Summary
With the release ofPokemon Scarlet and Violet’s The Indigo Disk DLC, the full Gen 9 Pokedex is now available for players to complete. Even with the additional mons added toPokemon Scarlet and Violetvia The Teal Mask and Indigo Disk DLCs, there are still 292 critters unavailable in Gen 9 and 9 mons missing from the Switch entirely. However, there is one creature teased by the outfit worn by Blueberry Academy’s Director Cyrano that doesn’t appear in The Indigo Disk, causing its absence to feel like a purposeful misdirection.
ThePokemonseries has a history of teasing certain critters that will be available in specific games through the clothing and designs of the NPCs in those titles. Before the release of The Indigo Disk DLC, it appeared thatHonedge and its evolutions, Doublade and Aegislash, would be obtainable in the expansion after the reveal of the character Cyrano showed him wearing a scarf that was nearly identical to Honedge. However, now that the DLC has been released and Honedge is confirmed to be unavailable, this design choice has stumped somePokemon Scarlet and Violetplayers.
Honedge is Nowhere to Be Found in the Indigo Disk Despite Cyrano’s Scarf
With Honedge and its evolutions first appearing inGen 6’sPokemon X and Y, one would think these Kalos-native mons would be perfect for a game set in the neighboring region of Paldea. The absence of this line of critters in the base game ofPokemon Scarlet and Violethad the opportunity to be rectified with the release of its DLC, and the reveal of Cyrano gave fans of these mons hope that they would appear in the DLC despite the Indigo Disk’s setting of the Unova Region. However, it seems this tease was nothing more than a red herring, which is particularly strange given how closely Cyrano’s scarf matches the pattern on Honedge.
There could be an in-universe explanation for why Cyrano has this scarf that isn’t tied to a hint that the Honedge line will be available in the DLC. From what little can be learned about Cyrano’s past, it’s stated that he and Clavell became friends while attending university together, so it’s possible that the two could have studied in the Kalos region and this scarf is a reference to that time together. It’s also possible that Cyrano could originally have been from the Kalos Region before becoming the director ofBlueberry Academy in Unova, and he keeps this scarf as a memento of his home region.
Other Examples of NPC Clothing Teasing Pokemon
What makes Honedge’s absence so strange despite being referenced on Cyrano’s scarf is that other NPCs have featured certain mons on their clothes in the past that have ended up in the games. Most notably, there have been a couple of instances where NPCs shown in trailers have revealed new critters via their shirts before the mons themselves had been officially unveiled. Leading up to the release ofPokemon Sword and Shield, fans spotted an NPC wearing a yet-to-be-revealed Greedent shirt, and a similar tease occurred prior to the release ofPokemon Scarlet and Violetwhere an NPC’s shirt first teased the existence ofPaldean Tauros.
Even a character like Gym Leader Iono confirmed that Magnemite would be inPokemon Scarlet and Violetdue to her hair accessories resembling the mon, so there is evidence that this trend has continued into the 9th generation. The Indigo Disk also features characters whose clothing alludes to an aspect of their history, such asLacey’s hair clipssuggesting she is the daughter of Unovan Gym Leader Clay. These examples make it all the more odd that Cyrano’s scarf resembling a Honedge would end up amounting to nothing in The Indigo Disk.
