Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are about to get even bigger. The Pokémon Company announced that the two titles are getting two expansions: The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero Part 1: The Teal Mask and Part 2: The Indigo Disk. The former is slated for fall 2023 and the latter is coming just after in winter 2023. They’re bundled together for $34.99.
The Teal Mask takes players out of the Paldea region to a new place called Kitakami. Players will meet new characters and Pokémon in Kitakami while trying to unravel mysteries behind the local folk tales. This first episode will introduce trainers to a trio of new creatures that protected the land in the past. They are Okidogi, Munkidori, and Fezandipiti, as shown by the above picture.
The Indigo Disk, meanwhile, takes players to the Blueberry Academy under the ocean, as shown in the above key art. Going in as an exchange student, players will learn this school’s curriculum, which specializes in battling. The Pokémon Company didn’t specify which new monsters would be in this second episode, though.
However, Ogerpon (left) and Terapagos (right) are the two new legendary creatures for The Hidden Treasures of Area Zero. The newer Pokémon will also come alongside 230 familiar ones. These include Chingling, Shiftry, Milotic, Yanma, Vikavolt, Ninetales, Alcremie, Zebstrika, Whimsicott, Metagross, Dewgong, and Espurr, just to name a few.
Those who pre-order the DLC before October 31 will get some early unlocks right now in Scarlet and Violet. This includes a Hisuian Zoroark and a lineup of skins, as seen in the above gallery, that differ between the two versions. The Zoroark can’t be obtained normally and has a Dark terra type, knows the “Happy Hour” move, and has the Charismatic Mark which will further show off its unique properties.
The Pokémon Company also talked about other features coming to Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. There will be a new pair of Paradox Pokémon that will appear in Terra Raid Battles: the Water and Dragon-type Walking Wake and the Grass and Psychic-type Walking Wake, who are based on Virizion and Suicune, respectively.
Players can also now send postcards from Pokémon Go to the Switch games and Vivillon’s wings will change based on the location date from the card. Those in Pokémon Go who have sent postcards can also catch Roaming Form Gimmighoul so they can get coins to evolve it in Gholdengo. Pokémon Home support is also coming to Scarlet and Violet in early 2023, allowing users to move their Pokémon to this latest entry.
Some users took note of the lack of actual gameplay in this reveal, a potentially worrying sign since since Scarlet and Violet were widely criticized for their rampant technical shortcomings. Digital Foundry said it had “glaring technical problems” and “should not be sold in this state.” Nintendo apologized in December 2022 for these issues and promised that it is “working on improvements to the games.” However, the two still managed to sell 20.61 million units as of early February, which is just two or so months after launch.
This latest update that came alongside the presentation also has a few fixes in it, but it remains to be seen how much it actually does.
