Is new Pokémon Cyclizar related to Scarlet and Violet’s legendaries? Here’s the theory

The Pokémon Company revealed a new Pokémon, Cyclizar, during the 2022 Pokémon World Championship event on Sunday — and it looks suspiciously close the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s legendary Pokémon Koraidon and Miraidon.

Cyclizar is a mount Pokémon that can be ridden like a bike: “This Pokémon has lived in many Paldean households since ancient times,” The Pokémon Company tweeted Sunday. “It can sprint at over 70 mph while carrying a human rider.” Like the previously revealed ride-on Pokémon Koraidon and Miraidon, Cyclizar’s got a big ol’ wheel-like appendage protruding from its chest.

It sounds like Cyclizar is a Pokémon that all players will receive at the start, replacing bikes entirely. But the big question is, how is Cyclizar related to Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s legendary Pokémon? Is it related at all? The Pokémon Company hasn’t answered these questions itself, but there are some theories from the fan community and Pokémon leakers.

The big theory is that Koraidon and Miraidon are not evolutions of Cyclizar; instead, fans think they’re related to Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s past and future themes. We know that the games’ two professors, Professor Sada and Professor Turo, study the past and future and are tied to Scarlet and Violet, respectively. Koraidon has that more ancient look, and is paired with Scarlet and Sada, while Miraidon is futuristic like Turo in Violet.

Image: Game Freak/The Pokémon Company, Nintendo

Fans think that Cyclizar is the “normal” everyday Pokémon that sits in the middle. It’s not a rare legendary creature — lots of people have them. But fans expect Cyclizar to transform into either Koraidon and Miraidon, depending on the game, due to some Paldean region phenomenon, maybe related to a feature that leakers are calling “Paradox Pokémon.”

Paradox, by definition, is something that’s contradictory or illogical. Leakers expect certain Pokémon have Paradox forms that can be triggered in specific ways — and that not all Pokémon have these forms or can transform. There’s (unconfirmed) talk that Miraidon or Koraidon are not even ancestors or descendants of Cyclizar; instead, maybe, they’re alternative versions from a different timeline.

It’s confusing, but it makes sense that Scarlet and Violet players will have a more limited set of wheels in Cyclizar before opening up the world with Koraidon and Miraidon, which have modes that let them drive, swim, and fly.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are coming to Nintendo Switch on Nov. 18.