Some leaks were right on the money and managed to accurately reveal the red croc’s evolutions. Scarlet and Violet are out, but there are still leaks surrounding the games, this time concerning their DLC. Although nothing official has been announced yet, some sources claim to have found clues that the upcoming Scarlet and Violet DLC will bring more Pokemon to Paldea and give players more to do.
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The Fake Fuecoco Evolution Leaks
As is the case with every Pokemon release, the lead-up to Pokemon Scarlet and Violet had the internet buzzing with leaks and rumors. Some of them conflicted with each other, so not all of them could be true. With this generation, gamers got a glimpse of the starter Pokemon quite early on, which gave gamers tons of time to speculate about what the evolutions might look like. Soon enough, leaks started cropping up from sources with varying degrees of reliability.
The most prevailing leak of Fuecoco’s final evolution that turned out to be false features the crocodile in a bipedal stance. It is quite chubby, with scales on its back that look like wings. It also retains the same cuteness that Fuecoco has. Although having such a cute final evolution for a starter would be a bit strange, the image is so high quality that when the leak made its rounds in places like Twitter and Reddit, it was believed by many. However, the leak was very far off from Fuecoco’s real final evolution. In reality, Skeledirge is a quadrupedal Fire/Ghost Pokemon that one wouldn’t easily describe as cute. It has white and red scales, with flames leaking out of its long crocodile jaw.
The Leaks That Got Skeledirge Right
Despite the fake leaks, there were a few sources that managed to get it correct. This includes the leakers Blaines and Riddler Khu who claimed that the middle evolution would feature the croc with a nest on its head, and it would have a bird on its head with its final evolution. Sure enough, Fuecoco’s middle evolution, Crocalor, has a nest of fire on its head, and Skeledirge has a little flame bird on the tip of its nose.
Riddler Khu also hinted that it would be the singing Pokemon, which proved to be true, as Skeledirge learns the move Torch Song, which makes it stand on two legs and launch the bird on its nose toward the enemy. Just before the release of Scarlet and Violet, images leaked of Fuecoco’s evolutions. They appeared somewhat genuine, as they showed up on the Switch screen, which suggested that someone had gotten their copy early. These images turned out to be true, although the leaker shied away from the limelight.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet’s launch has been a rocky one. They are currently the lowest-rated mainline entries on Metacritic, and some fans have been asking for refunds on Pokemon Scarlet and Violet due to the numerous performance issues. Despite this, the games are one of the bestselling titles in the series, signaling a bright future for Pokemon as well as its embrace of a fully open-world format. If Game Freak can learn from what Pokemon Legends: Arceus, Scarlet, and Violet got right while fixing the performance issues, the next entry could be one of the best.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are available on Nintendo Switch.
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