Pokemon scarlet and violet‘s Gen 9 starters have been unveiled and they include a cat, baby crocodile and duck. Do you have a favorite? I certainly do, and it’s not my usual type.
The surprise reveal of the next mainline games in the Pokemon Series comes just over two years ago sword and sign came out. While some people feel that’s too early, others are ready to dig in and start planning with whom to travel through the the Mediterranean-inspired coastal landscape from new games. For example, I’ll choose Fuecoco because he’s adorable and I’m also morally opposed to using non-vegetable Grass-type Pokemon or being seen with a duck Cosplay as Donald Duck.
Here’s the little hard info we currently have on the new launchers:
Sprigatito
Category: Grass Cat Pokémon
Height: 1′4″
Weight: 9 pounds.
Type: grass
Ability: Overgrown
The moody, attention-grabbing Grass Cat Pokémon.
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Fuecoco
Category: Fire Croc Pokémon
Height: 1′4″
Weight: 21.6 pounds.
Type: fire
Ability: Blaze
The laid-back Fire Croc Pokémon that gets things done at its own pace.
Quaxly
Category: Duckling Pokémon
Height: 1’8″
Weight: 13.4 pounds.
Type: water
Ability: Electricity
The serious and neat Duckling Pokémon.
What can we glean from these humble Pokédex entries? For one, Fuecoco is an absolute mini unit at almost twice the weight of the other two. “Capricious” and “attention-seeking” sounds about right for a cat-based Pokemon, although hopefully Sprigatito’s feline instincts will make it an unusually aggressive Grass-type. Meanwhile, Quaxly is “serious and neat.” Sounds like a cop to me.
We’re also looking at one ability for each starter, albeit fairly standard ones. Overgrow increases the power of Grass-type attacks, Blaze increases the power of fire attacks and torrent increases the power of water attacks. In Gen 8 this meant an attack bonus of 50 percent when Pokemon fell to a-third of their overall health.
As you might expect, the Pokemon fanart community already has a field day. All of the starters seem to be getting a lot of affection, although I get the impression Fuecoco is a slight favorite at the moment. In some ways it almost feels like Charmander 3.0. Hopefully it stays that lovable in all its evolutions.
Update: 2/28/2022 2:04 PM ET: Added information on Gen 9 starters’ known abilities.
