The developers of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are working on two DLCs, namely Teal Mask and Indigo Disk, which will offer players new locations to discover, including Kitakami and the Blueberry Academy.
The game will prioritize the use of the player’s Pokemon team to interact with the surroundings’ resources in these fresh settings, as in Pokemon Legends: Arceus. The developers of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are working on two DLCs, namely Teal Mask and Indigo Disk, which will offer players new locations to discover, including Kitakami and the Blueberry Academy.
The resource gathering system in Pokemon Legends: Arceus was thoughtfully designed to fit seamlessly with the game’s setting. By allowing players to send out their Pokemon to collect items, such as mining ores or gathering medicinal leeks, the game provided a more engaging and immersive experience.
This feature aligned with the game’s theme of item scavenging and offered a satisfying way for players to progress. Even the berry trees in the game had actual berries growing on their branches, which players could knock down by calling their Pokemon to bash into the trunks. This level of detail enhanced the game’s realism and made the game’s environment feel more authentic.
The utilization of players’ Pokemon in exploring the environment in the game was limited due to its design being more focused on auto-battling than item procurement. The reliance on Miraidon/Koraidon for traversal also restricted the potential of this feature, resulting in most of the journey across Paldea being done solely by them. This left little room for item gathering and exploration, thus players’ Pokemon collections needed to be fully integrated into the game’s open-world setting.
However, the game had some exciting features involving the Paradox Legendary pair, Miraidon and Koraidon, as they could still be used to interact with the natural world by bashing into trees, leading to the appearance of rarer Pokemon. This raises the question of how the upcoming DLC can further explore the interaction between Pokemon and the natural world, especially regarding resource gathering. With Paldea’s open-world setting as a backdrop, there are endless possibilities for expanding Pokemon interaction with the environment.
Because many of the resources in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are artificial, they cannot be integrated into the natural environment. However, it is possible to change how these resources are collected to emphasize interaction with the game world and better use the player’s Pokemon team. With a diverse range of Pokemon types and movesets available, it would be interesting to see the return of Hidden Moves (HMs) in the game, which could be used by various Pokemon rather than just Miraidon/Koraidon.
In addition, new types of HMs could be introduced to account for new reactive features, making the game world more dynamic and responsive. For instance, different moves could be employed to modify the environment and create new paths or open up previously inaccessible areas, going beyond the limited application of HM Cut in previous games.
While Scarlet and Violet could not dive underwater, the possibility of resource collection playing a significant role in The Indigo Disk DLC is exciting. While it may be too much to expect the implementation of underwater traversal mechanics, having players collect resources as part of the story could be feasible.
For example, players may need to gather collectible sea glass shards for Terapagos, similar to how Arceus’ elemental plates were collected. To accomplish this, players could send out a Water-type Pokemon like Floatzel to dive deep into the waters surrounding Blueberry Academy, utilizing the interactive elements of Legends: Arceus while allowing the use of Pokemon other than Miraidon/Koraidon.
The Kitakami region in The Teal Mask DLC could focus on natural item collection similarly to Legends: Arceus, given its lush Japanese-inspired setting. However, the DLC could also take things further by introducing more specialized moves for Pokemon to interact with the environment. For example, the player may need to cross a strong current in a ravine that is too difficult for their Pokemon to swim across. In this case, the player could use a Pokemon like Cetitan to freeze the water with Ice Beam and create a safe path to reach certain items. It would add a new layer of interactivity and strategy to resource collection in the game.
If the upcoming Kitakami DLC in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet includes dark caverns, a feature similar to the ‘Flash’ mechanic from previous games could be reintroduced. In this mechanic, a Fire-type Pokemon like Charizard could be sent out to provide light with its flaming tail, allowing the player to explore the cavern and possibly find a valuable Tera Shard at the end. This would connect with the DLC’s narrative while also involving the player’s Pokemon team in collecting resources.
By incorporating the principles of Legends: Arceus, the DLC could improve the significance of Pokemon in the game’s environment and resource gathering. The DLC could also introduce more specialized moves that could be used for interaction with the environment, such as using Cetitan’s Ice Beam to create a safe path across a ravine’s currents.