Highlights

  • Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's upcoming DLC expansions, The Teal Mask and The Indigo Disk, will offer players more content, including the opportunity to catch new critters like Archaludon.
  • Archaludon's design pays homage to the bridges of the Unova region in Pokemon Black and White, particularly resembling the Skyarrow Bridge.
  • The inclusion of Archaludon, as well as the themes of time travel and the connections to characters from Pokemon Black and White, strongly hint at the possibility of a new Gen 5 game or a Pokemon Legends Unova game in the future.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are likely to be remembered for the many traditions they broke in their quest to reinvent the classic Pokemon formula, something that Gen 8 titles and Pokemon Legends: Arceus both achieved to varying degrees. However, Gen 9 is very much not over yet, as Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's The Teal Mask and The Indigo Disk DLC expansions will launch in the coming months, with the former coming as early as September 13. These two additions will likely have a lot more content for players to enjoy, including catching entirely new critters. One of them is Archaludon, coming with The Indigo Disk DLC, and it seems to be paving the way for a Pokemon Legends Unova game - as well as the rumored Gen 5 remakes.

There is a strong case to be made about Gen 5 being the next in line to get some love from The Pokemon Company, and that stems from the fact that Pokemon Black and White should be the next to receive a remake after Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. Not only that, however, a renowned Pokemon leaker by the name of Riddler Khu has been sharing hints about the possibility of a new title that takes place in the region of Unova - and Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Archaludon might be just one piece of the puzzle.

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One of the reasons why Duraludon's new Pokemon Scarlet and Violet evolution is so relevant to the discourse is that its design seems to pay homage to the many bridges of the Unova region from Pokemon Black and White. In fact, Archaludon's signature move makes it change its pose in a way that makes the critter extremely similar to one particular landmark in Unova - the Skyarrow Bridge.

The similarity is uncanny, but it's far from the only detail about Archaludon's introduction that may be hinting at new Gen 5 games. For starters, one of the main themes of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is time travel - particularly, the stark differences between Paradox Pokemon from the past and those from the future, which one could argue is not too dissimilar from Gen 5's own Black City and White Forest. Not only that, but Pokemon Black and White feature each an exclusive Gym Leader, with the former's being Drayden, who specializes in Dragon-type Pokemon. The Indigo Disk's Archaludon is the signature Pokemon of a young trainer with the same white hair as Drayden, and his name is Drayton.

This is most likely not a coincidence, and it's not impossible that another trainer will instead be given a new critter that's tied more to Pokemon White and the White Forest, instead of having a futuristic appearance. Still, the fact that Archaludon is so similar to the Skyarrow Bridge from Gen 5 games, and the fact that it is the signature Pokemon of a character that seems to most likely be related to Pokemon Black and White's Drayden, both seem unequivocal hints to something tied to Unova that's happening soon.

With all the connections to time travel and the differences between past and future, a Pokemon Legends Unova game that ties them together might be in the cards for the future of the series, and it makes a lot of sense too. Pokemon Legends: Arceus explored the past of Sinnoh and its inhabitants, with the region even having a different name - Hisui - and being host to Pokemon that were never part of Gen 4's roster. Combining all these details from The Indigo Disk DLC for Gen 9 and the past of the series, it seems like Game Freak's next big Pokemon game could be all about Unova.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are available now for the Nintendo Switch.

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