It’s not really a secret, but Pokémon can kill a human at any time if they want to. These furry creatures wield elemental powers beyond the strength of any human being, and even a minor weedle can easily maim or kill a person. If you really think about it, every Pokémon Trainer is only one Razor Leaf or Flamethrower away from death.
For a long time, these types of ambiguities of the Pokémon world have been relatively easy to ignore. I, for one thing, am more focused on taking beautiful selfies with my palm and less concerned with overthinking about every unexplained detail of the world. However, new material in the first part of pokemon scarlet And Purple called dlc teal maskBrings some of these questions to the fore in surprising ways.
[Ed. note: This post contains spoilers for the story in the first part of the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet DLC, The Teal Mask.]
in part one of pokemon scarlet And Purpleki dlc, Area Zero’s Hidden Treasure: The Teal Mask, the trainers venture to the land of Kitakami. As we play, we learn that there is a local legend in the town that happened generations ago. According to legend, three Pokémon – Okidogi, Munkidori and Fezandipity – once saved the city from a rampaging monster. At the time the story takes place in the game, the townspeople call these Pokémon “The Loyal Three” and honor them at a local festival. However, as we learn more about the history of the village, we discover that this legend has a hidden dark side.
The DLC introduces two new characters to the game: Kieran and Carmine, siblings and local residents of the area. At the festival, Carmine and the player encounter a mysterious Pokémon named Ogrepon, who drops his teal mask in fear. It is up to the player to return the mask. As part of the main quest, the player and Carmine show the mask to Carmine’s grandfather, who then reveals that the propagated version of the legend is a lie.
As it turns out, the real villains of the legend were the Faithful Three. In fact, they are not loyal; Instead, it appears that he murdered Ogerpon’s only friend and trainer. In the original version of the legend, the monster – a polite Ogrepon – lived out his life as an outcast with his human trainer after being rejected by the local villagers because of his different appearance. Only one villager, who was a mask maker, took pity on Ogerpon and his trainer and made beautiful masks for them as gifts so that they could blend into the local festival. The masks were noticed for their beauty and quality and it eventually attracted the attention of the greedy Pokémon – The Loyal Three. One day, the Loyal Three decide to steal the masks.
Carmine’s grandfather tells the true story this way: “The man was there. He managed to grab one of the masks… but he wasn’t strong enough to protect them all. The Pokémon stole the other three masks. After several hours, the monster returned to the cave…he found his beloved home in ruins. All that was left were the marks of the struggle and the teal mask.
The legend does not say that these three Pokémon directly killed the man, but all signs point to his death. After the theft of the masks, the legend ceases to mention the man, and Carmine’s grandfather says that the monster returned to his home “alone and with great sadness”.
So, although it is never explicitly stated, it seems that this is one of the first major cases of Pokémon murder in the Pokémon series. The story serves as a sobering reminder: Do you know those battle-ready creatures that can manipulate the elements and unleash powerful attacks basically at will? Well, you probably don’t want to get on their bad side.
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