The general consensus regarding Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's The Teal Mask DLC is that it was a major upgrade compared to the first expansion for Gen 8 games in many ways, which is to be attributed to a good story combined with interesting new critters. All eyes are on the upcoming second DLC, The Indigo Disk, which will take players to the Blueberry Academy in Unova to experience a different sort of school life as well as catch more exotic Pokemon. The Indigo Disk breaks a massive starter tradition by having all past first-partner Pokemon available to catch in the wild, but it may not be able to deliver what it promises from the get-go with its new Pokemon, according to recent leaks.

The Teal Mask's best Pokemon are not really time-gated outside of minor inconveniences, such as completing the story or catching at least 150 species in the Kitakami Pokedex for the new Legendaries and Bloodmoon Ursaluna, respectively. This is a good move because players can delve head-on into exploration and still get the most out of their Kitakami experience, or maybe they can finish the story in a few hours and then achieve everything else, valuing their free agency. The Indigo Disk may not be able to achieve the same result, though, and it's a shame.

RELATED: Kalos Pokemon That Need an Evolution in Gen 10

Why Scarlet and Violet's Indigo Disk is Likely to Time-Gate New Pokemon

A renowned Pokemon leaker called Riddler Khu has been sharing many hints about what's to come with the next expansion, including that The Indigo Disk's Dipplin evolution might have seven heads and become the first Bug/Dragon-type critter ever. More recently, the insider shared an apparently simple post just stating "3/8" on social media, which at first some fans tied to the release date of the DLC or even new information about future projects from The Pokemon Company.

However, in the past few months, Khu stated that there would be a total of eight new Pokemon in The Indigo Disk DLC, with fans later piecing the puzzle together and discovering the actual list of what's coming. This includes the already-revealed Archaludon, Raging Bolt, Iron Crown, and Terapagos. The extra four would be Dipplin's evolution, a Paradox version of both Entei and Terrakion, and the so-called "peach" master Pokemon rumored to be tied to The Teal Mask's Loyal Three. Paradox Entei and Terrakion would complete their respective trios alongside Raging Bolt and Walking Wake or Iron Leaves and Iron Crown, respectively, which makes perfect sense.

Dipplin's evolution was confirmed by The Teal Mask, basically, as the critter can wield the Eviolite held item in battle. Finally, the peach master Pokemon would complete the story of the Loyal Three, and apparently, it's also going to be a major part of The Indigo Disk's own story surrounding Kieran and even characters from the base game. While having eight new pocket monsters in the expansion sounds great, the "3/8" tweet from Khu may very well be hinting at only three of them being in the base game, and the remaining five being relegated to events and time-limited promotions.

This would be a massive problem for The Indigo Disk, and the most likely scenario is that all the Paradox critters will become available over time via Tera Raids, much like Walking Wake and Iron Leaves, and the peach master Pokemon would be left as the generation's own Mythical. All of this makes sense, considering past patterns for the series, but it also means that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet players won't be able to complete the Pokedex for The Indigo Disk and catch all its exclusive mons anytime soon. Instead, they could have to wait months for the Paradox versions to become available, and then even longer for the Mythical to have its own event.

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

MORE: Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Indigo Disk DLC Could Be a Step Back from Gen 8 in One Way