Pokemon Scarlet & Violet epilogue release date and time revealed

Game Freak has revealed that there’s one final adventure in Paldea for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet players, with an epilogue chapter set to expand upon The Indigo Disk.

The Pokemon franchise began its ninth generation with Scarlet and Violet in late 2022, with the DLC expansion dubbed The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero being released in two parts; The Teal Mask and The Indigo Disk.

While Pokemon Sword and Shield also had a dual DLC release, those expansions brought the game to its conclusion. That’s not going to be the case with Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, though. Instead, the games are set to receive an extra chapter to the DLC that will likely close the door on the game and might set up what’s next.

Release date, time revealed for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet epilogue DLC

The Pokemon Scarlet and Violet epilogue chapter DLC will come out on January 11, 2024, and exact times were given.

While there’s often some awkwardness when it comes to release times, it was made explicit exactly when the new content will be available for download. Here’s the exact release date and time for the Pokemon Scarlet and Violet epilogue chapter:

Releasing just three weeks after being announced, players won’t have to wait long for more content. While players were given a lot to do when it comes to The Indigo Disk, including the ability to shiny hunt starter Pokemon and Blueberry Quests that offer access to past-gen legendary Pokemon, many have already burned through what was available. The Epilogue chapter will give players a bit more fun, as well as some resolution for unresolved story details.

How to access the epilogue in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet DLC

Players will need to beat the base game, as well as the main stories of both The Teal Mask and The Indigo Disk to access the Pokemon Scarlet and Violet epilogue.

As with starting The Indigo Disk, not everyone can just walk into the epilogue. A post-game event in Pokemon Scarlet or Pokemon Violet must be completed, as well as the main storylines of both parts of the DLC. This ultimately means players will need to push forward, beat the toughest trainer in series history, then catch the cover legendary of The Indigo Disk DLC.

On release day, an update will have to be downloaded and installed, and players can then finally embark upon the final chapter in the Paldea saga. While not explicitly stated as being the conclusion of Scarlet and Violet, the epilogue is more than likely to be the last content update for the game. It will likely continue to be supported with in-game events, but odds are that the focus will turn to the next Pokemon game after the epilogue’s release.

What’s in the Pokemon Scarlet and Violet epilogue chapter?

The epilogue chapter is set to introduce some major NPCs from the base game into the DLC, and introduce a new legendary Pokemon for players to capture.

The trailer shows the player character’s crew including Nemona, Arven, and Penny visiting Kitakami. This is notable as both parts of the Pokemon Scarlet and Violet DLC were self-contained stories with new NPCs Kieran, Carmine, and Briar taking the spotlight from the established cast. This new bit of DLC will hopefully serve as a crossover episode, allowing the main game and DLC characters to interact for the first time.

The Pokemon Scarlet and Violet epilogue DLC will also add a new legendary or mythical Pokemon, Pecharunt. The Pokemon was discovered by data miners in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet after the DLC was released, but there was no way to see or catch it without hacking. The trailer closes with a tease related to the Pokemon.

This will seemingly be a follow-up to the Loyal Three questline that centered around Ogerpon, with Pecharunt having a typing and ability that overlaps with their unique poison mechanics.

Will the epilogue chapter make every Pokemon catchable in Scarlet and Violet?

There is no indication that the epilogue chapter will bring back any more returning Pokemon to Scarlet and Violet.

While it’s hypothetically possible that more Pokemon could return over time, data miners gave fans accurate information on much of the content that would be coming to the game via DLC. There hasn’t been word on any extra Pokemon coming via the epilogue DLC. Alongside this, many Pokemon from previous generations simply don’t gel with the Terastalization mechanic or the new moves and abilities added in Scarlet and Violet.

The Guardian Deity legendaries of Pokemon Sun and Moon would be wildly overpowered in Scarlet and Violet, with Tapu Koko in particular having incredible potential thanks to Electric Terrain activating Quark Drive for Violet’s Paradox Pokemon. Meanwhile, if Shedinja had the Air Balloon item and Terastalized to electric type, it would be completely unkillable outside a few very specific interactions.

Though many fans still grumble about “Dexit” and the inability to have all 1,024 Pokemon obtainable in one game, that’s something that few who play Pokemon Scarlet and Violet beyond beating the base game actually want.