Pokémon Scarlet & Violet - PLEASE TAG SPOILERS/LEAKS

[Sonictrainer]

Several people got to preview the Indigo Disk DLC

Some details:

• all trainer battles in the Terarium are Double Battles
• the Blueberry Elite 4 each have 6 PKMN, are at around Level 80, and provide a decent challenge.  Most of the players that played the preview lost against one of them, despite being PKMN veterans

[Sonictrainer]

We're getting some sort of trailer tomorrow for the Indigo Disk

Might be another Reveal like Poltchageist

[Sonictrainer]

We have some more information on the Indigo Disk and the end of the S/V DLC

 

New Feature: BBQs (Blueberry Quests)

Spoiler

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Life at Blueberry Academy includes extracurricular activities called Blueberry Quests—or BBQs for short.

BBQs are assigned out to students by the school, and completing them will earn you Blueberry Points, or BP—a currency used at the academy. You can use BP in places such as the school store or cafeteria, but that’s not all. After joining the League Club, you’ll be able to use BP to do things like add features to the clubroom or invite other Trainers you know to the academy.

What’s more, you’ll be able to take on group quests with your friends, which may task you with things like searching for Ditto that have transformed into blocks and hidden themselves around the Terarium! Have fun with your friends as you overcome challenging missions together.

Returning Feature: Trade Pokémon with Gym Leaders

Spoiler

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After you talk with special coaches a few times, they’ll offer to trade Pokémon with you.

The Pokémon they trade you will have a Ribbon appearing for the first time in the DLC for Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet—the Partner Ribbon. If you have a Pokémon wear this Ribbon, it will be bestowed with a title containing the name of its original Trainer that will display when the Pokémon is sent into battle.

Returning Feature: Change your Throwing Style

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If you donate BP to Blueberry Academy’s Baseball Club, you can change how you throw your Poké Balls. There are many throwing styles to learn. Find your favorite and spice up your Pokémon battles!

Returning Feature: Catch Legendary Pokémon from Past Regions

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During your adventures in The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero Part 2: The Indigo Disk, you can encounter certain Legendary Pokémon from throughout the series. If you find one, you’ll be able to battle it and add it to your team.

In order to encounter these Legendary Pokémon, first talk to Snacksworth at Blueberry Academy. If you’ve met certain conditions, you’ll be able to get snacks from Snacksworth that let you encounter specific Legendary Pokémon back in the Paldea region. Snacksworth will share his extensive knowledge of these Legendary Pokémon with you, as well as tales of his heroic encounters with them. Why not listen to what he has to say?

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Note that you will only be able to meet Snacksworth after completing the main story of The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero Part 2: The Indigo Disk. To receive snacks that allow you to encounter these Legendary Pokémon, you must complete Blueberry Quests (BBQs) and report back to Snacksworth. BBQs can be undergone in the Terarium at Blueberry Academy.

New Feature: Synchro Machine

Spoiler

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Once you progress far enough in your adventure in The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero Part 2: The Indigo Disk, you’ll be able to use a device called the Synchro Machine to see the world through the eyes of your Pokémon. While synchronized with one of your Pokémon, you’ll be able to move them around and have them battle wild Pokémon—a fresh new way to play the game. It appears that this device is still a prototype. You’ll be able to use it once you help a scientist in the Terarium with her research.

You can also use the Synchro Machine when playing via the Union Circle, so you and your friends can experience the world of Pokémon together in a brand-new way!

New Feature: Koraidon/Miraidon Flying

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The Legendary Pokémon Koraidon or Miraidon will gain the power to fly for the first time when you take on the Elite Trial set by Amarys of the BB League Elite Four. While at first this power is believed to be just temporarily imparted, it can apparently be made permanent, allowing Koraidon and Miraidon to fly at any time—but only once you’ve made it far enough in your adventure.

Fly wherever you please with your Legendary Pokémon and enjoy the sense of freedom that only an open world can provide.

New Feature: The Secret of Area Zero

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During your adventure in The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero Part 2: The Indigo Disk, you will return to Paldea and descend the Great Crater once more, visiting a yet-undiscovered place within Area Zero. What exactly is the Hidden Treasure of Area Zero, and what is Terapagos’s hidden power? Discover the truth with your own eyes!

 

Alright, let's talk about those Events

5 Star Dialga (Scarlet) & Palkia (Violet) Event Tera Raids: Ends December 21st

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• The Dialga and Palkia featured in this event can only be caught once per save data.
• You can still participate in Tera Raid Battles against Dialga and Palkia to obtain other rewards if you’ve already caught them.
• Dialga and Palkia may be featured in future events or become obtainable through other methods.
• You’ll be able to find 5-star Tera Raid Battles after completing Pokémon Scarlet or Pokémon Violet’s main story. However, players who haven’t completed the main story may still participate in these Tera Raid Battles by joining other Trainers in multiplayer.
• You can participate in Tera Raid Battles against Pokémon that don’t appear in the version of the game you’re playing by joining a Tera Raid Battle hosted by a Trainer with the opposite version of the game. 
• A paid Nintendo Switch Online membership (sold separately) is required to participate in Tera Raid Battles with other Trainers online.
• To participate in Tera Raid Battle events, please download the latest Poké Portal News by selecting Poké Portal from the X menu, then Mystery Gift, then Check Poké Portal News. You do not need a paid Nintendo Switch Online membership to receive the latest Poké Portal News.

Free Darkrai Event: Ends December 21st, 2023

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Now through Thursday, December 21—a period that includes the last new moon of 2023—you’ll be able to receive the Mythical Pokémon Darkrai, which cannot normally be encountered in Pokémon Scarlet or Pokémon Violet.

It’s said that Darkrai is active during nights of a new moon, and that it can lull people to sleep and make them dream. Take advantage of this chance to add Darkrai to your team and greet the new moon together!

Password: NEWM00N1SC0M1NG

Available until: Thursday, December 21, 2023, at 3:59 p.m. PST

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How to Claim a Mystery Gift in Pokémon Scarlet or Pokémon Violet

Use these steps to claim your in-game gift.

1. Launch your Pokémon Scarlet or Pokémon Violet game.
2. Select Poké Portal on the X menu.
3. Select Mystery Gift, then select Get with Code/Password to connect to the internet.
4. Enter the password.
5. Watch as the gift arrives in your game. (Pokémon will appear in your party or in your Pokémon Boxes.)
6. Be sure to save your game.

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Notes:

• Passwords will never contain the letters I, O, or Z.
• You need to connect your Nintendo Switch system to the internet to claim this gift.
• To connect to the internet, your user profile must be linked to a Nintendo Account. (This does not require a paid Nintendo Switch Online membership.)
• This password can only be used once per save data.
• It takes approximately 1 to 1.5 hours of play time before you are able to access the Mystery Gift feature, where you can input the password.

Free Shiny Lucario Event: Ends January 3rd, 2024

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• Level: 75
• Moves: Flash Cannon, Aura Sphere, Bullet Punch, & Ice Punch
• Tera Type: Steel
• Ability: Inner Focus
• Poké Ball: Cherish Ball
• Password: SH1NYBUDDY

Free Master Ball Event: December 14th, 2023 - January 3rd, 2024

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To celebrate the appearance of Legendary Pokémon in The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero Part 2: The Indigo Disk, Trainers will be given the chance to claim a Master Ball—a type of Poké Ball that can catch a wild Pokémon without fail.

Even if you’re only partway through your adventures in Paldea or the land of Kitakami, you’ll be able to adventure together with your Shiny Lucario and get a Master Ball you can use to help catch a Legendary Pokémon!

This gift will be available from the release of The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero Part 2: The Indigo Disk on Thursday, December 14, 2023, until Wednesday, January 3, 2024, at 3:59 p.m. PST.

You can receive this gift by selecting Get via Internet from the Mystery Gift menu in your game.

Flabébé, Litwick, & Milcery Mass Outbreak Events

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To celebrate the release of The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero Part 2: The Indigo Disk, mass outbreak events featuring different Pokémon will occur around the Paldea region, the land of Kitakami, and the Terarium at Blueberry Academy. It seems Shiny Pokémon are more likely to appear in these mass outbreaks, so don’t miss your chance to find one!

Now until December 21, 2023

• Flabébé in Paldea
• Litwick in Kitakami

December 14th - 21st, 2023

• Milcery in the Terarium

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Notes:

• In order to participate in limited-time mass outbreak events, you need to have downloaded the latest update data and the latest Poké Portal News. You do not need a paid Nintendo Switch Online membership to receive the latest Poké Portal News.
• You can download the latest Poké Portal News by selecting Poké Portal from the X menu, then Mystery Gift, then Check Poké Portal News.

 

Edited December 8, 2023 by Sonictrainer

[Sonicka]

Hyped, not long now. 

I never did get around to completing part 1 after an initial playthrough (too much other stuff released around this time that took my attention away).

It will be good to return and complete The Teal Mask then immediately follow it up The Indigo Disk. Playing the “Taster” DLC before the main course (and then the grand finale in returning to Area Zero). This is gunna be gooooooood. 

Also, Pokemon possession (in and out of battles for a new perspective) and infinite flying with Kor/Miraidon FTW.

[Lorekitten]

So legendary Pokemon can be bribed with tasty treats. Gives me real Victini movie vibes here.

[Sonictrainer]

The Indigo Disk DLC is now available to Download! :D (at least for players in the Eastern US)

[Lorekitten]

So the game hasn't been out for twenty-four hours and I already have THEORIES on what a certain Pokemon might actually be and what that means for the bigger picture of the Pokemon world itself. I wrote this in three parts and will present it in three parts. MAJOR SPOILER WARNING FOR ALL THREE PARTS.

Part one:

Spoiler

When the credits rolled on Bird Keeper Toby's playthrough of The Indigo Disk, my reaction was, 'wait. that's it?' In terms of really underwhelming and absurd postgame storylines, this barely ranks above Sordward and Shielbert in tolerance level. Kieran's sudden heel-face turns at both the beginning and the ending don't seem in character for him at all, and there's not even any outside explanation as we'd all speculated from datamined content; he just happens to have become a terrible person until suddenly he isn't anymore. And Terapagos... I don't know if we find out any more lore bits on it after the credits roll because it was literally midnight and I needed sleep, but if you were expecting to find out if the paradox Pokemon are merely imaginary, well, I certainly didn't. The whole storyline with finding and battling Terapagos just felt entirely generic and not at all satisfying considering that we've all been waiting thirteen months for this payoff and all we get is an entirely cookie-cutter plot of 'villain awakens legendary Pokemon, villain loses control of legendary Pokemon, hero fights and catches legendary Pokemon, everything is Mukidori again.' Been there, done that, got the T-shirt.

However, I did find one part of the Terapagos 'arc' (if you can even call it that) intriguing, and that's how its behavior seems to indicate that its relationship with the Terastal phenomenon is not what we'd all previously assumed. In fact, Terapagos itself may be a lie, at least in terms of how we previously understood it.

In short: Terapagos is not the cause of the Terastal phenomenon, but rather a parasite of it.

Okay, I know that's a lot to take in, but hear me out. When we first properly 'encounter' Terapagos, it's as a small gem stuck to the crystal formations within the Underdepths of Area Zero (the place Bird Keeper Toby said should've been called Area Subzero, but honestly I like Underdepths better). Kieran pries it loose, it turns into Baby Terapagos, it starts wandering towards the player and then Kieran ninja's it with a Master Ball. He then challenges the player to a battle with it, loses, and at Briar's suggestion, Terastalizes it to activate its 'true power'... which causes it to reach its Final Form, become unstoppable, nearly destroy the cavern, and when Kieran tries to recall it, it just flat-out destroys its own Master Ball, it's that strong.

This of course leads to the final boss battle, which is where things get interesting.

You don't Terastalize once in this battle. Nor twice. You Terastalize no less than three times (possibly four; I don't remember that too clearly) in that one single battle. And the reason you do so is because Terapagos keeps absorbing your Pokemon's Terastal energy to power itself. Why? How? Isn't Terapagos the origin of Tera energy itself? Why would it possibly need to siphon its own energy from another Pokemon, or even need Kieran's Tera Orb to Terastalize to begin with?

One might easily argue that since Terapagos 'is the source' of the Terastal phenomenon, it can control Tera energy, including that of others; however, the fact that absorbing this energy from your Pokemon is what allows Terapagos to wield the powers it uses in this battle, I think the more likely explanation is that Terapagos doesn't actually possess any innate Tera power of its own, but rather siphons it from its surroundings. This explains why it can be found in the Underdepths of Area Zero, feeding off the natural Tera crystals that grant it its power.

So if Terapagos isn't the true source of the Terastal phenomenon, what is? Well... the long and short of it is, I have no freaking clue. But if I ever get any ideas, that may be an article for another day...

Part two:

Spoiler

So after writing up my crack theory on Terapagos being a Terastal parasite rather than the actual source of Terastal energy (which I soon found out is apparent even in its Tera Shift ability's description, which states that it absorbs energy from around itself to transform), I did a bit more thinking on the question of 'if Terapagos isn't the source of Terastal energy, then what is?' And admittedly, the answer I came up with may be a bit of a cop-out, but it does derive from other theories that have been circulating since before the Indigo Disk DLC even came out, and I think these theories fit the evidence fairly well.

But first, let's flash back to Sinnoh, and a mysterious engraving on the Flame Plate in Pokemon Legends Arceus: "The power of defeated giants infuses this plate." What giants? Well, there are several theories, ranging from the Regis to Dynamaxed Pokemon to what have you, but Bird Keeper Toby had a theory that Oni Mountain in Kitakami had once been one of these very giants and that's why it resembles, well, an oni. But if Arceus did battle such enormous beings and defeated them to infuse its plates with their power, what other 'giants' have existed in this universe's history?

Well, as some people have pointed out, Paldea does bear a rather striking resemblance to the shape of an enormous turtle, perhaps even Terapagos itself...

Like I said, it may seem somewhat of a cop-out. I just wrote an entire article stating that Terapagos wasn't the source of the Terastal phenomenon, and now I'm saying that the true 'source' is actually an even bigger Terapagos, one the size of Paldea because it is Paldea? How can there possibly be two entirely different Terapagos?

Well, here's my theory: the Terapagos we encounter in the Underdepths is, quite literally, 'baby Terapagos.' Even in its more powered-up forms, it's smaller than you'd think. This is because it is merely the descendant of the true Terapagos, the one we call Paldea, which was defeated by Arceus in ages long past and has slept dormant all these years as its Terastal energy permeates through the crust of its shell that has become home to countless people and Pokemon. This also explains how Arceus originally drew elemental power into its plates, since the 'true' Terapagos's Terastal energy can infuse elemental power into whatever they affect.

Which begs the question: is Arceus also a lie? Is its Multitype ability derived from its striking down of the true Terapagos and robbing it of its power? Is Arceus itself responsible for baby Terapagos becoming a parasite of Tera energy rather than its source? Is this why baby Terapagos is Normal in every single one of its forms, even though by all rights it shouldn't be? Is Arceus responsible for everything baby Terapagos is and isn't? And why the heck was Arceus fighting Terapagos anyway?

Those may be questions for another day. They may never be answered at all. Or maybe I'll think of something else in an hour and post it then. Only time will tell.

Part three:

Spoiler

This article contains both Indigo Disk spoilers and Pokemon Insurgence spoilers. Yes, the latter IS relevant to this discussion, though not taken as canon to the main games.

So in my first two articles, I explored why the Terapagos we encounter and catch is not actually the source of the Terastal mechanic, but rather the descendant of the original Terapagos, which is in fact the entirety of Paldea and the true source of Terastal energy. I also described how it was one of the 'defeated giants' that the Flame Plate describes as the origin of Arceus's plates, which fits rather well with the plates being basically solidified elemental energy that imbues Arceus with that element's power, allowing it to change type similarly to how the Terastal phenomenon causes a Pokemon to change type. (Okay, okay, so I failed to mention that obvious connection in the last article; I'm kind of running on fumes and hype right now and in this state I am prone to brain farts.) But I mentioned that I didn't know why Arceus would fight the Terapagos named Paldea.

Well, after some consideration, I found the potential answer from an unlikely source: the Pokemon Insurgence fangame.

For those of you who don't know, Pokemon Insurgence was in its heyday one of the best Pokemon fangames out there, at least before Pokemon Xenoverse came out. Was it edgy? Yes. Was its plot sometimes ultra cheesy? Also yes. Did we ever find out what happened to Manaphy's trainer? Apparently we're gonna eventually, after version 1.30 comes out, but that's gonna take a while. But Insurgence holds the trophy as the first Pokemon fangame that I played all the way up to the Champion (and hoo boy, that took some work), and I even played most of the postgame before bailing on the final fight because the postgame's storyline wasn't nearly as good as the first ninety percent of the main storyline and by that point I figured I'd just watch a Let's Play and not have to grind against the ridiculous level curve.

So for those of you who haven't reached Insurgence's endgame yet, this is your final spoiler warning. We good? Good.

The plot of Pokemon Insurgence centers around the amnesiac player character trying to fulfill an ancient prophecy by going around with their Mew and disbanding evil Pokemon-worshiping cults. As the game progresses, a previously unknown 'cult' appears that seems to center around Giratina. Eventually the player meets the leader of this 'cult' in the Distortion World, learning that the 'cult' are actually the inhabitants of the Distortion World, who earnestly believe that Arceus usurped Giratina's role as the most powerful being alive and doomed the Distortion World to become the twisted hellscape that it is today in order to make its own world more suitable for life. According to Nyx, the 'cult' leader, this was accomplished by stealing a powerful crystal with limitless energy within it, a crystal whose shards are actually used in-game to transform Arceus, Giratina, and Regigigas of all Pokemon into more powerful forms.

Yes, it's edgy as heck to have the Pokeverse's 'god' be the bad guy, but to be fair I'm still not sure whether I'm ready to accept Nyx's interpretation of events as fully canon, as it's more or less her words against Arceus's. Still, with the Teal Mask, Game Freak has resoundingly proven that not all legendary Pokemon lore is gospel truth, and with Almighty Sinnoh in Legends Arceus, we see that not even all lore on Arceus is entirely accurate.

Still, let's replace Giratina with Terapagos and see how well that lines up, shall we?

Arceus wants power. It wants more than power -- it wants to be worshiped as God. So this weird turtle thing shows up from who knows where (probably outer space, given its offspring eventually takes on the Stellar type) and decides to settle in on the planet. Arceus seizes the opportunity and rains hell on it, possibly being the one responsible for hitting Paldea (that is, the Terapagos named Paldea) with the meteor one million years ago that created the Great Crater. Whether Terapagos is truly 'dead' or simply dormant, we don't know, but we do know that deep within its Underdepths is a tiny crystal gem that contains what we know as 'baby Terapagos,' aka the Terapagos that Kieran catches and tries to use against you.

Arceus either doesn't know, or doesn't care. It has what it wants -- the material necessary for forming its 'plates' that will allow it the power of Terastal energy at whim to transform into any type it desires. For all we know, the Legend Plate of Legends Arceus may well be derived from the Stellar type, as both draw power from every single type. Meanwhile, the dead or unconscious Terapagos that we now call Paldea starts to acquire enough dirt and grime on its (decaying?) shell to support plant and animal (Pokemon?) life, and eventually becomes its own continent, with its inhabitants none the wiser. However, Paldea's true nature cannot be hidden forever, as Terastal energy eventually starts leaking out of its back and leads us to where we are today.

TL;DR: Arceus is a continent-murdering hack who sought ultimate power through immoral means and you can't trust it.

(Also, in the context of what I've just figured out, calling baby Terapagos a parasite isn't actually fair to baby Terapagos. If it's absorbing nutrients from its parent, it's more like... breastfeeding? Which is a weird analogy to make in an all-ages game, but it is what it is.)

 

[Sonicka]

Interestingly I can access the indigo disk DLC and explore the Terrarium already… despite the fact that I’ve only played the teal mask for about an hour (previously) - it’s been a few months and I’m now returning to do both DLC’s. 

But… I thought you had to finish the base game and the first DLC completely before this could happen due to the story or something? Is it a bug? Or maybe I can only go so far in?

Well, I’m gunna head back to Kitakami just in case this locks my game out - I don’t want to take any chances considering

[Lorekitten]

2 minutes ago, Sonicka said:

But… I thought you had to finish the base game and the first DLC completely before this could happen due to the story or something? Is it a bug? Or maybe I can only go so far in?

I suspect that this is a bug that will be fixed with the next patch; quite frankly, given ScVi's track record, I can't say I'm surprised.

[Sonicka]

11 hours ago, Lorekitten said:

I suspect that this is a bug that will be fixed with the next patch; quite frankly, given ScVi's track record, I can't say I'm surprised.

Double checked and not a bug - just inaccurate reporting from guides. On the official website and Nintendo's it states in the small print:

**In order to complete the main story in Part 2: The Indigo Disk, you need to have completed the main story in both Pokémon Violet and Part 1: The Teal Mask.

So it looks like you can go there as soon as, you just can't complete it or will only reach a certain point until Part 1 is done.

[Sonictrainer]

The DLC is not done yet!

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An epilogue for #PokemonScarletViolet The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero arrives on January 11, 2024!

EDIT: More clarification

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The #PokemonScarletViolet The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero epilogue arrives as a free update on 1/11!

Complete the main stories of The Teal Mask and The Indigo Disk and unlock a postgame event to access this additional quest in the land of Kitakami!

 

Edited December 22, 2023 by Sonictrainer

[Sonictrainer]

The DLC Epilogue is tied to a Mystery Gift Key Item

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How to Play the Epilogue

In order to play the epilogue, you will need to complete a certain postgame event in your Pokémon Scarlet or Pokémon Violet game, as well as complete the stories of Part 1: The Teal Mask and Part 2: The Indigo Disk. You will also need to claim a Mythical Pecha Berry via Mystery Gift in your Pokémon Scarlet or Pokémon Violet game.

Use these steps to claim your in-game gift.

1. Launch your Pokémon Scarlet or Pokémon Violet game.

2. Select Poké Portal on the X menu.

3. Select Mystery Gift, then select Get via Internet to connect to the internet.

4. Choose the gift you want to receive.

5. Watch as the gift arrives in your game. (Your Mythical Pecha Berry will appear in the Key Items pocket of your Bag.)

6. Be sure to save your game.

Head to the Land of Kitakami to Kick Off the Epilogue
Once you’ve received your gift, head to Mossui Town in the land of Kitakami and drop by Peachy’s—the alluring aroma of your Mythical Pecha Berry might cause something special to happen...

Other Information

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Notes:

• While those who have only purchased Pokémon Scarlet or Pokémon Violet will be able to receive the Mythical Pecha Berry, you will need to have purchased The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero in order to play the epilogue.

• Full version of game required to use DLC for that game. Sold separately, unless otherwise noted.

• You need to connect your Nintendo Switch system to the internet to claim this gift.

• To connect to the internet, your user profile must be linked to a Nintendo Account. (This does not require a paid Nintendo Switch Online membership.)

• It takes approximately 1 to 1.5 hours of play time before you are able to access the Mystery Gift feature.

• This gift can be claimed in both the retail version and digital version of Pokémon Scarlet or Pokémon Violet.

• You can receive this gift only once per save data.

 

Edited January 11 by Sonictrainer

[Sonictrainer]

Today, the Mythical Pokémon Pecharunt was officially revealed with hidden lore

 

New Pokémon: Pecharunt

Spoiler

• Pecharunt
• Category: Subjugation Pokémon
• Type: Poison/Ghost
• Height: 1'
• Weight: 0.7 lbs.
• Ability: Poison Puppeteer

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Uses Its Cunning to Survive by Feeding Binding Mochi to Others
This Pokémon rolls up poison secreted from its shell to make Binding Mochi, which it serves to people and Pokémon. Pecharunt then uses chains to control those who eat its Binding Mochi, which is not only delicious but also appears to bring out the deepest desires and powers of those who eat it.

Pecharunt can also be very sly. For example, it will feign weakness by weeping and acting like a baby to gain the sympathy of others.

Off to Kitakami to Obtain the Masks
There is a theory that long ago, Pecharunt traveled to the land of Kitakami together with the Loyal Three, each of whom it had subjugated using its Binding Mochi—all to obtain certain masks coveted by an elderly couple who lived with Pecharunt.

Pecharunt found itself embroiled in battle with Ogerpon over the masks—ultimately resulting in Pecharunt’s defeat. It withdrew into its shell and, over time, became known to the locals as the Never-Rotting Peach. What appears to be a mere decoration in a shop is in fact Pecharunt, eagerly awaiting its time to return.

New Ability: Poison Puppeteer

Spoiler

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New Ability: Poison Puppeteer
Pecharunt’s Poison Puppeteer is a new Ability introduced for the first time in The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero. This Ability causes Pokémon that are poisoned or badly poisoned by Pecharunt’s moves to also become confused.

New Attack: Malignant Chain

Spoiler

New Move: Malignant Chain
This attack launches a chain made of poison that may also leave its target badly poisoned.

 

Edited January 16 by Sonictrainer

[Rabid-Coot]

Bit late but this weekend there's a Flutter Mane and Iron Jugulis raid event and mass outbreaks with version exclusives Gulpin, Stunky, Skrelp, and Clauncher appearing in both games.

https://bulbagarden.net/threads/300284

[Sonictrainer]

We're getting our annual Pokémon Day news next week!

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Did somebody say #PokemonPresents? Tune in to our official YouTube channel at 6:00 a.m. PST on February 27th to view exciting Pokémon news in celebration of #PokemonDay 2024! See you there, Trainers!

 

[Lorekitten]

Cool, wake me up when we actually have something to get excited about. I want to stay positive, but after how many disasters Pokemon keeps handing us (and this is coming from someone who actually liked LGPE and SwSh), I honestly can't say I'm looking forward to seeing yet another rushed game announced for the fandom to argue about.

[Salamander]

90% of it will be mobile games anyway; I think I missed the last one and ended up not regretting it.  But I'm not really sure what to expect in terms of a mainline game - and it's been almost a decade since we last had a gap year in mainline releases.  Not that they don't need it, of course!  Strange times, when for a lot of people then the best news would be if there was no mainline game releasing this year at all.

[Kuzu]

26 minutes ago, Salamander said:

Strange times, when for a lot of people then the best news would be if there was no mainline game releasing this year at all.

And I bet money if they didn't announce any new games, people would start complaining about that too. 

[Lorekitten]

18 minutes ago, Kuzu said:

And I bet money if they didn't announce any new games, people would start complaining about that too. 

That's a safe bet given that for last year's Pokemon Day, there were complaints after the fact from some people that didn't think we got enough announced! And meanwhile I was like, "my dudes, listen, they shouldn't have even announced DLC for a broken game without first fixing what was wrong with that game in the first place!"

I have never purchased the ScVi DLC and I absolutely do not regret it. After how ScVi turned out, Game Freak will have to seriously step up their game to convince me to purchase their products day one again.

[Kuzu]

I'm just kind of tired of this fandom in general. 

[Sonicka]

Nice - so we have 30 minutes of nothing to look forward too which usually involves; card tournament announcements, some random OVA releasing, the always “exciting” updates to their mobile titles, and then *maybe* a 2 minute sneak peak at whatever company they farmed the next Let’s Go series out to (if the rumour pertains to be true).

I just hope they don't announce a new mainline / spinoff legends game - mostly because I want them to bake the product for a few more years or just give their titles more polishing time. As amazing / progressive as I think Sc/Vi are for progressing the main series - it bites that it fumbles on so many technical and performance levels.  

Edited February 20 by Sonicka

[Lorekitten]

12 minutes ago, Kuzu said:

I'm just kind of tired of this fandom in general. 

Yeah, same. There's some cool stuff that comes out of the Pokemon fandom, but there's also been a lot of... well, questionable takes and arguments over said questionable takes. To be fair, the quality level of the games themselves are kind of asking for drama, but at the same time, I'd vastly prefer if discussion on said games was kept civil.

[FlameStream]

I have been quite disinterested in what the main games have been presenting for a few generations, mostly due to staleness.

But I'll be at least receptive to any interesting deviations like Arceus. 

[Johnny Boy]

I’m hoping for another Legends game to be honest. PLA is easily one of my favorite Pokemon games in recent memory and I’d love to see past versions of other regions. Preferably Unova or Johto but I’d love to see a legends Hoenn since Emerald was my first Pokemon game.

[Salamander]

Something Unova-based, and probably a more experimental title along the lines of Legends, seems like the safe bet.  I'd normally say it was too early for a Unova revisit, but I just don't understand why else GameFreak would pretend Blueberry Academy was somehow set "in Unova" when it was actually set in the middle of the ocean unless they wanted quite urgently to draw attention to Unova.

I feel like I could construct a logical argument against just about any hypothesis, though:

• Unova "faithful remake" - The ILCA remake of Diamond/Pearl may have sold well initially, but sales apparently dropped rapidly amid severe criticism and poor word-of-mouth, with an apparently especially negative response in Japan, so it's not exactly a guaranteed hit in terms of either sales or reputation.  Besides that, the concept has serious issues regarding how they handle B2W2, considering that the remakes since ORAS have been criticised ever more heavily for omitting enhanced version content.
• Unova experimental "revisit" - Probably more likely.  Here's the thing, though: Legends: Arceus was probably intended to occupy the "Sinnoh remake" slot.  It looks an awful lot like the ILCA "faithful remake" was a pretty late decision, suggesting that Legends: Arceus was originally intended to stand alone as a neo-Sinnoh game; furthermore, as a more experimental reworking of the original region then it actually follows more logically than you might think from ORAS, which similarly reimagined a number of elements entirely rather than faithfully remaking them.  In other words, I suspect that "regional revisits" may be taking the place of remakes (at least until Gen VI when the jump to 3D means they can just upscale the old graphics) - but then this would seem to be too soon.  Past remakes have only ever been once per console and never in consecutive Pokemon generations.
• Let's Go Johto - Proposed by analogy to Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee, which bridged Generations VII and VIII, under the argument that Johto has gone "longest without a revisit" and that Let's Go is now a separate remake series.  But the original Let's Go games were basically just a testbed for Switch development intended to draw in players from Go, a task at which they weren't especially successful (because Go players just went straight to Sun/Moon and ORAS), and my understanding is that GameFreak haven't expressed a lot of interest in Let's Go since.  Also, the idea that Johto needs a remake because it's gone the longest without a new game implies that next generation we'll need a Kalos remake and a Hoenn remake and a Kanto remake, because by then those regions will be the ones which haven't been visited in the longest time, and then a hypothetical Gen X remake would need to have a Gen VI remake and a Gen III remake and a Gen I remake, and so on.  It's nonsense.
• Generation X - At a time when they can barely get out a functional game, would GameFreak really make Gen IX a two-year generation (they've never been shorter than three) and rush out the next generation already?  It seems incredible... but people weren't really expecting Generation IX for 2022 either (or for them to rush Generation VII before we got an X/Y enhanced version), and look how that turned out.  I just can't quite put it past them.
• Gap year - But then why draw attention to Unova in Indigo Disk?  I don't think they would have done that if it was just to promote a Unova-based spin-off by another developer, for instance.

So I don't know.  But I think something Unova is coming, and I don't think it's going to look like a remake.