Years ago, when Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver first allowed any Pokemon to follow the player anywhere, fans were thrilled by the idea of seeing their beloved companions roam the world with them. But in the new DLC Pokemon Scarlet and Violet: The Indigo Disk, Pokemon has gone one step further: not only can your Pokemon follow you, but You can become a Pokemon.
In The Indigo Disk, fairly early on, you’ll be able to track down a character named Synclaire inside the Terarium who, after completing a quest for her, will teach you to use the Synchro Machine. This allows you to essentially “become” your own Pokemon and walk around the map, controlling them, and using them in auto-bats. In practice, it’s a fairly useless feature – the best thing about it is being able to control your Pokémon during auto-battling rather than having to re-summon them over and over again when they get out of range.
But for Pokemon fans, Sync is a goofy game in the best way ever. Most of this can be attributed to how lovable and silly the Pokémon themselves are. For example, you can play as Tinkaton and hit everything you see with a giant hammer:
Tinkatons Awakening is the game of the year pic.twitter.com/Uw9qx5JRAL
– SantaPotion (@sxperpotion) December 15, 2023
You can play as Toedscool and clap your way around the Terarium:
Look at me goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow look at me #Pokemon Scarlet Violet #NintendoSwitch pic.twitter.com/WbY96oiigj
— Crane 🦎 (@CRANTIME) December 15, 2023
My personal favorite rendition of this uses the sound effects of Squidward walking to create absolute delight:
Shiny Toedscool but with Squidward walking/running sound effects. very funny #Pokemon Scarlet Violet #Indigo Disc #SpongeBob #squid pic.twitter.com/whDtC7eljA
– June Rogues (@JunjunAbaja) December 14, 2023
You can fly as Pokemon God Arceus:
Shiny Toedscool but with Squidward walking/running sound effects. very funny #Pokemon Scarlet Violet #Indigo Disc #SpongeBob #squid pic.twitter.com/whDtC7eljA
– June Rogues (@JunjunAbaja) December 14, 2023
Or recreate the Lion King on this very conveniently shaped rock formation:
life cycle#Pokemon Scarlet Violet #the king lion pic.twitter.com/Q6vIpGPJvZ
– Vida De Treinador (@VidaDeTreinador) December 15, 2023
But the best clips made by Pokemon fans are just from people experiencing the pure joy of running around as their favorite monster, their best friend, and their true friend:
This is the best video game ever#Pokemon Scarlet Violet pic.twitter.com/awSWBTBrDD
– Luke 🎄 (@FrappeFizzyy) December 15, 2023
This is the coolest shit #Pokemon Scarlet Violet #NintendoSwitch pic.twitter.com/yUiFiNhz8N
— Ethan ∞ (@eusine_f) December 14, 2023
Bruh, I’m making a nature documentary at the moment #Pokemon Scarlet Violet #NintendoSwitch pic.twitter.com/EFyNlQy2qB
— BugsDumples (@BDumples) December 14, 2023
Indigo Disc is the greatest Pokémon DLC ever!#Pokemon Scarlet Violet pic.twitter.com/4Ghi2QkF6e
– Maz (@MazzoraGames) December 14, 2023
If you’ve just raided the Indigo Disk DLC, I highly recommend going to the central plaza area of the Terrarium and talking to Synclaire to unlock this feature. You can also use it in a multiplayer game and have a Pokemon party with your friends. It’s a completely ridiculous, completely unnecessary, but completely delightful feature, and I’m here for it.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are a bit less fun, as we noted in both our review of the base games and our review of the Teal Mask DLC – and are essential to finishing before you can access the Indigo Disk. Our Indigo Disk review is currently in progress and will be released before the holiday, but in the meantime we’re hard at work on our wiki guides for the new expansion content if you’ve already mastered it.
Rebecca Valentine is a senior reporter at IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to [email protected].
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