Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Leak Claims Popular Pokemon Legends: Arceus Mechanics Are Coming Back

A new Pokemon Scarlet and Violet "leak" claims that several popular features from Pokemon Legends: Arceus will return for the next game. The Twitter account Centro Leaks, which typically aggregates Pokemon rumors, claims to have a new source with information about the upcoming Pokemon Scarlet and Violet games. Notably, Centro's source claims that Mass Outbreaks and Alpha Pokemon will both return in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, as will size variations between Pokemon of the same size. 

All three of these features first appeared in Pokemon Legends: Arceus as part of that game's unique approach to capturing Pokemon. Alpha Pokemon were larger Pokemon with heightened stats that typically were of a higher level than other Pokemon in that area. They were much more aggressive than typical Wild Pokemon and would have red eyes when they appeared in the wild. Centro claims that a similar mechanic will appear in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, although they won't be called Alpha Pokemon. 
Mass Outbreaks were random occurrences when a group of Pokemon of the same species would appear in the wild. Mass Outbreaks notably had better Shiny odds than the usual wild encounters, which meant that players often targeted Mass Outbreaks to bolster their Shiny collection. 

It's unclear how Alpha Pokemon and Mass Outbreaks will work in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. Both mechanics made sense in Pokemon Legends: Arceus as players could attempt to catch an Alpha Pokemon without engaging them in battle and Mass Outbreaks could be cleared in a matter of minutes using stealth and items without entering combat once. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is bringing back the traditional catch and encounter mechanics, so a Mass Outbreak might be a much more tedious. 

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet will be the first truly open-world Pokemon games and the first Pokemon games to offer a truly multiplayer experience outside of battling and catching Pokemon. Nintendo has been tight-lipped about the new games, so it's hard to say whether these leaks are accurate or not. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet will be released on November 18th.