Pokemon Scarlet and Violet speculation: Who Iono's partner might be at Levincia Gym

Earlier this week, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet teased a new gym leader - Levincia’s Iono. A livestreamer and influencer, she is also the Electric-type gym leader in the upcoming game for the Nintendo Switch.

As a part of her teaser video, she asked the community a familiar question: Who’s that Pokemon? She gave the barest hints about who her partner would be in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, leading to an interesting mystery.

While the answer will be revealed on October 14, 2022, I’m going to look at the few facts we have in front of us, and consider who the Pokemon is going to be. Is it something new, or perhaps an unseen evolution? There’s a lot to consider.

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Who’s that Pokemon? Speculating on Pokemon Scarlet and Violet’s Electric-type Gym Leader

The best thing to start with is to ask what information we have for this Pokemon Scarlet and Violet speculation. As it turns out, there's surprisingly little. In the video in question, Iono gave a few hints, based on “questions” that were asked of her.

Iono’s hints

• What’s it feel like? “Squishy-squishy-squishy!”
• Is it Magnemite? “Nope, these things on my head are fancy-shmancy hair clips!”
• Is it fast or slow? “People think it’s a li’l sluggish with an easygoin’ vibe.”
• What’s it look like? “It’s got two big ol’ bumps on its noggin’ that people always mistake for eyes.”
• What type is it? “ELECTRIC, of course!”

There are only a few things that are 100% certain. It is some flavor of Electric type, though it could have a sub-type. It’s also not a Magnemite, according to Iono herself. We should, for the sake of speculation, take her words as true.

So, could it be some new evolution or alternate form of Magnemite? Nope, that’s highly unlikely. Even if she didn’t state “It’s not Magnemite," it is a Steel-type, and definitely not “squishy." It’s not impossible to have an alternate form of the Pokemon that isn’t made of metal, but I’m not counting on that.

I’ve heard some chatter that it could be Chinchou, but it doesn’t feature “bumps on its noggin that people always mistake for eyes,” unless we’ve been looking at the Pokemon’s art wrong this entire time.

In my estimation, the most likely candidate is either Pawmi, or perhaps an evolution form. It’s entirely likely we get a Paldean form of the Pokemon that looks slightly different, to make up for that lack of “big ol’ bumps.” The creature does have circles on its cheeks, but they’re below the eyes.

It does, however, fit the majority of the criteria. It’s squishy, it’s cute, it’s an Electric-type, and it looks like it’s a pretty easy-going Pokemon. There is a lot of speculation that there’s an evolved form of the adorable creature coming in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, as well.

Pawmi was Generation 9’s Pikachu-type creature anyway, so it wouldn’t be a far stretch to see it receive some further love in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. Of course, all of this is speculation, and official details will be announced once tomorrow’s video goes live.

One final thought, this could all just be a way to reveal a new Pokemon that we’ve never seen. It’s entirely possible that fans would be frustrated with watching two videos just to see a Pocket Monster they already know about.

Fans won’t have to wait long, though. On October 14, 2022, at 6 am PDT/9 am EST, the Pokemon will be revealed once and for all!