Latest Pokemon Scarlet and Violet leak hints at newly introduced DLC character battle prowess

Difficulty has been a hot-button issue among Pokemon Scarlet and Violet fans, as well as fans of the other recent games in the franchise. It would appear that ever since the sixth generation of the franchise, the games have been stripped of all of their challenge. This is a jarring change, given the acclaimed difficulty of the fifth generation.

This has come up again in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet following the reveal of the teams that would be used by the various Gym Leaders as well as the Champion of the region, Geeta. With the second half of the newest games featuring a more battle-heavy story, many players have their hopes up that this increase in difficulty may return. However, recent news from an insider has left many unsure about this.

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Briar in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet: Final Boss-worthy or too easy?

Notable Pokemon leaker @Riddler_Khu on X (formerly Twitter) has reported that they know details about Briar's team when she battles the player in the Indigo Disk, the second half of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's expansion pass. Unfortunately, the leaker states that her team is nothing impressive and that she won't put up a particularly challenging battle like players have been hoping for.

Many have come to expect this from Game Freak, so expectatiton have been tempered for the most part. Briar, being a very important character to the plot of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's expansion pack, has been hyped up by the community since she was revealed to be one of the teachers at Blueberry Academy, the school players will visit in the Indigo Disk.

Hearing this news after playing the Teal Mask, many players seem to be much more excited for the return of Kieran, a new rival players met in that story. To avoid spoilers, Kieran and the player conclude their journey across the land of Kitakami on less-than-good terms, resulting in him promising to get revenge.

With many characters bound to steal the show away from Briar when the Indigo Disk drops, it would not be too farfetched to assume that players will get some sort of challenge in terms of battling. After all, the final battle of the base game's story was decently difficult, so Game Freak is more than capable of cranking up the difficulty if the plot calls for it.

Khu's tweet about Briar being useless battle-wise has left many players excited for what it could mean for the plot of the expansion pass, as well as the Paldea region as a whole. Briar has ties to the initial researchers who ventured into Area Zero, and this can be seen in her design. She also possesses the original copy of the Scarlet or Violet Book, depending on the version the player is using.

While it might be disappointing to many to hear that Briar will not serve as much of a threat in battle, she will still have significance to the narrative of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's expansion pass.