A round-up of all the new features and announcements from the Final trailer for The Indigo Disk - DLC releases worldwide next Thursday, December 14th

The final trailer for The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero, the paid DLC for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, has been released ahead of the release of Part 2, The Indigo Disk next week on Thursday, December 14th. This new trailer reveals a range of new features in the DLC, including for the first time in a main series title the ability to control your Pokémon directly. Additional details on these features, along with special distributions being made to celebrate the release were also given in a simultaneous update made to the official Scarlet & Violet website.

The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero was first announced on February 27th during a Pokémon Presents, and made available for pre-purchase later that day. Part 1 of The Hidden Treasures of Area Zero, The Teal Mask, released worldwide on September 13th.

Some fans may consider parts of these announcements to be spoilers for story elements of The Indigo Disk, so if you're trying to stay unspoiled, be careful before clicking on the trailer or reading on!

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Return to Area Zero with Terapagos
Trainers will be making a return to Paldea and the Great Crater during The Indigo Disk. Very little information has been revealed about what this will involve at this time. All that is known so far is that Trainers will be visiting a previously unexplored location in Area Zero, and that in doing so, they will uncover the true Hidden Treasure of Area Zero, and the secrets of Terapagos.

Extracurricular Activities at Blueberry Academy
Blueberry Academy seems to offer Trainers a much more vibrant on-campus lifestyle compared to the Academy back in Paldea, with the opportunity to get involved in a variety of student activities and clubs.

Complete Blueberry Quests to acquire BP
As previously announced, players will be able to earn Blueberry Points (BP) which can be used to as currency at shops around the school, to improve the League Club, and to invite familiar characters from Paldea, such as the Gym Leaders, to visit the academy.

Trainers will be able to earn these Blueberry Points by completing BBQs - Blueberry Quests. These mini-missions task Trainers to complete tasks either alone or in groups with other players via the Union Circle. While many of these tasks may revolve around battling and catching Pokemon, other tasks will focus on using other game features, including taking photos, and searching for hidden Ditto.

Though not stated explicitly in the trailer or website updates, it seems reasonable to assume that there will be a selection of randomized or repeatable quests available to players, allowing for constant BP acquisition over time, and for continuing fun with friends completing missions. This should mean that players can freely spend their BP while playing, without concern that they might permanently lock themselves out of content requiring BP to unlock.

Donate to the Baseball Club to earn new Throwing Styles
Trainers will also be able to use Blueberry Points to help fund various student clubs around the school. Depending on the club, players will be able to receive a variety of thank-you gifts, such as being able to redecorate the League Club room after sending funds to the Art Club.

Today's announcements have given a further example of these club rewards. Trainers who donate BP to Blueberry Academy's Baseball club will be able to learn a variety of different ball throwing styles. Specific styles known to be available include:

• Left-handed style
• Reverent style
• Dainty style
• Smug style
• Elegant style
• Twirling style

What exactly some of these styles have to do with Baseball, and why they haven't included more obviously Baseball pitch inspired throws in this list, is beyond us!

Trade with your Teachers
As previously announced, players will be able to do a variety of activities with the characters they have invited to Blueberry Academy as Special Coaches, including taking photos, talking to them to learning more about them, and trading Pokémon with them after battling them.

The Pokémon that players will acquire from these Special Coaches will have a new kind of Ribbon, the Partner Ribbon. Pokémon wearing the Partner Ribbon will be granted a special title displaying ahead of their name when sent out into battle, showing the name of their Original Trainer.

First-Person Play with the Synchro Machine
After progressing past a certain point in The Indigo Disk DLC, Trainers will be able to make use of a device called the Synchro Machine. This device has been developed by Synclaire, a scientist in Blueberry Academy's Terarium who players can assist during their adventure. Using this device will allow players to synchronize with their Pokémon, in a way that seems to surpass even the synchronicity that Ash demonstrated with his Greninja, Lucario, and Pikachu in the Pokémon Anime.

While synchronized, Trainers will control their Pokémon directly from a third-person viewpoint, being able to have them move around and battle as if they were the Pokémon themselves. This feature will also be usable when Trainers have connected with each other via the Union Circle, offering new opportunities for collaborative play. Though not explicitly stated in the trailer or update, Trainers may need to use this function to complete certain Blueberry Academy Quests.

Legendary Pokémon of past generations return!
After completing the main story of The Indigo Disk, Trainers will acquire another special item to earn through Blueberry Quests. A character at the Academy named Snacksworth will share with Trainers information about a variety of Legendary Pokémon, as well as regaling them with tall tales of his supposed encounters with them. His bigmouth boasts clearly aren't all hot air however, as he will gift players with special snack items after they complete Blueberry Quests for him, which can then be used to encounter specific Legendary Pokémon back in the Paldea region.

From the scenes included in the trailer, it appears that practically every Legendary Pokémon from Gold & Silver through to Sword & Shield will be available through Snacksworth.

Fly with Koraidon and Miraidon
In previous trailers, we've seen that Koraidon and Miraidon would temporarily gain the ability to fly when taking on the Elite Trial set by the BB League Elite Four's Amarys. Today's update reveals that after reaching a certain point in The Indigo Disk, Trainers will be able to unlock Koraidon and Miraidon's ability to fly permanently, allowing Trainers to fly anywhere in Paldea, Kitakami, and Terarium with their Legendary Pokémon.

Other announcements
Receive a Master Ball to celebrate the release of The Indigo Disk
A limited-time distribution of a Master Ball item was also announced alongside today's trailer. This distribution will be available from the release of The Indigo Disk on Thursday, December 14th, and will remain available until January 3rd, 2024, at 11:59pm (UTC).

Players can receive this gift by selecting Poké Portal from the X menu in Pokémon Scarlet or Violet, and then selecting Mystery Gift, and then Get via Internet, after which the item will appear in player's bags. Players are reminded to save their games after receiving their Item. A paid Nintendo Switch Online membership is not required to receive internet distributions.

Dialga and Palkia appear in Tera Raids
The Pokémon of Myth from the Sinnoh region, Dialga and Palkia, are making their first appearance in a 5-star Tera Raid Battle event in Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet starting December 7th, at 4:00pm (PST) / December 8th at Midnight (UTC), and running through until December 21st at 3:59pm (PST) / 11:59pm (UTC).

The Dialga and Palkia from this event have the Dragon Tera Type, and can only be caught once per save data. Dialga will appear exclusively for players of Pokémon Scarlet, while Palkia will appear in Pokémon Violet. Players will be able to participate in Tera Raid Battles for both Pokémon by joining Tera Raid Battles hosted by Trainers with the other game version.

For more information on this Tera Raid Battle event, please see our coverage here.

Use codes「NEWM00N1SC0M1NG] and「SH1NYBUDDY] in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet to receive Darkrai and a Shiny Lucario
Limited-time distributions of Darkrai and a Shiny Lucario were announced for Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet today alongside the final trailer for The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero Part 2: The Indigo Disk. Darkrai's distribution will be available until December 21st, at 11:59pm (UTC), while Lucario will be available until January 3rd, 2024, at 11:59pm (UTC).

For more information about this Darkrai and Lucario, including their moves and stats, please see our List of event Pokémon distributions for Scarlet and Violet on Bulbapedia.

Festive Mass Outbreaks
A selection of Pokémon will be appearing in Mass Outbreak events across December in celebration of both the festive season, and the release of The Indigo Disk.

The first two of these will go live starting this Friday, December 8th, at Midnight (UTC) mass outbreaks of Flabébé and Litwick will be more likely to appear across Paldea and Kitakami respectively.

The final group of mass outbreaks will start after the release of The Indigo Disk on December 14th, with mass outbreaks of Milcery appearing at Blueberry Academy.

While this event does not require the DLC, players without it will only be able to participate in the Mass Outbreaks of Flebébé appearing in the Paldea region. All three mass outbreaks will conclude on December 21st, at 11:59pm (UTC).

To participate in this mass outbreak event, players will need to download and install the latest update data; and to download the latest Poké Portal News. If players have connected their Nintendo Switch system to the internet while playing Pokémon Scarlet or Violet, this should happen automatically. Players can also manually download the Poké Portal News by selecting Poké Portal from the X menu, and then selecting Mystery Gift, and then Check Poké Portal News. A paid Nintendo Switch Online membership is not required.