5 things you might have missed in the latest Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Indigo Disk trailer

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's next DLC, The Indigo Disk, is rapidly approaching its December 14, 2023, release date. In preparation, The Pokemon Company dropped a new trailer for the expansion on December 7, showing where trainers have been and where they're headed. After recapping The Teal Mask, fans were flooded with images of returning Pokemon, new gameplay mechanics, and more.

Given that the roughly four-minute trailer was jam-packed with visuals and information, it's only reasonable for some Pokemon Scarlet and Violet players to miss some of the finer details. The trailer warrants rewatching a few times to catch all the small but significant hints left for players to dissect ahead of December 14.

Since this is the case, it doesn't hurt to examine a few of these potentially overlooked gems in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's latest trailer.

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5 things that fans may have overlooked in the latest trailer for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet: The Indigo Disk

1) There's much more to Area Zero

Trainers have only scratched the surface of Area Zero in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet (Image via Game Freak)

This isn't necessarily surprising, considering The Teal Mask and The Indigo Disk are both part of the "Hidden Treasure of Area Zero" expansion, but the latest trailer showed that there's much more to Area Zero in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. At the outset of the trailer, the camera pans into Area Zero, moving past where Professor Sada/Turo's lab was originally housed.

In the base game, trainers entered the lab and prevented the Paradise Protection Protocol from activating, but it seems that Professor Sada and Turo had barely scraped the surface of Area Zero.

Later on in the trailer, new passages and returning Pokemon were shown alongside the crystalline structures in Area Zero, so players may have much more exploring to do in Paldea's most mysterious spot.

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2) Kieran and Dokutaro

Kieran's new look in The Indigo Disk may be hinting at a new Pokemon referenced in The Teal Mask (Image via Game Freak)

Data miners set the community on fire when Pokemon Scarlet and Violet: The Teal Mask debuted, partially due to the discovery of a new creature named Momotaro, a species purporting to be a "Peach Pokemon" that was referenced in shops in Kitakami. When translated, Momotaro's name roughly breaks into "Peach Boy" and references a hero in Japanese folklore.

More intriguingly, though, miners also found the name "Dokutaro" in the game data, which would roughly translate into "Poison Boy." Leakers also purportedly found the creature in image assets depicting Fezandipiti, Munkidori, and Okidogi. This matters in The Indigo Disk due to Kieran's new appearance, which features purple hair, yellow reptilian-like eyes, and a Dokutaro-like hair accessory.

Trainers in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet: The Teal Mask inadvertently crushed Kieran's hope to be the first trainer to meet the legendary Pokemon Ogerpon, and it appears as though he's taken a bit of a villainous (or at least rivalrous) path in response.

Could Kieran have been corrupted somehow by Dokutaro in hopes it would help him defeat the player? It remains to be seen, but this change in appearance likely isn't a coincidence.

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3) Game Freak may have hinted at version-exclusive legendaries

Some legendaries returning to Pokemon Scarlet and Violet may very well be version exclusive (Image via Game Freak)

It's no secret that several fan-favorite legendary species will be returning in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet: The Indigo Disk, but Game Freak may have hinted at their appearances being split between Scarlet and Violet. This has been theorized due to a particular scene showing the likes of Ho-Oh/Lugia, Solgaleo/Lunala, and Groudon/Kyogre with Necrozma at the center.

The way the two sets of Pokemon on-screen are arranged is interesting, as the likes of Ho-Oh, Solgaleo, and Groudon are arranged to the left with their counterparts to the right, split between halves of the screen. Only Necrozma is seen in the center, partially inhabiting both sides. The color tone for each side of the screen is also split between warm/cool colors.

With so many legendaries returning to The Indigo Disk, it may not be a stretch to think that this is Game Freak letting players know that the Pokemon Scarlet and Violet DLC will split legendary appearances between both versions of the game. This would undoubtedly incentivize trading and could encourage players to pick up both games.

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4) Penny or Mela may return to the story

A mystery character may signal the return of a previous friend or foe in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet (Image via Game Freak)

One of the major story points in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet revolved around Team Star, a group of academy students who created their own group and bases to avoid bullies. The ending revealed that the character Penny was previously the head of the group before leaving school to return home to Galar, and the remaining Team Star members awaited her return.

This culminated in Penny's return and Team Star being welcomed back to the school while repurposing their bases to become training facilities. Team Star's bosses returned to the academy, with Director Clavell ensuring that he would protect them from being bullied. A member of Team Star may just make their return in The Indigo Disk based on a short clip in the trailer.

Penny was once known as Team Star's leader Cassiopeia in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet (Image via Game Freak)

In the new trailer shot, a character with bright red hair is seen, and the player character is looking on in astonishment. Fans have speculated that this may be Penny or Mela, the Fire-type leader of Team Star's Schedar Squad. Though Penny does have partially blue hair in the base game, she may have taken on a new look in the story of The Indigo Disk.

Additionally, while Mela had quite a style of her own in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, she may have changed her appearance in her return to Naranja/Uva Academy. Whatever the case might be, the main character is clearly stunned at this change. Either that or the trainer is astonished at the appearance of a new character.

Mela headed one of Team Star's squads in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet (Image via Game Freak)

It's difficult to tell at the moment, but considering The Indigo Disk will see Pokemon Scarlet and Violet players come back to Paldea, some of their friends from the region may just make an appearance on their travels back in the region, as not every story beat will take place in the new location of Blueberry Academy.

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5) Briar is looking a tad bit suspicious

Briar's looking rather sinister in this final still from Pokemon Scarlet and Violet: The Indigo Disk trailer (Image via Game Freak)

The final image of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Indigo Disk trailer before promo information is revealed depicts the player characters, Kieran and Carmine, as well as Briar, one of the teachers at Blueberry Academy who first appeared in The Teal Mask. The look on her face is at odds with her counterparts, as she looks suspiciously pleased, and she's holding her copy of the Scarlet/Violet Book.

We know from The Teal Mask that Briar intends to get to the bottom of the Terastal Phenomenon, which is undoubtedly linked to the Pokemon Terapagos. She states that she wants to prove the theories written in the Scarlet/Violet Book are correct, but who knows to what ends she'll resort to to do so? Even Kieran seems to be looking in her direction in worry, though this may just be a stylistic choice.

It's hard to think that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's conclusion of the Hidden Treasure of Area Zero won't have its villains, and trainers may find out that some of their friends may not be as loyal as they seem. Noted community leaker Riddler_Khu has been hinting as much on X/Twitter while also saying that players may have to make some tough choices to "save" certain characters.

It could be straightforward that Kieran ends up being The Indigo Disk's villain, but given Briar's obsession with Terastallization and her Scarlet/Violet split outfit, one certainly can't rule out that she may only be using players to get to Terapagos.

Unfortunately, barring some last-minute leaks, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet fans may not find out until The Indigo Disk's release date on December 14, 2023.