It appears that Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet will have version-exclusive “unidentified creatures” that appear to be rare, legendary-esque monsters based off of existing Pokémon.
During the games’ November 8 trailer, fans caught glimpses of two unannounced Pokémon in the forms of both in-game footage and as sketches in some kind of book. A new entry on the Pokémon Company’s press site however has clarified that these are two ancient monsters that were documented many years ago by explorers, with one being written about in the Scarlet Book and the other in the Violet Book. This appears to suggest that each one will be version exclusive.
What’s intriguing is that both of these Pokémon appear to be based off of Generation 2’s Donphan. The beast in the Scarlet Book, which The Pokémon Company currently names Great Tusk, seems to be an enormous, prehistoric-looking version of Donphan, with its tusks being its huge tusks its focal point. The other in the Violet Book, currently known as Iron Treads, plays off of Donphan’s ability to curl itself up and roll with its tire-like trunk.
Their typings are currently unknown, but any combination of Rock, Ground, and Steel is highly-likely given their designs.
It seems as if Great Tusk and Iron Treads are not simply evolutions of Donphan, and it also sounds like there will be more ancient monsters like them to be found in Scarlet and Violet.
“Photographs and sketches of unidentified creatures fill the pages of both books,” The Pokémon Company says. Whether the rest of these creatures are also based off of existing Pokémon is currently unclear.
We’ve already seen that in one of the games’ three story branches, you will hunt down Titan Pokémon, which are larger versions of standard ‘mons such as Klawf. We’ve also seen two sets of version-exclusive Pokémon that are both deemed to be legendaries – Miraidon and Koraidon from the box arts, and Ceruledge and Armarogue. Now it seems as if there are even more legendary-esque Pokémon to discover in the Paldea region.
For more new additions to Paldea, check out our guide to the new Pokémon in Scarlet and Violet.