There have been multiple leaks circulating around the web ever since Pokemon Scarlet and Violet’s initial announcement, and while many of them have turned out to be fake, there is one seemingly reliable source: Riddler Khu. Khu has been leaking Pokemon-related information for a while, and basically covered the entire Hisuian Pokedex way before Pokemon Legends: Arceus was revealed. Today, Khu shared several tweets about Pokemon Scarlet and Violet’s Gym Leaders and Elite Four members, talking about the types they will specialize in. Unfortunately, if these rumors turn out to be true, Gen 9’s Elite Four might not break the curse of some typings that have been missing since the start.
RELATED: Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Leaks Establish Link Between Starters and Major Spanish Myths
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Might Not Address Missing Elite Four Types
Mainline Pokemon games span eight generations of now, with Pokemon Scarlet and Violet being the beginning of Generation 9, and most of the games have featured Elite Four members that players could fight before tackling the Champion. This has been a staple of all mainline Pokemon games with the exception of Pokemon Sword and Shield, which instead brought Gym Leaders and rivals back into the fray for a bracket tournament.
Because Riddler Khu stated that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet’s Elite Four members will all specialize in Pokemon types that were already given to Elite Four members from past games, it would mean that a long-standing trend won’t be broken in Generation 9. Across all mainline Pokemon games thus far, no Elite Four member has ever specialized in one of three missing types: Normal, Grass, or Electric.
There are 18 different Pokemon types as of Generation 8, and Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are unlikely to feature a new one. Among those 18 types, past Pokemon games have had Elite Four members who specialized in 15 of them, but so far Normal, Grass, and Electric-type critters have been left out of the equation. These typings do appear for Gym Leaders like Norman from Gen 3, Erika from Gen 1, and Elesa from Gen 5. Still, they’re absent in the Elite Fours of all regions despite several types being featured multiple times across different generations. The most repeated types are Ghost and Fighting, which appeared as Elite Four specialties four times each.
The fact that Normal, Grass, and Electric-type Pokemon won’t be featured in Elite Four battles doesn’t mean that they won’t return at least as Gym Leaders. Still, it’s odd that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet might not break this 26-year-old trend, meaning Generation 10 will likely have to address at least one or two of these types as Elite Four members to compensate - even though those games are probably four years away at least. Ultimately, trainer diversity in Pokemon games is an important part of the experience, and it would be nice to see Pokemon Scarlet and Violet do better in that regard.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet release for Nintendo Switch on November 18, 2022.
MORE: Pokemon Leaker Teases Scarlet and Violet’s New Systems and Gimmicks
