Pokémon Scarlet & Violet fans have taken to social media to ask for the features that they want to see included in the upcoming DLC for the games. Some of these are brand-new features that have yet to appear in the series, while others are ones that existed in previous entries but were bafflingly cut from Gen 9.
The DLC for Pokémon Scarlet & Violet is called The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero and it will be spread across two expansions: The Teal Mask, which will launch in Fall 2023, and The Indigo Disk, which will launch in Winter 2023. The Teal Mask involves a trip to the Kitakami area of the Paldea region, which the player will experience as part of a school trip, while The Indigo Disk will feature a high-tech school, called the Blueberry Academy.
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It has been confirmed that The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero will include new and returning Pokémon, but fans are most interested in seeing what new features will be brought to the game. A post on the PokémonScarletViolet subreddit quickly filled up with requests from existing players, who are hoping to see some of the quality-of-life features from older Pokémon games brought to the Paldea region.
Some of the most common requests were for the ability to mass release Pokémon, for visual cues to be added for Shiny Pokémon that are encountered in the wild, more post-game content, the ability to regularly re-battle the Gym Leaders, an easy way to reset the EVs for a Pokémon, and making it easier to perform actions in the middle of a picnic. These are on top of the normal requests for more returning Pokémon, more minigames, and more customization options for the player's character.
What's frustrating about some of these requests is that they've already been included in other titles, but are absent in Gen 9. Pokémon Legends: Arceus had the option to mass release Pokémon, as well as giving audio and visual hints when a Shiny Pokémon was around, but those aren't in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet. This is part of a larger problem with The Pokémon Company, as options that fans love will often get cut from new games without explanation.
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The first expansion for Pokémon Scarlet & Violet currently lacks a set release date, but it's unlikely that the developers will have time to include more features at this late stage. How much these changes would actually matter is also up for debate, as Pokémon Scarlet & Violet launched in a sorry state, yet they're already among the best-selling games on the Nintendo Switch. If a game that looked and performed as poorly as Pokémon Scarlet & Violet can sell so well, then why put in more effort than is needed?