This week’s long-awaited Pokemon Day presentation brought a glimpse intoPokemon ScarletandViolet’s upcoming DLC. It appears thatPokemon ScarletandVioletwill be straying far from the Paldea region, both in terms of setting and Legendary Pokemon design - though this wouldn’t be the first time that Generation 9’s designs have strayed from the region’s inspirations.
ScarletandVioletwill two separate expansions: “The Teal Mask” takes place in a Japanese-inspired land called Kitakami, and “The Indigo Disk” has players act as exchange students at the ocean-based Blueberry Academy. Neither story nor their teased new Legendaries seem particularly focused on Spanish lore, despite Paldea being based on real-world Spain. Instead, they appear to serve as a way to further explain the Terestal phenomenon and Paradox Pokemon, backed up by the DLC’s overarching title: “The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero.”
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Paldea Diverges Greatly From its Source Material
The DLC announcement mark a recurring trend in thatScarletandViolet’s Legendaries don’t have very close ties to Spanish inspirations.Paldea’s Legendary Pokemon Quartettook from Chinese mythos, and the newly announced Ogerpon and Terapagos appear to deviate as well. With the first expansion’s land of Kitakami featuring a summer festival trip characterized by snowcones, fireworks, and yukata-wearing schoolkids, Ogerpon’s design (and three new followers) serves as an extension of Japanese iconography. Ogerpon has a prominent mask-wearing design, which is also reflected in Pokemon-themed masks sold at the festival.
Terapagos is turtle-like in appearance, with its diamond-shaped pupils and shining shell that represents different typings as part of the Paldea region’sTerastal phenomenon. Given the expansion’s Blueberry Academy is situated in the middle of water, this new Pokemon might be influenced by sea turtles that inhabit the Mediterranean Sea, though that wouldn’t provide much in the way of direct Spanish inspiration. Since so little is known about the DLC at this stage, the academy might not even be positioned close to the games' Paldean Sea.
The two newLegendary Pokemoncertainly appear well-designed, but their inspirations are a missed opportunity to explore more aspects of Spain. Instead of Teal Mask taking place on a school trip to a Japanese-inspired land, it might have made more sense to highlight an area with a closer-proximity to Spain, like Morocco - which could have played into Ogerpon’s design by way of a more traditional, African-inspired wooden mask. The DLC could also have explored something to the effect of real-world Gibraltar, a small British territory that shares a border on Spain’s southern coast whose city is characterized by Moorish architecture and a giant limestone rock that looms over its land.
Tying the DLC more into Spanish themes would have also given the DLC an opportunity to play more into traditional stories. With thestarter Pokemon Quaxly only vaguely serving as a nod toDon Quixote, this and other popular tales could have been further explored. That being said, its influence could still be found in the case of Terapagos.
Early leaks about Indigo Disk led to theories that the disk Pokemon could “createParadox Pokemon,” not unlike how Don Quixote created fantastical worlds through his imagination. While it would be a loose tie-in to the Spainish epic, it’s at least a theory that ties in the Paldea region more closely to its main inspiration. The coming Legendaries feel like a stark deviation from Spanish influences on first glance, so hopefully their backstories retain at least some of its themes and iconography.
Pokemon ScarletandVioletare available now for the Nintendo Switch.
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