The mystery partner Pokemon of Scarlet and Violet gym leader Iono has been revealed as Bellibolt, the elefrog Pokemon.
Earlier this week, we were introduced to Iono, Paldea's electric-type leader. Larger than life, Iono, who seems to part-time as a streamer, played a game of 'who's that Pokemon', offering a few hints about the 'mon that would be fighting at their side. The clues they offered pointed towards a cute but sluggish creature who generated electricity by expanding and contracting their stomach.
Iono’s partner Pokémon is Bellibolt, the EleFrog Pokémon! 🐸⚡️ Bellibolt expands and contracts its body to generate electricity in an organ that looks like a belly button. Electricity is then discharged from the two bumps on either side of its head that resemble eyeballs. ❤️💜 pic.twitter.com/xvzVYXTdtrOctober 14, 2022
That pointed several players towards some kind of frog, and it seems as though they were right. The massive green, black, and yellow amphibian discharges electricity from the bumps on its head, which while resembling eyeballs, are actually more of a disguise.
Despite its amphibious nature, Bellibolt is a pure electric-type, ignoring the potential ground or water secondary typings that we might have expected based. That said, it does appear to be able to able to learn a few ground moves in addition to its electric ones - in another trailer, we see it face off against a Croagunk with a move that looks like it might be Mud Slap, a common ground-type move. It also looks like it'll use it's impressive mass for some normal or fighting moves, and even be able to use sound-based moves like Belly Drum.
While we learned plenty about Iono's partner, the leader themselves is still something of a mystery. One fan theory thinks that the streamer might be a Vtuber, with your shy, retiring classmate Penny acting as their alter-ego.
That's another addition to the Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Pokedex, which is starting to fill up pretty fast now.
