Teal Mask
The Teal Mask: Does it Improve or Impair?
Written by Jake Gigentelli
12/18/23
On September 13, 2023, the first wave of DLC for Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet (Henceforth called Scarlet & Violet) was released. This DLC (Downloadable Content) is The Teal Mask – part one of the total expansion for Scarlet & Violet. The base game is only available on the Nintendo Switch, but can be bought digitally or physically. To access the DLC, you must have either: a) Bought the physical copy with the DLC already included, or b) Bought the corresponding expansion on the Nintendo eShop. In other words, if you have Pokémon Scarlet and want the expansion, then you must buy the expansion for Pokémon Scarlet specifically. Got it? Cool.
I will be attempting to review The Teal Mask as its own game. This is not how the game works, as the player is free to bring over Pokémon they obtained in the Paldea region (base game). There is one crucial difference between the DLC for Scarlet & Violet as compared to Game Freak’s previous attempt in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield: The two DLC are connected. In Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield, both The Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra are two separate areas, able to be accessed at any time, in any order. There was little connection between the two DLC waves in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield. In Scarlet & Violet, however, The Teal Mask is required to have been completed to access the second wave, The Indigo Disk. Throughout this review, please remember that half of the content obtained from buying The Teal Mask DLC is currently unreleased. With that said…
I hope you liked the base game of Scarlet & Violet, because my experience with The Teal Mask was essentially “the base game, but again.” The land of Kitakami, where the Teal Mask takes place, serves as a host for previously unseen Pokémon in the Scarlet and Violet games. This is nice, since Scarlet and Violet improved the general look of Pokémon as compared to previous titles. Metallic Pokémon such as Magnemite (shown above) have an actual luster as compared to looking like plastic in previous titles. This also applies to Pokémon re-introduced in Kitakami. I am confused as to how this improvement has not been made before, but I am happy to see it regardless.
Let’s talk about Kitakami itself as a region. It seems to fit in with all the other Pokémon regions quite well, but seems to be on the smaller size. This is to be somewhat expected of an add-on area. Kitakami has a few notable landmarks which stand out from the rest of the region, two of which being the Crystal Pool and the Loyal Three Monument. The Pokémon games are by no means artistic masterpieces, but these areas are still noteworthy due to how they look. It is at least “pretty nice”.
The Crystal Pool
The Loyal Three Monument
The region also has some additional secrets to find, which seem to hint at Game Freak taking some steps towards a better future. One example is the Ursaluna-Bloodmoon questline, which contains some heavy-handed references to Pokémon Legends: Arceus, a side game delving into the history of the Sinnoh Region from Pokémon Diamond & Pokémon Pearl. The Ogre Clan would be another. The Ogre Clan is a group of trainers scattered around Kitakami who are more difficult than almost every other trainer in the game… because they actually have some semblance of a strategy (please put in file you have at home). The Pokémon battle system is a system so beautifully intricate yet unexplored, so seeing Game Freak dabble into making truly difficult trainers is a sight to see.
Story-wise, The Teal Mask is more linear than the base game of Scarlet & Violet, but the whole region is available from the very beginning (if you have made the necessary progress in the base game), and the player is free to take the story at their own pace. The story itself is fairly good while being surprisingly dark for a Pokémon game. I will not go into details since, with the upcoming release of The Indigo Disk, players would need to play The Teal Mask anyway. I will only say that the story does quite well for its intended purpose of being a foundation for what will happen in The Indigo Disk.
Next up will be the new Pokémon. There are only seven new Pokémon, with one new form as well. I will highlight only one for the purposes of this article. What better Pokémon to focus on than the mascot for the DLC itself?
Ogerpon is a Pokémon whose presence is the reason for the story taking place. In short, she (all Ogerpon are female) is my new favorite modern Pokémon. That is by design, and I am happy to fall for it. Ogerpon is essentially the main character in a story where the human characters surprisingly fall behind. Other than that, her design is just cute. Next would be her performance in battles… and Ogerpon delivers on the power she wields in-universe.
Her base stats appear to be somewhat average at first, but at least geared towards offense. The thing is that her strength comes from not having any bad stats. Any and all Ogerpon can be built however the player wishes, and all forms will experience some level of success regardless. By "forms", I don't just mean effort values and individual values. Ogerpon has the distinction of having four unique forms.
Ogerpon's secondary type depends on what mask she wears. Currently (might be subject to change in The Indigo Disk), the three masks she can use as an item are the Hearthflame Mask, Wellspring Mask, and the Cornerstone Mask. If she is not holding any of these three items, then she will default to the Teal Mask. Each mask also changes her ability. For example, the Hearthflame mask does not only give her a secondary Fire Type but also changes her ability from Defiant to Mold Breaker. The mask items (i.e., Hearthflame, Wellspring, Cornerstone masks) also give all of Ogerpon's moves a damage boost. Her Tera Type (type a Pokémon changes into via the Paldea region's unique mechanic) also changes to match her secondary type. Ogerpon is more special in how her ability changes when she Terastallizes. This is a mechanic unique to Ogerpon (as of now). As an example, Ogerpon's Defiant ability in her Teal Mask form changes to Embody Aspect (Teal Mask). All four Embody Aspect abilities give Ogerpon a stat raise upon entering the battlefield. Her power, in my eyes, is fitting. I honestly think that she is one of the best Pokémon introduced in recent years.
Overall, The Teal Mask serves its purpose well. Remember that this is strictly a part one to a greater whole, and that my experience may differ from your own experience. I personally caught every Pokémon in Kitakami, but that might not be your style. Regardless, The Teal Mask is more of what players might enjoy from Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet. I recommend picking it up if you plan to play The Indigo Disk, releasing on December 14 of this year, or if you enjoyed the base game of Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet.