The Pokémon Presents EPIC Breakdown

Howdy, Cooltrainers! Your boy Ace is here with a special edition full recap and analysis of what we learned in today’s Pokémon Presents. Many of the rumors were true, and there’s plenty of new stuff as well. Was it better than Christmas morning or a dud? That’s for you to decide.

Given the size of this email, everything revealed that was NOT part of the DLC will be covered in the next Victory Road.

Buckle up, Bellsprout, we’ve got news.

• Mew & Mewtwo showdown in Paldea.

• All the newly revealed Pokémon.

• New gameplay and features for the DLC.

• New characters you’ll meet.

Mew + Mewtwo arrive in Scarlet/Violet

It’s the original cat fight, back for a rematch in Gen 9! As rumored/hoped/prayed for by many fans, 7-star Psychic-Tera Type Mewtwo is coming to Scarlet and Violet raids .

Mewtwo with the Mightiest Mark arrives Thursday, August 31, at 5 p.m. PDT through Sunday, September 17, at 4:59 p.m. PDT.

As with all other Mightiest Mark Pokémon, Mewtwo can only be caught once per save dat, but you can challenge him multpiple times in other Tera Raid Battles to get additional rewards.

This little note at the bottom of the page also intrigued me: Mewtwo may be featured in future events or become obtainable through other methods.

Maybe that means we’ll get a rerun of all 7-Star Raids at the end of the Scarlet & Violet promotional cycle before Gen 10 kicks off? Or it could be a standard disclaimer.

But fear not, for you’ll have plenty of help to aid you in the coming battle against Mewtwo.

That’s right fam, a special Mystery Gift Mew distribution is live now through Monday, September 18 at 7:59 PDT (please, for the love of Muk, don’t wait until then to get yours). Unlike other Mystery Gift ‘Mon distributions so far, each trainer’s Mew comes with a randomized Tera Type, Nature, and move set. They’ll all be level 5 and know Swift, Light Screen, and Life Dew, in addition to a move of that Tera Type.

You’ll want to power level the heck out of it for the Mewtwo Raid because we were also promised that “Something special might happen if you send Mew into a Tera Raid Battle against Mewtwo.”

My guess is a special cutscene and maybe some raid rewards that aren’t available otherwise. Perhaps Mewtwo’s move set will change to reflect that its facing Mew? Probably a cool Easter Egg but nothing more. Don’t expect your Mew or Mewtwo to turn shiny or anything like that,

Get your little pink rascal today by entering code GETY0URMEW via Mystery Gift.

And wait, there’s more!

August Raid Events

Leading up to Mewtwo, catch some additional support for the big showdown. (Let’s be real: I’m expecting to see 4 Mews in every battle, at least for the first couple of days).

Beginning today (August 8) at 5 p.m. PDT through Thursday, August 17 at 4:59 p.m. PDT then again Thursday, August 31 at 5 p.m. PDT through Sunday, September 17, at 4:59 p.m. PDT, you can assemble a squad of Poké Avengers to challenge Thanos Mewtwo.

Scizor, Blissey, Hydreigon, Hatterene, and Grimmsnarl will all appear in 5-star Tera Raids, along with exp. candy, stat-improving items and, of course, Tera Shards. Each one’s build is designed as an attacker or support for the Mewtwo Raids, including their Tera Types (Scizor: Bug, Hydreigon: Dark, Blissey: Fairy). Plus, who doesn’t appreciate exp. candy farming with Blissey raids?

Digging up Hidden Treasure of Area Zero details

From all-new Pokémon, characters, gameplay features, and storylines, there’s a LOT to unpack from the two trailers we saw this morning. Release date for The Teal Mask is Wednesday, September 13.

The Indigo Disk still has an undetermined “Winter 2023” release. My money is on late November. However, if the schedule of Isle of Armor and Crown Tundra is followed, we’ll have a 4 month gap between releases, which would be mid-January. I think they’ll want a pre-holiday season release, though.

New Pokémon

Let’s start with the “box legendaries,” Ogerpon and Terapagos. As predicted, Ogerpon has a unique Terastallized state featuring a mask in place of the usual hat/crown. Beyond that, there wasn’t much more to learn about the villain of The Teal Mask or the three Loyal Pokémon who chased it from Kitakami. My guess is Ogerpon will be a grass/dark type

Much of the focus of Teal Mask seems to be on learning more of the lore, folktales, and history of Kitakami. This leads me to believe that everything isn’t quite as it seems. Maybe Ogerpon isn’t such a bad guy after all? We’re promised that there are mysteries to “unmask.”

Terapagos also has some defining features related to terastallization. Previously, we thought that the turtle on the left in the image above was a pre-evolution of the image on the right. According to the official Scarlet & Violet site, this isn’t a case of evolution but of different forms, “normal” and “terastal.”

Here’s the most intriguing bit: Apparently Terapagos is capable of taking on multiple distinct appearances.

Type change is probably how these distinct appearances are determined, but all of the typings also appear on the Terastal Form of Terapagos’ shell. Maybe tera shards allow it to change Tera Types more easily than other Pokémon?

New Paradox Pokémon

Introducing Raging Bolt and Iron Crown, the paradox forms of Raikou and Cobalion, respectively. We don’t know anything about their typings at this point, but their existence likely confirms that we’ll get a Paradox Entei and Paradox Terrakion in the future, maybe as a special Raid event? It’s a bit of a stretch, but a past and future Paradox form of Keldeo could be in the works to round out the set.

I just… the verdict on Raging Bolt’s design is still out for me. It looks worse in-game while Iron Crown looks better. My guess on typing is Electric/Flying or possibly Electric/Fairy for Raging Bolt and Steel/Dragon or Steel/Ice for Iron Crown.

New Evolutions

In addition to more info about Ogerpon & Terapagos, we got two new evolutions for Galar’s Applin and Duraldon: Dipplin & Archaludon (pronounced ark-al-eww-don). Dipplin is available in Teal Mask, while Archaludon comes in Indigo Disk.

Dipplin’s signature move is Syrup Bomb, a grass-type special attack that lowers the target’s Speed each turn for three turns. I’m no expert, but I believe this is the first stat-changing move we’ve ever seen that works over multiple turns, no?

Dipplin’s Ability is Supersweet Syrup, which lowers the evasiveness of opposing Pokemon when Dipplin first enters a battle. Again, no VGC expert, but the lowered evasiveness and speed reduction combo could definitely cause some problems.

Curiously, Archaludon keeps Duraludon’s Dragon/Steel typing even though its signature move is an electric type. It’s a two turn move, that absorbos electricity, raising Special Attack, and then firing on the second turn. In rainy weather conditions, Archaludon can fire Electro Shot immediately without charging. It also changes appearance for this attack.

New Features

Finally, a reason to use the camera.

After encountering a young woman Perrin, you’ll search the Timeless Woods of Kitakami in search of a certain mysterious Pokémon. This could be a great opportunity to introduce another new or convergent species.

I appreciate Gamefreak incorporating this function into actual gameplay as more than a gimmick. Hopefully you’ll be able to utilize the camera as a sort of minigame even after you find Perrin’s mysterious Pokémon. This may also be how players track down Ogerpon, but if that’s the case, it will be a missed opportunity.

Three new camera functions are also coming to The Teal Mask. After receiving the roto-stick, you can take wider angle pics (oh no, the selfie stick is making a comeback.) You can also direct your Pokémon to wait in place and set up better shots and, last but not least, share photos taken during Union Circle sessions with other members of the group.

The perfect Pokémon doesn’t exi—

A new mini game makes it easier than ever to perfect the stats of your favorite partners. In Ogre Oustin™ you’ll ride Koraidon or Miraidon and pop Ogre Balloons to collect Berries for the Berry Table. As a reward, players receive mochi that can be used to increase the base points of Pokémon stats or a “Fresh-Start Mochi” which resets the base points of your Pokémon’s stats.

Play with up to three other players online or via local wireless connection. Increased difficulty levels feature greater distances between balloons, and Pokémon that come to steal your hard-earned Berries.

Seems like a fun minigame but not quite the Pokémon “editor” for the competitive scene that some people were hoping for after hearing the rumors that stat building would be easier.

You can fly! You can fly! You can fly!

Gliding is for the birds. Or… never mind. As part of the “Elite Trials” you’ll undergo at Blueberry Academy, a supplement allows you to take to the skies on Koraidon or Miraidon to play a flying game similar to the one that was part of the course in Legends Arceus.

More tantalizing is this little promise: It seems this power is only temporary, but perhaps someday this hidden potential will be fully unleashed...

I don’t know about you, but I’d love to soar over Paldea while I’m hitting up Raid dens. Here’s hoping this feature isn’t limited to just Blueberry Academy once you unlock it.

The BB League Elite Four

Blueberry Academy has it’s own battling league called—you guessed it—the BB (Blueberry Battle) League. Students battle each other and climb the ranks based on skill (Battle Frontier/ Battle Tower, anyone?). The top four trainers are the BB League Elite Four and fight them in the underwater Terarium.

Note that Carmine from The Teal Mask also makes an appearance in The Indigo Disk.

There are four biomes in the Terarium: Savannah, Coastal, Canyon, and Polar. Presumably, one of Elite Four occupy each area. To battle them, you have to pass a different trial from every member (including the flying one mentioned above).

BP (Blueberry Points) are a separate currency for Blueberry Academy.

The League Club

Members of the BB League (Elite Four included) gather and train in the clubroom, which probably functions like the Academy back in Mesagoza, allowing you to visit and build relationships with the various people hanging out there.

Players can also invite old friends and foes from the Paldea region to talk, take pictures, battle and trade. No word how the trading function will work, if it will be a specific Pokémon for a specific Pokémon or allow more flexibility. Katy and Kofu (two gym leaders from Paldea) are shown in the trailer. You might see a side of them you hadn’t seen before…perhaps they will use different teams than when you fought them in Paldea?

Mass Outbreaks incoming!

Unlike in Legends Arceus, Mass Outbreaks are events will be specific calendar appearances. The first one features Clefairy, and runs from Thursday, September 28, 5 p.m. PDT, to Sunday, October 1, 4:59 p.m. PDT.

They’ll appear in both Paldea (where they can’t be found otherwise) and in Kitakami. One would guess these Mass Outbreaks have increased shiny rates, and possibly increased XS and XL Pokémon. Increased potential for Marks is likely as well, given that they’re explained on the same page.

And last but not least, Paldea’s story expands

The overview video ended with a sequence of progressively shorter slides, like the one shown above, all related to Area Zero and done in a classical adventure story style. In addition, the official site promises that “On top of your school trip in Kitakami and your studies abroad at Blueberry Academy, the story of The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero will tie back to the Paldea region as well.”

I wonder if this exploration into the history of Area Zero will span both DLC, be available upon release of The Teal Mask, or not come out until The Indigo Disk?

New Characters

Ms. Briar

Ms. Briar is a teacher at Blueberry Academy and is in charge of the school trip you’ll be embarking on. She’ll visit your academy in the Paldea region to meet you before setting out. Briar has an extremely inquisitive disposition and shows a keen interest in the Terastal phenomenon.

Notice those earrings that are strikingly Terapagos-themed.

Perrin

Perrin is a camera-loving traveler with an easygoing personality. It seems she’s in search of a certain Pokémon and wants to take a photo of it.

Her hair style gives me Adaman ala Legends Arceus vibes.

The BB Elite Four

Lacey (top left) - Lacey is earnest and caring. She will show you around Blueberry Academy once you arrive.

Crispin (top right) - Crispin enjoys cooking and red-hot battles! After club activities are finished, he often puts his cooking skills to work so that he and the other three members of the Elite Four can all enjoy a meal together.

Drayton (bottom left) - Drayton may act lackadaisical, but apparently he’s a force to be reckoned with in battle. He doesn’t seem to go to class often, and rumor has it he’s had to repeat a year thrice already.

Amarys (bottom right) - Amarys is taciturn and keeps her cool in any situation—but underneath that ironclad exterior, she seems to really care about her friends.

Until next time,
Cooltrainer “the Presents Prince” Ace