Pokemon Scarlet and Violet arguably made competitive games the most accessible they have ever been for any players interested in climbing the ranked ladder and trying out PvP teams, and that's thanks to a plethora of new and changed features. For example, Mints were extremely hard to come by in past games and were mostly rewards tied to playing competitive games, whereas Gen 9 made them available from regular vendors for a handful of Pokedollars. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's competitive meta has also undergone many changes, especially with the recent release of Hisuian critters via the Pokemon Home compatibility, but The Indigo Disk DLC in particular is about to make Duraludon's new evolution very problematic.

Duraludon was first introduced in Pokemon Sword and Shield as the signature critter used by Raihan, Leon's fiercest adversary up until the events of the game. The Pokemon was quite strong from the get-go thanks to its great typing of Dragon and Steel paired with decent moves and its own Gigantamax form, but it was short-lived due to Gen 8's competitive meta and the fact that it wasn't in the base version of Gen 9 games. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's DLC will fix that, and on top of it, Duraludon will get a brand-new cross-gen evolution in the form of Archaludon.

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Why Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's DLC Adding Archaludon is a Double-Edged Sword

Cross-gen evolutions are often very popular in Pokemon games because they bring past critters to the limelight with a fresh coat of paint, and the most recent example is Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Kingambit being the evolution of Bisharp from Gen 5. Kingambit proved to be incredibly powerful, to the point that it was in multiple teams that either won major tournaments or placed very high, and this is a testament to how impactful cross-gen evolution can be on a given game's competitive meta.

Perhaps more relevant for the specific case of Duraludon and Archaludon is the fact that Pokemon Sword and Shield's regional forms included one for the cute coral-like Gen 2 critter called Corsola. Galarian Corsola doesn't look like a threatening creature on paper, but Gen 8 also gave it an evolution in the form of Cursola - and while Cursola was never as good, the simple fact that it existed catapulted Sword and Shield's Galarian Corsola at the very top of the competitive meta. In fact, Pokemon that are not fully evolved can reap the benefits of a held item called Eviolite.

What the Eviolte does is increase the holder's Defense and Special Defense by 50%, which made Galarian Corsola an incredibly resilient critter that suddenly became one of the game's hardest to remove from the field. Porygon2 is another great example of good Eviolite usage due to its vast movepool and coverage paired with already very good stats, and it too saw its time in the sun in competitive Pokemon battles. As such, the fact that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Indigo Disk DLC is adding an evolution for Duraludon doesn't simply mean that the critter could get more powerful in this new form, but also its base form.

Duraludon's bulk and typing make it quite special, and giving it the ability to increase its Defense and Special Defense just by holding a given item could make it an even more desirable critter on many teams. Even if this doesn't end up being the case, one could argue that Archaludon's future also looks bright thanks to possible combos in double battles, such as using its Stamina Ability with Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Maushold attacking its ally with Population Bomb - all while having the Friend Guard Ability. As it stands, there seems to be room for both Eviolite Duraludon and regular Archaludon in the meta, but Game Freak should be careful not to retrace its steps with Galarian Corsola.

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

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