Pokemon Scarlet and Violet have been out for almost a month now, and while it may be too soon to talk about future content, considering that there is still a lot to do in the game with Tera Raids and competitive battles, it is also true that rumors about expansions surfaced months ago. In fact, one of the first sources of information regarding Gen 9's possible DLC came from Riddler Khu, one of the leakers that contributed to sharing major pieces of information regarding the Paldean Pokedex and the games as a whole. Khu stated that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's DLC would have new Pokemon in it, specifically a Paradox version of both Suicune and Virizion, which were cut from the base game.
All Pokemon Scarlet and Violet DLC rumors include even more than that, from the possibility of Ultra Beasts coming back due to the game awarding players with a Beast Ball upon completing the Pokedex, all the way to explorable Kalos and the return of Mega Evolutions. These are all exciting prospects, and some of them make more sense than others due to in-game clues, like sketches of Paradox Suicune and Virizion appearing in the Scarlet and Violet books. Even though it may seem too soon to officially know anything about Gen 9 expansions, there is actually a good chance that a trailer will hit the web next month, based on data from Gen 8.
Why Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Could Drop a DLC Trailer in January
Pokemon Sword and Shield were the first games in the franchise to ever get expansions rather than a sequel or a third version of the game, and while the data sample is limited to this one occasion, it still makes sense to analyze it. Gen 8 games were released on November 15 of 2019, which puts Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's launch almost exactly three years later. This is in line with a trend that The Pokemon Company has had for years now, where mainline games always launch on a Friday in November.
Because this is consistent across multiple generations, it can also be inferred that assuming a trailer for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's DLC will come next month is not a stretch, as that's what happened in Gen 8. Pokemon Sword and Shield's trailer for The Isle of Armor and Crown Tundra expansions came on January 9, which was less than two months after the games' launch, and around five months before the release of the first DLC, which happened on June 17 of 2020.
As such, it's quite plausible that a teaser trailer will make its way on the official YouTube Pokemon channel in January, showing tiny bits of what to expect from the expansions for Gen 9. This makes even more sense due to some of the DLC content being actually cut from the base game, such as Paradox Suicune and Paradox Virizion, meaning that these critters were most likely ready ahead of launch already. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Paradox Pokemon were fairly successful within the community, to the point that some have already been banned from competitive tournaments.
Looking at the 2023 calendar, a trailer could drop anytime between January 8 and January 22, assuming it keeps both the month and the day of the week of the first one. Even if that is not the case, the first expansion would make sense as a summer release, and thus having it launch between May and July is the most likely scenario. What follows is that a trailer should probably drop by February anyway, which makes the possibility of a January announcement all the more credible. Ultimately, players will have to wait for another month, give or take, but that's not a bad deal considering the numerous Tera Raid events in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet at the moment.
PokemonScarlet and Violet are available now on Nintendo Switch.
