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I didn't finish Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, which says a lot about my feelings towards the latest entry in the long-running series. As an avid Pokemon fan who grew up playing the games, I almost always reach the end of each trainer's journey. But I fell off of Scarlet and Violet in a big way, and ultimately couldn't find the energy to finish up my adventure. While I did enjoy messing around with my sister, taking selfies with various Pokemon, and exploring on the back of my legendary motorcycle Pokemon, its buggy open-world didn't exactly win me over, and I just didn't enjoy the Terastallizing power it introduced.
I don't think I've felt less enthused about upcoming DLC for a Pokemon game as I am about Pokemon Scarlet and Violet: The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero. I also can't say I was overly fussed when the Pokemon Presents rolled around to show off more. Little did I know that a certain Pokemon was about to make an appearance that would actually make me consider returning when I thought I was officially over the Paldea region. Yes, I'm of course talking about the one and only Dipplin – a new variant of one of my favorite gen 8 critters introduced in Pokemon Sword and Shield.
Sweet treat
Overall, the Pokemon Presents was pretty lackluster. Sure, we got a new trailer for Detective Pikachu Returns, and the reveal of a new animated web series, but the best news towards the close of the show was that Pokemon Stadium 2 and the Pokemon Trading Card game were making their way to Switch – two childhood staples of mine that I can't wait to revisit on Nintendo's latest console. As the attention turned to the DLC, nothing really piqued my interest, until I caught a quick glimpse of what looked like Applin sporting what appeared to be a new look.
As a big fan of Pokemon Sword and Shield, I fell in love with many Galar region variants and newly introduced Pokemon of that generation. I mean, a ghost Pokemon that lives inside a teapot? Come on. What could be better than that? Polteageist aside, there was one other Pokemon that absolutely stole my heart – so much so that I went on a mission in Pokemon Violet just to acquire it all over again: Appletun.
If I were to describe Appletun to someone who's never laid eyes on the majestic creature, I'd say: imagine a dragon-like tortoise that looks like an apple pie, and you wouldn't be too far off. The only way you can get Appletun is by exposing its prevolution, Applin, to a Sweet Apple. While it can also turn into Flapple when given a Tart Apple, Appletun is by far a firm favorite of mine.
With so much love for the Grass Dragon type Pokemon and its sweet prevolution, you can imagine how excited I was to see a new Applin variant pop up during the showcase. If anything is going to convince me to step back into the world of Scarlet and Violet, it's the chance to get Dipplin. I mean, it looks like a candy apple because, as it turns out, that's exactly what it's categorized as, and I'm so here for it. According to the official website, the newly discovered evolution has a head sticking out that "seems to belong to one of two creatures, while the tail belongs to the other", and that "both creatures help each other out from within their shared apple".
Two small dragon friends inside of one apple? Heck yeah. Better yet, the Dipplin is also said to coat the apples with syrup they produce within their bodies, which allows them to make use of a new move known as Syrup Bomb – a special Grass-type attack that "causes an explosion of Syrup", as the name suggests. We got to take a closer look at the new fruit dragon as it went up against a Snorlax in the upcoming DLC, and while it's quite simplistic in design, I still love the idea behind it.
Dipplin may be no Appletun, but I can't help but hope I'll be able to get my hands on this new evolution at some stage. Will I realistically shell out for the DLC just for that Pokemon? Highly doubtful. Will I try to trade for it and thus step back into the game? Most probably. The Pokemon Presents may have failed to deliver anything too exciting for me, but Dipplin is now the apple of my eye.
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