Teal Mask Preview Review Script WIP

We had the chance to preview Part 1 of the "Pokémon Scarlet" and "Pokémon Violet": "The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero" games; "The Teal Mask". We got to play about an hour and a half of the actual gameplay, and got to see special exclusive scenes of the competitive side of this DLC.

This part of the expansion follows the main player character as they go on a school-trip abroad to the beautiful, rural region of Kitakami. Shortly after arriving, you make your way up to Mossui Town, and speak to Briar and the Caretaker about your purpose on this trip. Similarly to Sword and Shield's The Crown Tundra, and base-game Scarlet and Violet, you have the freedom to explore just about anything in whatever order you want. This time there are two main tasks to deal with, the Timeless Woods storyline following Perrin, and the namesake Teal Mask storyline with Carmine and Kieran.

In the TImeless Woods storyline, Perrin tasks you with helping her find and capture a photo of a special Pokémon, a unique variant of Ursaluna that had supposedly washed ashore in Kitakami centuries ago. Tales speaking of this beast have been passed from generation to generation, of it ravaging neighboring settlements, or hunting travelers at night, trying to catch its bearings in this unfamiliar environment. You'll eventually reluctantly agree to help, thinking Jacq would praise your research.

Continuing with the Teal Mask story has you roam around Kitakami with Carmine and Kieran in stride, visiting historical sights and catching glimpses of a mysterious imp Pokémon at each. You'll find monuments dedicated to three loyal guardians of the Kitakami region, mentioning stories of them protecting the people of the region from a mask-donning demon, the legendary Pokémon, Ogerpon. Somehow, this doesn't sit right with any of you three, and you decide to investigate further. You might find that the "loyal three" aren't quite what they seem.

One of our representatives got to take on the "Legendary Beast" storyline, while the other got to go down the "Teal Mask" rabbithole. In each of their times playing, they found new Pokémon, new items, and new moves, as well as some returning favorites.

For instance, some of the new are a previously unrevealed evolution to Poltchageist, a Pokémon named "Sinistcha". This Grass- and Ghost-Type Pokémon gets access to some interesting tools, such as Strength Sap, Scald to hit Fire-Type threats, and its new signature move, "Matcha Gotcha", a Grass-Type Special move that has a weaker base power of 65, but it heals back 75% of the damage dealt to and as a 30% chance to Burn any targets. Its signature ability, Hospitality, also heals 33.3% of an ally's health when Sinistcha enters the field.

There's also the already revealed, Dipplin. Its signature move is also a Grass-Type Special move, that traps the target for 3 turns and lowers their Speed Stat by one stage at the end of each turn. It has a base power of 60, and an accuracy of 75, named "Syrup Bomb".

Some familiar friends and foes also return, like Basculegion and Hisuian Arcanine, found in the Timeless Woods, and Conkeldurr, Golem, Poliwrath, and Quagsire, scattered throughout the rest of Kitakami.

New items include the "Chipped Cup" and "Cracked Cup", used to evolve Poltchageist. New TMs, such as TM173 Knock Off, TM179 Scald, TM181 High Horsepower, TM195 Poltergeist, and TM201 Scorching Sands bring back much-needed coverage and distribution to older moves for Pokémon, both old and new.

We also got to see some special competitive ambassadors play some "VGC2024 Regulation E" early. They explained to us that Ogerpon is indeed a Restricted Legendary Pokémon, so it won't be legalized for use just yet. They also mentioned that Walking Wake, Iron Leaves, and Shaymin wouldn't be legal for use either, but that Torterra, Infernape, and Empoleon would be, despite only being in the Teal Mask through Pokémon Home transfers.

Okidogi fills a very similar role to previous Pokémon like Incineroar, Rillaboom, and Iron Hands. It has access to the abilities Toxic Chain and Scrappy, and gets moves such as Fake Out, Knock Off, Parting Shot, and Taunt. It's also a very respectable offensive option, with strong Same-Type-Attack-Bonus moves like Close Combat, Drain Punch, Gunk Shot, and Poison Jab. It also benefits from the expanded TM List, with the supportive moves Breaking Swipe, and older TMs Snarl and U-Turn. It's very Bulky, Strong, and has a decent Speed tier, able to outspeed Regieleki if Tailwind is set on your team's field. It is Fighting- and Poison-Type.

Munkidori is a very fast and bulky Psychic- and Poison-Type Pokémon, similar to Scream Tail. It gets a wide supportive movepool with moves like Encore, Slack Off, Snarl, Taunt, Thunder Wave, and more. It also has the Toxic Chain ability, but gets Prankster as its hidden ability. It's also decently strong, able to abuse STAB moves for some chip damage and their side effects, like Sludge Bomb and Psychic. It also gets Expanding Force, Pollen Puff, Trick Room, and many others through TMs.

Last but certainly not least, Fezandipiti is very similar to most other Special Attackers. This Fairy- and Poison-Type Pokémon is fast, strong, and has similar bulk to other Fairy-Types like Enamorus and Flutter Mane. Like the other two in its trio, it gets Toxic Chain as its primary ability, but it gets Serene Grace as its hidden ability. It gets powerful moves like Roost and Tailwind through TMs, and powerful STABs Dazzling Gleam, Moonblast, and Sludge Bomb. It also has access to multiple great coverage and support moves, Heat Wave, Hurricane, and Icy Wind are just a few of them.

The whole trio has the ability "Toxic Chain", which is similar to Poison Touch in that attacks the user has can Poison the target. However, it can be any attack instead of just moves that make contact, and it has a 25% chance to Badly Poison targets instead.

This group of Pokémon is somewhat unique because they have signature abilities but also have hidden abilities, which has only been done before by the Tapus of Alola. How these Pokémon are used will certainly be interesting, and they will have great niches in the upcoming format.

They also gave us the rundown on the new "Blood Moon Ursaluna". This variant of Ursaluna is more akin to Legendary Pokémon, with a boosted Base Stat Total similar to Roaring Moon, Walking Wake, Iron Valiant, and Iron Leaves. It's faster and bulkier, but hits weaker with its lost access to the ability Guts and STAB Facade. Ursaring can't evolve into it, nor can Hisuian Ursaluna change into this form. It drops the Normal-Type in favor of the Steel-Type, and gets the moves Bullet Punch, Slack Off, Snarl, Stealth Rock, Steel Roller, and Sucker Punch to prove annoying to opponents' strategies. Otherwise, its movepool remains very similar to Hisuian Ursaluna's, with the addition of its signature move, "Blood Moon". This Ghost-Type move has a base power of 150, and a base accuracy of 95%. Blood Moon Ursaluna caught during the "Legendary Beast" story will all have the Tera-Type of Ghost, boosting the move through STAB and removing its weakness to the Fighting-Type. Its new abilities, Mind's Eye and Defiant, also make it a menace. "Mind's Eye" is a new ability that basically combines Keen Eye and Scrappy, without ignoring the Attack Stat drops from Intimidate.

Briefly going over the actual sets of battles themselves, we were able to see some buffs to movesets that certain Pokémon have received in this new update. One of the players used a team of Hisuian Arcanine, Gastrodon, Brute Bonnet, Okidogi, Galarian Articuno, and Hisuain Ursaluna, while the other used a team of Hisuian Arcanine, Rapid Strike Urshifu, Rillaboom, Flutter Mane, Blood Moon Ursaluna, and Kantonian Zapdos.

Throughout this battle we saw Gastrodon using Scald and Scorching Sands; Brute Bonnet taking advantage of Rillaboom's Grassy Terrain with Grassy Glide; Galarian Articuno has gained access to Burning Jealousy and Roost; meanwhile the other player showed off Rillaboom regaining Grassy Glide; Flutter Mane also obtaining Burning Jealousy into its movepool; and Blood Moon Ursaluna having Poltergeist.

Lastly, they showed us a trailer showing off other Pokémon getting new moves that is meant to coincide with the next Nintendo Direct to promote both parts of the Hidden Treasure of Area Zero. This includes Galarian Moltres using Roost, Glimmora using Meteor Beam; the Tapus using the Isle of Armor Terrain moves; Iron Crown using Ice Beam against Raging Bolt whom retaliates by using Fire Blast against the Iron Crown; Rapid Strike Urshifu using the new "Upper Hand" against an Incineroar, and Flutter Mane using the new "Psychic Noise" against an Okidogi.

That was the last that we got to see at this preview event for "The Teal Mask." Some finishing notes include an overall greater performance and improved graphics across the whole game, somewhat shown off during the VG finals of the 2023 Pokémon World Championships in Yokohama, Japan, as well as more care going into perfecting the models of the returning Pokémon. Overall we are very excited to get our hands on it later this week.