Pokemon Scarlet and Violet’s New Dipplin Should Have Embraced a Gen 9 Gimmick

As part of the upcoming DLC for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, Game Freak is introducing two new evolutions — Dipplin and Archaludon — though Applin’s evolution could have instead helped expand Gen 9’s underdeveloped gimmick of regional fakes. Though they were met with a mixed reception among players, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet‘s twist on regional forms was potentially underserved by the small number of Pokemon it included. Just as there were only a handful of Paldean forms added in Gen 9, the new gimmick of regional fakes only included four Pokemon from the Diglett and Tentacool lines respectively.