Highlights
- Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's DLC, The Teal Mask, exceeds expectations with new features, a good story, and strong characters.
- The Bloodmoon Ursaluna is a powerful creature in the DLC, garnering attention for its appearance and strong abilities.
- The presence of the Eviolite suggests that Dipplin, a seemingly fully-evolved Pokemon, will have an evolution in the upcoming Indigo Disk DLC for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's The Teal Mask was in a strange spot ahead of release due to the expectations players had after a mixed launch for the base games as well as the underwhelming experience that was Gen 8's Isle of Armor. Still, the expansion sticks the landing beautifully thanks to multiple new features and changes, as well as a good story delivered by well-crafted characters, all while coming with a handful of new Pokemon that are either unique or just very strong in battle. The Teal Mask's Dipplin is a bit of a mixed bag at first glance due to an average stat distribution for what seems like a support Pokemon, but there's more than meets the eye to it.
One of the most powerful critters in the DLC is Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's new Bloodmoon Ursaluna, which is making the rounds online for its appearance, special questline, and incredibly strong kit. Yet, some pocket monsters can have their time in the limelight with the right sets and possibly held items, such as Sinistcha being a great Amoonguss counter on paper as well as support thanks to its moves. What's strange, however, is that what appears to be a fully-evolved creature like Dipplin can hold the Eviolite, which all but confirms its evolution in The Indigo Disk.
Why Dipplin Will Get an Evolution in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's The Indigo Disk
When Dipplin was first leaked, the community wasn't sure it would be a regular cross-gen evolution, especially after Pokemon Sword and Shield's Galarian Slowking in The Crown Tundra DLC. Some were quick to point out that it would make sense for Dipplin to evolve in The Indigo Disk expansion, a theory that found common ground in the hint shared by renowned Pokemon leaker Riddler Khu, who made a post on social media with a picture of a caduceus.
The caduceus is both a symbol of medicine and the staff held by messengers, like Hermes in Greek mythology, and its design involves two entwined snakes. Dipplin's Pokedex entry mentions that it's made of two creatures - one with the head out of the caramel apple, the other making for its tail - and this alone could be a great way to explain the caduceus leak by Riddler Khu ahead of The Indigo Disk. However, what basically proves that Dipplin is getting an evolution in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Indigo Disk DLC is that it can hold the Eviolite and actually get its benefits.
Normally, the Eviolite in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, as well as games before Gen 9, is only usable by Pokemon that are not fully evolved, which is what made Galarian Corsola such a strong critter. With the Eviolite, Dipplin essentially becomes a better Appletun for all intents and purposes, making it quite a surprising contender for competitive roles in the current meta. More importantly, this means Dipplin will have an evolution in the second DLC for Gen 9 games, as its being able to hold the Eviolite would otherwise be a bug and addressed as such by official channels.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's The Indigo Disk will break longstanding traditions with a new set of Elite Four as well as all past starters available, and it's set to single-handedly shake the franchise up in many ways. A Dipplin evolution will not only be interesting to see, but it could also set a new tradition with DLCs featuring multiple evolutions for a specific critter after Gen 8's Galarian Slowpoke. It remains to be seen what exactly the Dipplin evolution will do, but at this point, it seems almost impossible not to appear with the second expansion for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are available now for the Nintendo Switch.
