Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Indigo Disk DLC Runs the Risk…

Summary

The Indigo Disk DLC for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, releasing in 2023, should learn from The Teal Mask's mistake of not considering the high-level teams of players entering the DLC.
To provide a challenge to high-level trainers, The Indigo Disk could introduce higher-level scaling in battles, such as new Elite Four battles with appropriately high-level trainers.
Players can expect trickier wild Pokemon encounters in Blueberry Academy's artificial biome-filled Terrarium, potentially featuring high-difficulty Tera Raids or special battles against wild Pokemon.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's second set of DLC, The Indigo Disk, is currently scheduled for a release in 2023. It follows the first DLC, The Teal Mask, and takes players to a new location called Blueberry Academy, where they can encounter new Pokemon including new Paradox forms and the Legendary Pokemon Terapagos. However, if The Indigo Disk hopes to succeed, it should avoid repeating The Teal Mask's mistake of neglecting the fact that most Pokemon Scarlet and Violet players had already completed the game and were entering the DLC with teams of highly leveled, combat-ready Pokemon.

While players do not have to have completed Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's main story to travel to Kitakami for the events of The Teal Mask, due to the DLC coming out nearly a year after the game, many had already done so. While the level of Pokemon found in The Teal Mask scales based on players' progress, some still felt the gap between their Pokemons' levels and that of the Pokemon they encountered was too large.

Many Fans Found Teal Mask "Too Easy"

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Players who have completed Scarlet and Violet's story are likely to encounter Pokemon of around level 60-65 in the wilds around Kitakami. The Trainers battled as part of the DLC's story will have level 70-75 Pokemon, with some optional encounters featuring Pokemon as high as Level 80. However, these fights may not pose a challenge to players fielding a team of Level 100 Pokemon they have previously optimized for difficult battles such as 7-Star Tera Raids. Even the Kitakami Ogre Clan, the hardest Trainer battles available in the DLC, have only 4-5 Pokemon of levels 75-80.

Ogre Clan Member	Pokemon
Raikiri	Raichu Lv.75	Probopass Lv.75	Luxray Lv.76	Vikavolt Lv.77
Hasabe	Politoed Lv.75	Ludicolo Lv.75	Drednaw Lv.76	Basculegion Lv.77
Masamune	Grimmsnarl Lv.75	Gardevoir Lv.75	Ribombee Lv.76	Clefable Lv.77
Kanemitsu	Ninetales Lv.75	Shiftry Lv.75	Chandelure Lv.76	Lilligant Lv.77
Munechika	Ambipom Lv.75	Maushold Lv.75	Greedent Lv.76	Snorlax Lv.77
Kunitsuna	Carbink Lv.75	Golem Lv.75	Froslass Lv.76	Mamoswine Lv.77
Kotetsu	Heracross Lv.75	Gallade Lv.75	Conkeldurr Lv.76	Kommo-o Lv.77
Murakami	Gengar Lv.75	Crawdaunt Lv.75	Trevanant Lv.76	Dusclops Lv.77	Kingambit Lv.80

How Can The Indigo Disk Address This?

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Even Higher Level Scaling

There are several ways in which the upcoming Indigo Disk DLC could address this issue and offer a genuine challenge to high-level Pokemon Trainers who have completed Scarlet and Violet's main story. The Indigo Disk promises a new set of "Elite Four" battles for players to challenge. Those who have already conquered Paldea's own Elite Four should find themselves facing Trainers of an appropriately high level. Rather than maxing out at Level 80 like the Ogre Clan, Blueberry Academy's most skilled trainers could offer high-level battles that would challenge even a Tera Raid veteran. Other battles could include a rematch against The Teal Mask's Kieran or a face-off against Blueberry Academy founder Cyrano.

Trickier Wild Pokemon Encounters

"Wild" Pokemon in The Indigo Disk will be handled in a unique way, appearing in Blueberry Academy's artificial biome-filled Terrarium. This will allow for several Pokemon not originally native to Paldea to appear in the DLC. Hopefully, these will be higher level than the wild Pokemon found around Kitakami. While it is unlikely that The Indigo Disk will feature any equivalent to Paldea's Titan battles, it will hopefully feature some high-difficulty Tera Raids or other special battles against wild Pokemon.

Extra-Challenging Fights Against Returning Opponents

In The Indigo Disk, players will be able to invite characters from the main game, such as Paldea's Gym Leaders, to visit them at Blueberry Academy. While visiting, the player can battle these characters. The official Indigo Disk website hints that players "might just see a side of them [they] hadn't seen before" which could indicate that harder fights against these characters could be coming. While several characters can be fought with high-level teams in Scarlet and Violet's post-game, it is definitely possible to make these fights even more difficult for their reappearance in The Indigo Disk.

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