Pokémon Scarlet/Violet Sales Soar, Second Only to Original Red/Green/Blue

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet have achieved remarkable success, becoming some of the best-selling Pokémon games in the franchise's history. According to Joe Merrick, the webmaster of Serebii.net, and reported by Eurogamer, these titles have sold over 25 million copies combined. This impressive figure surpasses all other Pokémon games since the original Pokémon Red/Green/Blue, which sold 31.4 million copies upon its release in 1996 for the Game Boy.

Scarlet and Violet's sales of 26,790,000 units have narrowly edged out Pokémon Sword/Shield, which sold 26,720,000 copies, securing the second spot in the franchise's sales rankings. Completing the top five are Pokémon Gold/Silver with 23.7 million copies sold and Pokémon Diamond/Pearl with 16.7 million copies.

Despite their commercial success, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet received a mixed reception at launch, with scores that rank them among the lowest-rated mainline games in the series. Fans expressed concerns over technical issues, performance problems, and bugs. In IGN's Pokémon Scarlet and Violet review, the game was rated 6/10, described as "Okay." The review praised the open-world gameplay as a promising direction for the franchise but criticized the game for feeling "deeply unfinished."

Pokémon Legends: Z-A is slated for release later this year, set in Lumiose City, which is undergoing an urban redevelopment plan to create a harmonious environment for both people and Pokémon. Last October, a leak containing undisclosed details about multiple Pokémon games, including Legends Z-A, surfaced online. In response, Nintendo has recently subpoenaed Discord to identify the individual responsible for the "TeraLeak."