Part two of the Pokemon Scarlet and Violet DLC, The Indigo Disk, is coming out soon and it’s set to bring a lot of new features and new Pokemon to the game.
The Teal Mask left Pokemon fans with something of a sour taste in their mouths, but that wasn’t particularly surprising. Nintendo often sells DLC packages in bundles and content isn’t evenly distributed between them. The DLC precedent established by Pokemon Sword and Shield was a smaller, narrative-focused first part followed by a more robust, replayable second half.
That’s seemingly going to be the case here as well. While The Teal Mask lasered in on Ogerpon and the Loyal Three trio of legendary Pokemon, The Indigo Disk will bring a boatload of new content to the game. Here’s everything that’s confirmed to be coming, as well as some of the extra new features that fans can likely look forward to.
When does Pokemon Scarlet and Violet: The Indigo Disk come out?
The Pokemon Scarlet and Violet: The Indigo Disk DLC comes out on December 14, 2023.
The release date comes about three months after the launch of The Teal Mask. This marks a quicker turnaround than what was seen in Pokemon Sword and Shield, where the Crown Tundra DLC was released four months after the Isle of Armor. However, the release of Isle of Armor also came just seven months after the initial release of Sword and Shield.
The Indigo Disk DLC will let players get every starter from every generation in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet
Not all starters are made equal, but all of them rank among the most memorable Pokemon of any generation. Though previous Pokemon games have allowed players to import, breed, and trade them, few have let players freely catch them in the wild. That will change here.
The Indigo Disk will let players catch all the starter Pokemon from previous generations in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. This bucks a long-standing series tradition of players having limited access to catching starters in the wild, or not being able to do so at all.
Players have almost always received starters from NPCs, even in cases where they receive starters from past-gen games in the middle of a playthrough. The instances where players are able to catch them are typically gated behind a unique generational mechanic, such as Pokemon Sun and Moon’s island scans or Pokemon Sword and Shield’s Max Raid Battles.
The only other games that have let players catch starters in the wild in the same way they would any other Pokemon are Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu and Let’s Go Eevee, and Pokemon Legends: Arceus. These have been limited to gen-one and gen-four starters, respectively.
New Pokemon coming in The Indigo Disk
A number of new Pokemon are confirmed to be coming in the second part of the Pokemon Scarlet and Violet DLC. Some of these are new species entirely, while others are variants or evolutions of established Pokemon. Here’s the full list that has been revealed at this point.
Terapagos
Terapagos is set to be the featured legendary of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet’s The Indigo Disk DLC, in the same way that Ogerpon, Calyrex, and Urshifu have previously starred. Much like Ogerpon, Terapagos takes Terastalization a step further by actually having a new form when it Terastalizes. This is seemingly tied to the new Pokemon type coming in the DLC.
Iron Crown
One of the more surprising Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Tera Raid events was the reveal and release of Iron Leaves and Walking Wake. The two Paradox Pokemon were based on legendaries and had power that exceeded their originals. They’re not alone, though.
Cobalion’s Paradox form is Iron Crown, joining fellow Sword of Justice Virizion and its own Paradox form, Iron Leaves. Iron Crown looks quite similar to its original, but is set apart by its steel-psychic typing and Tachyon Cutter signature move.
Raging Bolt
Iron Crown flew under the radar because it was first shown alongside Raging Bolt. Raging Bolt is the Paradox version of Raikou and became the subject of various memes after it was revealed. Though many believe it’s a new giraffe Pokemon, it’s actually a brontosaurus. This dinosaur theme follows Walking Wake transforming Suicune into a velociraptor.
Archaludon
Duraludon was one of the most notable new Pokemon in Sword and Shield, serving as the signature Pokemon of gym leader Raihan. It even received a Gigantimax form, transforming it into a skyscraper. The Pokemon is now set to evolve into a bridge with Archaludon. Archaludon is a new Pokemon built specifically for battling in heavy rain, with a signature move that serves as an electric-type Solar Beam with an added stat boost.
New moves confirmed for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet: The Indigo Disk DLC
Five new moves have been confirmed for The Indigo Disk.
Two of these are set to combat common strategies that have been common in recent Scarlet and Violet competitive series. Psychic Noise is a psychic-type attack that prevents opponents from healing which should serve as a counter to the likes of Sinistcha and Cresselia. The other is Upper Hand. The other is Upper Hand, a priority move that counters other priority moves such as Bullet Punch and Quick Attack by dealing damage and flinching the opposing Pokemon.
Alongside these two moves are three new signature moves for some of the new Pokemon coming in The Indigo Disk. New Paradox Pokemon Raging Bolt gets Thunderclap while Iron Crown gets Tachyon Cutter. Alongside them is Duraludon evolution Archaludon who learns Electro Shot.
