Fan-Favorite Legendary Pokemon Are Missing From Scarlet and Violet

Fans should not expect the return of Gen 2 box art legendary pokemon in Scarlet and Violet. With the mainline titles months away from arrival, players and data miners alike have taken to gathering and amassing as much information about the upcoming Pokemon games as they can to form a comprehensive image of what they can expect from the ninth generation of Pokemon. This includes keeping an eye on the number of Pokemon included in the title, and what pokemon would be absent.

Players have learned to keep tabs on the dex count and roster of pokemon that is available in each pokemon title ever since the first official Dex cut back during Sword and Shield. The pain of losing the full Pokedex can be softened whenever new regional forms, evolutions, or original pokemon are announced. But it has nevertheless made players wary about their favorites being unavailable in new titles.

This has unfortunately proven to be the case for Ho-oh and Lugia in Scarlet and Violet, legendary pokemon who will be absent from the list of obtainable creatures. Both Ho-oh and Lugia have made a name for themselves as not only the master of legendary trios from the first and second generation of Pokemon but also Legendaries of renown due to their appearance in the anime adaption, each having their respective movies.

Their absence was confirmed by Centro Leaks, a Twitter account that’s been diligently leaking information regarding Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. No other information related to past Legendaries was offered, but there are likely many other Legendary pokemon that will not be present in Scarlet and Violet due to the Pokedex number being limited to around 400, which is less than half of the total amount of existing Pokemon in the franchise.

From a rational standpoint, it is much more likely for Legendary pokemon to get the ax first as opposed to pokemon of normal status due to financial reasons. Bringing back a legendary from older titles to the contemporary package diminishes the necessity of purchasing older titles to obtain its exclusive legendaries, and it also cuts off the prospect of such selling points as either DLC or something to pad up version differences. Such was the case with BDSP, where Lugia and Ho-oh were only obtainable in contrasting versions.

It is likely that the Trios under their charge, the Legendary Beasts and Birds would also prove unavailable in Scarlet and Violet considering their guardian’s absence. Players should still keep an eye on the list of leaks that are currently out for Scarlet and Violet if the selection of Pokemon affects their purchasing decision.

Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet are set to release on the 18th of November, exclusively on the Nintendo Switch.