Summary
The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero DLC forPokemon Scarlet and Violetwill allow players to respec their Pokemon’s stats. This bit of insight into the upcoming expansion was shared during the August 8 Pokemon Presents event, which also featured thereveals of 4 new Pokemon from theScarlet and VioletDLCpacks, as well as many other announcements related to the iconic franchise.
First announced in February, The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero is a two-part expansion aiming to add a wide variety of content to Game Freak’s latest pair of RPGs. Nintendo has been graduallysharing details aboutPokemon Scarlet and Violet’sDLCfor the better part of this year, with one-third of today’s 35-minute Pokemon Presents broadcast being dedicated to the upcoming expansions.
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Among other things, the livestream revealed that The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero will allow players to respec their Pokemon’s stats. Doing so will require Mochi, a new in-game item based on a Japanese rice cake made with a type of glutinous rice called mochigome. Mochi will be given out as a reward for playing the Ogre Oustin' minigame in the Kitakami region, whichPokemon Scarlet and Violetplayers will be able to visit as part of a school trip featured in The Teal Mask DLC.
Ogre Oustin' will reward many types of Mochi, with the latest Pokemon Presents event revealing nearly a dozen of them. Most variants of the item will allow players to boost a select stat: Muscle Mochi will increase a given creature’s attack, Health Mochi will boost its HP pool, and so on. The DLC will also introduce a Fresh-Start Mochi, which will reset the base stat points of any Pokemon that eats it. Doing so will effectively allow players to respec their creatures, providing granular control over their builds.
While the stat-boosting cakes will be a helpful addition toPokemon Scarlet and Violet, the Fresh-Start Mochi is likely to be a game-changer which will facilitate working with some ofthe hardest to train Pokemonin the games. Earning them should also be a relatively straightforward affair, not least because the Ogre Oustin' mini-game looks like a simple balloon-popping exercise with lenient reaction time windows.
It is currently unclear how far into The Teal Mask the mini-game will unlock. Fans will likely have to wait until September 13 to find that out, which is when the first part of The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero is scheduled to release. In the meantime,Pokemon Scarlet and Violetplayers can claim a free Mewwith a newly introduced Mystery Gift code that’s only valid until mid-September.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violetare available now on Nintendo Switch.
