Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Leak Suggests Paldea Pokedex Has Less Than Half of Total Pokemon

gamerant.com:

Reputable Pokemon Scarlet and Violet leaker Riddler Khu has suggested that the upcoming games will feature less than half the total number of Pokemon. There was quite a bit of controversy surrounding Pokemon Sword and Shield when it came to light those games would not feature every previously-released Pokemon, and it seems that's going to be the norm for all main series Pokemon games moving forward.

It's been known for quite some time that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet would not have every Pokemon, but the question remains just how many Pokemon will be available to catch in the games. An official number has not been given by Game Freak, Nintendo, or The Pokemon Company, and so fans should keep that in mind. However, Riddler Khu has released a string of numbers that may give fans a general idea of how many Pokemon will be featured in the games.

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Again, fans should take this information with a grain of salt despite Riddler Khu's reliability, and they should also keep in mind that there's a chance the tweet is being misinterpreted. In any case, Riddler Khu has tweeted out 297 + 103 = 400, (and 40+) without explicitly saying what the numbers mean. Fans have read between the lines, and they've reached the conclusion that it likely means there will be 103 new Pokemon in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet at launch, 297 Pokemon returning from past games, and over 40 that will be obtained in some other method. It's possible this is referencing Pokemon that can be transferred to Pokemon Scarlet and Violet but don't actually exist in the Paldea region, or it could be Pokemon that are being reserved as DLC.

Assuming this interpretation is correct, it means that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet will launch with