Summary
The Pokemon Company has recently held the 2023 Pokemon World Championships in Yokohama, Japan, which both kicked off and concluded with brand-newPokemon ScarletandViolettrailers. The first set of trailers was accompanied by many other announcements regarding the franchise in a Pokemon Presents, including newPokemon Cafe Remixevents and the news thatPaldea Pokemon are coming toPokemon GO. In terms ofScarletandViolet, however, players were given a rather large update on the upcoming DLC, The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero. These previews go over exactly what fans can expect to uncover when they go to Kitakami and Blueberry Academy.
While the offerings players will get to discover in the first part of the expansion, The Teal Mask, are likely going to be rather fun and rewarding, The Indigo Disk has a few interesting things of its own. One of the things that have either caught the eyes of a few trainers, or left them skeptical, is the fact that Blueberry Academy is home to its very own student body-powered Pokemon League called “The BB League.” This League serves as a smaller, quicker alternative to gyms that players can explore after the main story ofPokemon ScarletandVioletis completed, which also ends with its own Elite Four to defeat. However, this would be a worrying trend if it continues beyond Generation 9.
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The Indigo Disk’s Elite Four Comes With a Catch
As part two of The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero, The Indigo Disk acts as the DLC’s second half as well as its finale, aiming to wrap up and take players back to Paldea to potentially explore what makesArea Zero such an important part of the region, its history, andPokemon ScarletandVioletat large. Due to this, the content of part two can only be accessed by players once the main story is completed, including all three branching storylines starring Penny, Nemona, and Arven. Defeating all eight gyms, the Elite Four, and Champion Geeta, are part of the Victory Road storyline.
This means that once players arrive at Blueberry Academy, they’re likely going to be expected to have a team roughly around level 70 or higher. As a result, the terrarium found in the school is most certainly going to be home to some rather strong Pokemon, and even stronger trainers. TheBB League’s Elite Fouris going to be designed with these facts in mind as well, which means they may very well push everyPokemon ScarletandViolettrainer to their very limits to see if they’re ready for the truth hidden within Area Zero.
Exciting as this may sound, there’s a reason why fans may be skeptical at the inclusion of a second Elite Four inScarletandViolet. In terms of the 5-battle gauntlet that players had to endure to finish Victory Road in the base game, many players who have a number of previousPokemongames under their belt thought the Paldea Elite Four and their champion were underwhelming and lackluster. The BB League may fix thisflaw inPokemon ScarletandViolet, but a second Elite Four shouldn’t be a standard of future generations.
For many years, the Elite Four at the end of eachPokemongame have been seen as the ultimate last obstacle and the toughest challenge. It’s an important piece to the formula of each mainline title that shouldn’t be locked or relegated to a secondary version of itself later in the game or in DLC. It’s due to this importance in the franchise’s history, and to players, thatGeneration 10 should aimto make the base game Elite Four better than the one that came before it, rather than letting a post-launch five battle gauntlet fix what should have been challenging in the first place.
Pokemon ScarletandVioletare available now for Nintendo Switch, with part one of The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero, The Teal Mask, launching on September 13.
