August 8th Pokemon Direct gave us updates on each of their games and apps. We weren't introduced to any new games sadly, but rather just updates on Pokemon Go, Pokemon Unite, Pokemon Cafe, Pokemon Sleep, Pokemon Masters, Detective Pikachu and the Scarlet & Violet Trailer was saved for last. As I have with every Nintendo & Pokemon Presents as well as trailers, I will be dissecting the newest trailer and pointing out the biggest things I've noticed & looking forward to most.

1. The Teal Mask Release Date

We finally got our release date for the first DLC for Scarlet & Violet. The Teal Mask will be released on September 13th of 2023 which is MUCH sooner than I expected. The inital release window was 'Fall of 23' in which September 13th isn't even technically fall yet according to the autumn equinox. I was expecting the DLC to release late October/Early November at the earliest in order to compete with the HIGHLY anticipated Spiderman 2 releasing October 20th, so yeah! This release date caught me entirely off guard! Maybe the competition with Spiderman 2 is why the DLC is releasing earlier than expected. Who knows? Either way, 2023 is a really good year for Videogames considering we've already gotten Hogwarts Legacy, Tears of the Kingdom, Pikmin 4, Jedi Survivor & many more phenomenal games already.

2. New Applin Evolution

What I initially thought was a regional or convergent form of Applin Turns out to be a new evolution. Yup! Applin now has a THIRD Branched evolution named Dipplin but I don't understand it... All three of Applin's evolutions are Grass-Dragon type with the same abilities. They all have the same base stats total too of 485, just situated into different categories. Other evolution lines do the same thing, such as the Ralts & Tyrouge lines, BUT at least one of the Branched Evolutions are differently typed. I was 100% determined Dipplin would be Fairy-Dragon typed due to how food based Pokemon, especially dessert inspired foods, are typically Fairy or Psychic types but I stand corrected. I love this design for Dipplin, don't get me wrong. It was a matter of time before we got an alternate form for Applin based on a candied apple. Would I choose Dipplin to be on my team? Maybe. I believe Dipplin's stats will catter more towards Special Attack or Special Defense. Flapple's stats ARE more Attack stat forward while Appltun's Stats ARE more HP stat forward so It really just comes down to which stat you prioritize more. Considering the fanbase 100% prefers Appletun, something tells me Dipplin WONT be desirable in battle or by design.

3. New Duraludon Evolution

While we didn't need another evolution for Applin, we DID need one for Duraludon. One thing the fanbase can agree on is that Duraludon felt incomplete in Sword & Shield as it was a single stage Pokemon with a design that felt far from complete. Duraludon needed either a pre-evolution or an evolution in general and Scarlet & Violet are delivering. Remaining the same type as Duraludon as a Steel-Dragon type, Duraludon receives an evolution named Archaludon who has a gimmick similar to Aegislash of which it possesses the ability to change forms from a Biped (as pictured above) to a Quadruped that takes on a form that looks like a architectural steel bridge. Honestly it's Quad form looks a bit ridiculous but I'm in LOVE with its biped form, enough so that if the stats are above par, I might actually invite him onto my team as a permanent member as my Corviknight acts as my main team Steel type. Heck, there's actually a really good chance that Archaludon will be a pseudo legendary! If so, sign me up!!!

4. Past Paradox Raikou

Although shown for a brief few seconds, we got our first look at Past Paradox Raikou which leads me to believe we will eventually get Past Paradox Entei as well to finish the trio and honestly... Paradox Raikou sucks in comparison to Paradox Suicune aka Walking Wake due to how it takes on an appearance similarly to a Brachiosaurus aka the longed neck herbivore/Gentle Giants. Out of the Legendary Dog trio, Raikou always looked the most 'feral' or beast like so a Past form of it being an herbivore just takes the fun out of it in a way. It's unexpected. Enough with the downsides... Pokemon is intentionally keeping information regarding Past Raikou from us which tells me we'll get more information about him in the next month or so be it its part of the DLC or we'll get Tera Raids in order to obtain him in the next month or so. No matter how you look at it, Paradox Raikou will be ours to obtain before we know it. I think Paradox Raikou will be Dragon Electric Type similarly to how Walking Wake was Dragon Water Type. I further think that Paradox Raikou's official name could be Roaring Thunder or Stomping Currents as Past Paradox names, while better than Future Paradox names, tend to be quite simple & on the nose.

EDIT: Turns out Paradox Raikou's official name is Raging Bolt... I don't like it. Which name fits Paradox Raikou better: Roaring Thunder, Raging Bolt or Stomping Currents?

5. Future Paradox Cobalion

As expected, we got Future Paradox Virizion aka Iron Leaves, we were inevitably going to recieve Paradox Cobalion. Iron Leaves wasn't recieved very well by the gaming community as it was HEAVILY overshadowed by Walking Wake and rightfully so. Iron Leaves was straight up just a robotic version of Virizion and its the same exact case here with Paradox Cobalion. It isn't creative and it somehow looks worst than Iron Leaves BUT better than the OG Cobalion. Then again, Cobalion's design has always felt uncanny to me for some reason. The one thing I WILL hand Paradox Cobalion, aside from looking better than OG Cobalion, is that I'm loving the colors on it. I think Paradox Cobalion will remain the same typing that Cobalion is which is Iron-Fighting type. If not, MAYBE Fairy-Fighting. No matter what, it's retaining the Fighting Type. I think Paradox Cobalion could potentially be called Iron Justice considering Cobalion is the leader of the Swords of Justice.

EDIT: Turns out Paradox Cobalion is called Iron Crown. It's VERY on the nose but that's just how Future Paradox forms are. Which name seems more fitting for Paradox Cobalion: Iron Justice or Iron Crown?

6. Ogerpon Terastalizes Differently

We saw something we have yet to see in Scarlet & Violet as of yet: Terastalizing changing the appearance of a Pokemon. The most that happens when a Pokemon Terastalizes is that it takes on a shiny appearance accompanied by a hat aka Cosmetics but its completely different with Ogerpon aka the Teal Mask. Ogerpon's Mask takes on a much larger beastly form when Terastalized which marks a first for this pair of games: The first time Terastalizing has changed the Pokemon physically rather than cosmetically. Nobody knows anything else regarding this phenomenon, but I can't wait to learn more about it next month!!!

7. The BB League

When I dissected the previous trailer, I predicted that four of the trainers in the Indigo Disc DLC were characters of interest that'd act as mini-bosses or optional trainers you can fight... And I was 100% correct lol. Thankfully, the trailer delved pretty heavily into them for much needed clarification. Basically they're a group of Ace trainers at Blueberry Academy called the BB League (Blueberry League for those of you confused), the top 4, who specialize in particular typings. Crispin Is a Fire type trainer with a passion for cooking who has a Magmortar on his team. Drayton Is a Dragon Type trainer who is often aloof sporting an Archaludon on his team. Amarys, although her type specialty let alone any Pokemon she uses is currently unknown, her character bio suggests she's an Ice or a Steel Type trainer. I'm almost certain Amarys will be a Steel Trainer and her ace will most likely be Metagross considering how heavily the Beldum line is featured in every trailer. Lastly Lacey, we also don't know her type specialty or which Pokemon she uses, but it's most likely Psychic or Fairy based on her character design and how often the Clefairy line is featured within this particular trailer. I look forward to battling Drayton and Lacey

8. Perrin

Perrin is characterized as 'A photographer who's traveled to Paldea' and she looks strangely similar to Adaman of Pokemon Legends Arceus. We FINALLY know who he's related to. Just wanted to mention this cause I found it weird that everyone in Legends Arceus was an ancestor to SOMEONE we've already been introduced to in different games except for Adaman who everyone thought was related to Melony & Gordie. 100% we will be spending loads of time with Perrin in the Teal Mask DLC as, by the sounds of it, she'll have the player go on a long term 'optional' mission of photographing Paldean Pokemon. Long term and optional referencing the Diglett Man side quest in the Sword & Shield Isle of Armor DLC where the player had to locate 100+ Alolan Digletts and return them to their owner for rewards. The fanbase thinks Perrin's quest will be Pokemon's way of merging the main series games with Pokemon Snap OR it'll be similar to the photo-op spots you could find all over Pokemon Ultra Sun & Moon where you could set up camp and photograph wild Pokemon. I agree wholeheartedly that Perrin's quest will be like those Photo-ops in Ultra Sun & Moon except this time you actually have an incentive instead of doing it just because it's available.

9. Kieran

Kieran was a character briefly mentioned in the previous trailer for Scarlet & Violet and while we still don't know too much more about him as of this trailer, aside from him using the new Applin evolution, it looks as though Kieran will be an antagonist in the Teal Mask DLC as the trailer heavily suggested he's being manipulated by some sort of dark external force. I'm assuming that this external force is probably the Teal Mask aka Ogerpon. Only time will tell.

10. Miraidon/Koraidon Can Now Fly!

Yup, you read that correctly. Miraidon & Koraidon Can Now Fly as of the Indigo Disc DLC. I know you're thinking 'but they can already fly' but technically no they can't. They can glide, but they can't fly. What's the difference? Gliding is flying without thrust aka no engines. Therefore they cannot sustain flight for long periods/increase altitude unless a force acts upon the vessle and will eventually decrease in altitude. An example would be a paper airplane or a parachute. Flying is sustained flight accompanied by thrust be it with an engine or flapping wings in order to keep the aircraft in the air. I'm actually really happy that Miraidon & Koraidon Can fly now as climbing all those mountainsides & the constant loss of altitude gets REAL annoying. I mean we don't need complete flight either. I would've been perfectly fine if Koraidon and Miraidon's glide mechanic was more similar to Braviary's gliding in Legends Arceus as in, holding flight for longer periods instead of being able to glide for a few seconds before dramatically plummeting. If I had to be honest, the dramatic plummeting is the only reason I don't like the open world traveling in Scarlet & Violet.

11. Fossils are Back!!!

Although it was brief, Bastiodon & Rampardos, the Sinnoh Fossil Pokemon, were featured in a second of footage in the newest trailer and I literally gasped! Considering the Past & Present time theme going on for this pair of games, one thing that always felt painfully absent was that Fossil Pokemon were non-existent. Now, we have confirmation that Fossil Pokemon are back in the games! Why are Fossil Pokemon such a big deal? Most Pokemon games, each region typically has a pair of Fossil Pokemon and oftentimes the Pokemon in question end up on your endgame team. Ones that are often seen on Endgame teams as well as competitive teams would include Aerodactyl, Tyrantrum & Dracovish. I'm just REALLY happy to have fossils back!!!

12. Still No Past Characters 

As addressed in the previous trailer dissection, there were no characters that were featured in the maingame of Scarlet & Violet present in the DLC trailers. As of this new trailer, we STILL haven't seen no high nor hair of anyone from the main game. No Nemona, Arven, Clavell, Geeta or anyone else for that matter. We DID however see the Gymleaders make a comeback as an optional feature in the Indigo Mask DLC. In the Indigo Mask DLC, the player gets their own little classroom/lounge of sorts they can customize and invite 'guests' over. The trailer specifically mentioned you can invite the Paldean gymleaders over to the lounge and then battle them. This guest feature will likely be similar to how The Roost works in Animal Crossing where you have the option to invite villagers to the Cafe and bond with them by enjoying a small little blurb of dialog with them. Even then, we still haven't seen anything regarding the main characters of the game and it DOESNT feel right. You can't tell me that Arven & Nemona's stories are complete! Their stories are insanely incomplete in the first place. 

Which are you most excited for in the DLC?