feature would be replacing the series’ long-running breeding mechanic. While a massive announcement, the surprising gameplay change was another feature that was leaked months earlier. In an August social media post covered by Centro LEAKS, the Gen 9 leaker claimed that Pokémon Eggs would now be created in a picnic basket that is used during the game’s new camping feature. While there is still a lot we don’t know about the breeding mechanic, the leaker claimed that Scarlet and Violet would be incorporating Pokémon GO‘s Egg Incubators into the Gen 9 system.
New Gen 9 Pokémon Making Their Debut In Scarlet & Violet
Tucked away in the massive trove of leaks in July, was also the description of several new Pokémon that would be making their debut in Gen 9. In a post re-uploaded by Centro LEAKS, Kaka had tweeted that Scarlet and Violet would feature a “2-stage salt Pokémon” as well as a “single-stage Parakeet”. In the official October update trailer, eagle-eyed fans noticed that the Pokémon described in the leak actually showed up in the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Minimap that was shown off briefly. For a split second, the game’s radar features an avatar of a Parakeet and a Rock-salt-looking Pokémon that are nearby on the map. While it seems that the new Pokémon were not meant to be revealed by Nintendo, it was another example of how the leaks in July were actually accurate this entire time.
Ed Sheeran’s Celestial Song Included In Pokémon Scarlet & Violet
Another interesting thing to leak back in August was Ed Sheeran’s “Celestial” song which eventually made its debut in October. According to a tweet by Centro LEAKS the infamous Gen 9 leaker claimed that Ed Sheeran had created something for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, and called it a “big surprise”. Following the premiere of the Celestial music video, Pokemon leaker Riddler Khu revealed that the new single would actually be played during the game’s final chapter. Interestingly, both Riddler and Kaka have said that people “cried” while playing the Gen 9’s ending due to it being emotional. So it appears that the Celestial song will play a big part in the game’s finale.
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Lets Go Battle Feature
The new Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Let’s Go battle feature was initially teased by the leaker in July as well. However, in August, Centro LEAKS clarified that the Gen 9 insider had described the feature as being a “non-battle battle”. A few weeks later the leaked battle system was officially revealed in a September update that announced the Let’s Go battle mechanic in Scarlet and Violet. Just like the leak, Game Freak confirmed that the new system was “automatic” battles that allow players to let their Pokémon explore the map and complete encounters on their own.
The Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Pokédex
While many new Gen 9 Pokémon have been leaked over the past six months, players were surprised when it appeared that the entire game’s Pokédex had been revealed early on social media in October. After leaked details of the game’s roster were uploaded online, Twitter user palkiaorigin created a mockup of the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Pokédex that was confirmed by Riddler Khu as being 99% accurate. The infamous leaker then confirmed that the Paldea Pokédex will have 400 total Pokémon at launch, including over 40 Pokémon that can only be obtained from a transfer from Pokémon HOME. While the entire Pokédex hasn’t been officially confirmed yet, large portions of it have been spot on. And given that the leaks have all been proven true, it seems that players can expect this to be the final roster when Scarlet and Violet launches in November.
The elusive Gen 9 insider has actually leaked many more details that were eventually proven true, such as the reveal of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Paldean Wooper regional variant. With everything being completely accurate, it looks like the upcoming RPGs have many more features that have not been confirmed yet such as the new Paradox Pokémon form. The Paldea Region feature was leaked in August and is described as a unique variant type that transforms popular Pokémon into Past and Future forms. If true, it’s only a matter of time before Game Freak finally unveils many of the additional features that were mentioned that have been leaked online for months.
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Sources: Riddler Khu/Gen 9 Legendary Pokémon, Centro LEAKS/Gym Leaders, realblaines/Farigiraf, Centro LEAKS/Paldea Region, Centro LEAKS/Terastal Battle Mechanic, Centro LEAKS/Wiglett Evolution, Centro LEAKS/Armarouge & Ceruledge, Centro LEAKS/Picnic Breeding System, Centro LEAKS/Gen 9 Pokémon, Centro LEAKS/Ed Sheeran, Centro LEAKS/Let’s Go Mechanic, palkiaorigin/Paldea Pokédex.