While some Pokemon Scarlet and Violet players are returning to raid form after a brief hiatus, some are still working on assembling their teams following the long-awaited compatibility update for Pokemon Home. But players soon will have more choices to make when The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero DLC is released. The DLC for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet will be released in two parts, with The Teal Mask releasing this fall, and The Indigo Disk in the winter. In addition to at least one new Pokemon called Terapagos making its debut, The Indigo Disk will feature a handful of returning Pokemon from previous generations that are not yet available in Paldea.
As has been the case since Pokemon Red and Blue for the Game Boy, one of the main features of the series has been version-exclusive Pokemon. This design was created as a way to encourage players to interact and trade to complete their Pokedexes. While Link Cables are a thing of the past, the notion of trading has become significantly easier in recent Pokemon generations with the advent of online connectivity. With version-exclusivity in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet extending to Paradox Pokemon such as Great Tusk and Iron Treads, it is almost a certainty that both parts of the DLC will have version-exclusive Pokemon.
Pokemon That May Be Version Exclusives in The Indigo Disk
However, predicting which versions will get which Pokemon is a coin toss. The trend of version-exclusive Pokemon in DLC started with the expansion pass for Pokemon Sword and Shield. With version-exclusive Pokemon such as Pinsir and Heracross appearing in The Isle of Armor DLC, the precedent is there for both The Teal Mask and The Indigo Disk to continue that trend whenever the DLC is released. While The Pokemon Company has not confirmed which Pokemon will be version exclusives in the DLC, two specific Pokemon lines that have been confirmed to appear in The Indigo Disk have a history of exclusivity.
The first pair of Pokemon that may be version exclusives are Seel and Dewgong. Though these Sea Lion Pokemon from Kanto did not debut as version-exclusives in Pokemon Red and Blue, they were only available in the Sinnoh region in Pokemon Diamond and Pokemon Brilliant Diamond. As a result, players of Pokemon Pearl and Pokemon Shining Pearl had to trade to obtain these aquatic Pokemon. As one of the first Water and Ice dual-type Pokemon, Dewgong may fit right in with The Indigo Disk's Blueberry Academy, given the fact that part of the building is located under the ocean.
The second Pokemon pair that are prime candidates for version exclusivity is Cottonee and Whimsicott. Unlike Seel and Dewgong, these Grass and Fairy dual-type Pokemon originated as version exclusives in Pokemon Black. Their Pokemon White counterparts were Petilil and Lilligant, with the latter receiving a Hisuian form in Pokemon Legends: Arceus. While Hisuian Lilligant can now be obtained via Pokemon Home, Whimsicott will have to wait a little longer.
As for the other Pokemon that have been confirmed to appear in The Indigo Disk, both the Alcremie and Zebstrika lines are plausible candidates for version exclusivity. Given that Alcremie and Whimsicott share the Fairy type in part, they could serve as counterparts to one another. As for Dewgong and Zebstrika, both of these Pokemon have recently appeared in remakes of previous generations.
Originally from Unova, Zebstrika last appeared in Pokemon 2014's Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, which will make its appearance in The Indigo Disk the first in nearly a decade. Only time will tell if these predictions will ring true when the DLC for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet arrives later this year.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are available now for Nintendo Switch.
