Pokémon Scarlet and Violet- The Indigo Disk (Switch) First Impressions

Happy Winter Solstice, everyone: I know I wanted to post this sooner; but factors outside my control (some of which will be addressed here) kept it from happening sooner. That out of the way, here are my first impressions on Pokémon Scarlet and Violet- The Indigo Disk.

I have been playing this expansion for nearly a week; and so far, the biggest roadblock I faced was having to reinstall the DLC and rebooting my new Switch OLED. The reason was because Cyrano kept looping even though I cleared the conditions to access this chapter. Otherwise, only encountered some minor cosmetic visual artifacts; nothing game-breaking. A word of advice- you will need to have cleared the main story and the Teal Mask DLC chapter before you can start this one. So, that out of the way, let’s begin.

After meeting with Cyrano, you are given the chance to partake in a student exchange at the Blueberry Academy in the Unova region. The centerpiece is a massive preserve known as the Terrarium, split into four distinct biomes: coastal, canyon, savannah, and polar. Each has their own variety of Pokémon to catch inside. With the amount of monsters from Generation V, this has further generated talk of a full remake.

In addition to the return of characters that previously appeared; the academy has their own Elite Four to battle: Crispin, Lacey, Drayton and Amarys. Even the trainers you fight in the Terrarium have rosters and move sets that often show up in competitive play.  

There’s also a variety of side activities to build up points; which can be used to purchase items and upgrade the facilities at the academy. On top of nearly 200 monsters returning from previous games; new Paradox Pokémon enter the game for you capture and train. I am eager to not just catch classic starters, but new monsters such as Iron Crown and Raging Bolt. Overall, my first impressions are quite positive. This chapter not only builds on what’s come before; but also justifies what’s come before.

One last thing to address before I resume work on other projects (such as my full look at To Be A Master)- it seems an epilogue will be releasing in the game on January 11 of next year; and my full review will follow after I have cleared it. That will be all for now, and I wish you all good tidings. Take care.