Version switch.
It already happened with the expansion pack Pokémon Sword and Shield and everything indicates that it will happen again with Pokémon Scarlet and Purple. After a first additional content designed to offer a few hours of play and shake up the goal in the competitive, it is launched a DLC that gives much more and brings with it new mechanics. The indigo diskthe second part of the expansion The hidden treasure of ground zerois an apparently much more bulky proposal than The turquoise mask.
So, we have a unprecedented open world with several ecosystems, the focus on the double fightsa new High Command to defeat, challenges to overcome, and of course, New Pokémon and those from previous generations to capture. After playing it for an hour, we tell you why we believe that the DLC that arrives on December 14 will extend our adventures in Paldea for many hours.
The Arndano Academy: a school with its own underwater world
The story begins right where the previous additional content ended; in fact, the DLC cannot be purchased separately. Thus, two characters that we met in Noroteo will once again be important in the plot, Corin and Cass, who will become our classmates. In The indigo disk are exchange students from the Arndano Academy, a futuristic center where student life is different. Ah we will advance in the mystery of the 19th teratypewe will discover the legendary Pokémon Terapagoswe will find out how to capture the new paradox Pokémon Ferrotesta and Electrofury (yes, the elongated Raikou), and of course, we will finally shed light on that hidden treasure of Area Zero in a cartoon that is full of easter eggs for fans of the mythology of the saga.
But the most striking thing about the Arndano Academy is, without a doubt, the Biodome. It is an open underwater world that is separated into four areas: polar, savannah, coast and mountain canyon. It is a fairly large environment, much larger than the Noroteo region, and designed in such a way that awakens curiosity. It has left us wanting explore more, climb more peaks, discover more caves full of surprises, facing more trainers, and looking more closely at the treetops to see if we discover other creatures besides the Slakoth exercising all his laziness.
In every ecosystem there is a rest zone with machines to heal our team and vending machines with tons of useful consumable objects that we can pay for with Pokquartos and League Points. But, above all, in each of these environments there are Pokémon from previous generations. We have seen several that have the potential to shake up the goal competitive (something necessary, everything must be said), Creatures from Kanto especially predominate, and also regional forms from Alolan. Just taking into account these last creatures there are already several important ones in the team composition, but also in the Biodome you can capture all the initial Pokémon from previous generations, something fantastic both for fans who just want to complete the Pokedex and for those who just want to complete the Pokedex. who take parenting very seriously; If on top of that their teratypes accompany, there can be devastating combinations.
Challenging double combats
During our hour in the Biodome, in addition to exploring and capturing Pokémon, We also fight, and a lot. After attending a practical class where we were tasked with capturing a regional form of Alola (we didn’t see any more classes, but that mission suggested that the classes will have a little more substance here than in the main game), we faced Corin. Like the rest of the fights against other trainers that we found (be careful with some of them, one against two Oricorio took out almost our entire team), it is about a double combat that forced us to think very carefully about each of our movements.
The difficulty does not reach the levels of certain combats of, for example, Pokémon Pearl/Diamondbut it seems that Those looking for a challenge will find it here. In The indigo disk we will have to overcome High Command of the Arndano Leaguefour trainers that we must defeat after passing through their High Command challenge, a kind of minigames Very simple ones that provide some variety. In Nerina’s case, we had to get on the back of Koraidon, who could fly freely, instead of planning, to jump through hoops. A simplicity that contrasts greatly with the double match against Nerina that took place shortly after, which we barely beat and using objects. If the others are this intense, we better have the team well balanced and prepared.
There is much more in The indigo disk that we have not been able to test or that we cannot yet tell you about, as a mechanic that promises to provide many hours of play alone or with friends. There is the League Club from the Arndano Academy, where we can fight with the characters we have met in our adventure through Paldea and get to know them better, and there are other clubs to which we can donate points to obtain gifts with which to redecorate the room of the League Club.
On December 14th we changed schools
As we have mentioned several times, It seems that there will be Pokémon for a while in the second additional content of Pokémon Scarlet and Purple. New creatures to capture, High Command to defeat, the unprecedented ecosystems to explore, the characters to meet, the mysteries to solvethe Pokémon to train, the club to customize, and of course, the many double combats to fight. Maybe they have something up their sleeve, but simply with what is already on the table, The indigo disk sounds really good.
We have made these impressions after testing a version in development at an event invited by Nintendo Ibrica.
