Summary
Pokemon Scarlet and Violetplayers should be excited about the conclusion to The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero DLC with the release of The Indigo Disk coming in December. While The Teal Mask expanded the content ofPokemon Scarlet and Violet, it still lacked many popular mons and a true endgame experience. Luckily, The Indigo Disk is set to build on the foundation laid by The Teal Mask and feature even more new and returning mons to the Gen 9 games, but some of these mons may be a headache for competitive players.
Aside from new critters likeArchaludon and Terapagos, some of the most exciting mons coming in The Indigo Disk are the starters returning from previous generations. While it’s great that players will be able to obtain their favorite starters from across the franchise in the Gen 9 games, it also means competitive players will have to contend with the return of Incineroar. Additionally, another competitive threat in the form of Smeargle is set to return in The Indigo Disk as well, meaning this DLC will likely result in a major shift in the competitive meta forPokemon Scarlet and Violet.
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The Return of Incineroar and Smeargle in The Indigo Disk Could Cause a Major Headache for Competitive Players
Past generations of the series have seen both Incineroar and Smeargle become some of the most-used critters inPokemonVGCdue to a combination of factors that make them very versatile monsters. Competitive players might recall how Incineroar dominated the competitive scene when it was introduced in Gen 7 and then returned to prominence when added in Gen 8’s DLC. Although Smeargle has been a competitive staple since its introduction in Gen 2, it didn’t reach its full competitive potential until Gen 5, when the introduction of a handful of moves made it incredibly useful.
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Incineroar has a few things going for it that make it a popular competitive mon, aside from its solid stats across the board. Players tend to use Incineroar as a pivot since its Intimidate ability can lower the opposing mons' Attack when it enters the battle, then utilize moves like Fake Out to scout an opponent’s team before switching out with U-Turn. Additionally, Incineroar has access toKnock Off with Dark-type STAB damage, allowing players to rid their opponent of a potentially crucial held item early on and potentially making Incineroar a massive annoyance to play against.
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WhileSmearglehas pretty pathetic stats for a competitive critter, what makes it such a useful team member is the fact that it has access to every move in the game via Sketch, which allows it to permanently copy an opponent’s move. Having Sketch makes Smeargle the ultimate support mon since it can utilize any combination of moves it needs to best support a team. Smeargle can be incredibly useful for setting up a variety of conditions, utilizing a move like Spore to put an opposing mon to sleep, Follow Me combined with Spiky Shield to force opposing mons to attack it and take damage, or even as a Baton Passer with stat-raising moves like Shell Smash.
Although some of thePokemonseries' most popular competitive mons likeLandorus-Thave already made their debut inPokemon Scarlet and Violet, Incineroar and Smeargle could make competitive battles even more messy. Landorus-T is strong but is fairly predictable, and therefore a manageable opponent. However, the tricks that Incineroar and Smeargle bring to the competitive meta mean players will likely have to deal with these frustrating strategies as the competitive landscape changes to account for their return.
