5 reasons The Teal Mask failed to live up to Pokemon Scarlet and Violet players' expectations

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's first DLC expansion, The Teal Mask, has been available to trainers for quite some time now. While plenty of players have enjoyed exploring the lands of Kitakami while undertaking a new story, others haven't found the DLC to be as fulfilling as they expected. Some trainers believe The Teal Mask didn't live up to the hype for various reasons.

Some Pokemon Scarlet and Violet players expressed dissatisfaction with the story, while others had more than a few bones to pick with the gameplay, presentation, or technical issues. With Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's first DLC in the books, it may not be a bad time to take a look at why some trainers felt so underwhelmed by it.

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Reasons why many Pokemon Scarlet and Violet players were disappointed with The Teal Mask

1) Relative lack of new Pokemon

Not too many new Pocket Monsters arrived in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet: The Teal Mask (Image via Game Freak)

Including evolutions, forms, and the legendary creature Ogerpon, The Teal Mask introduced eight new Pocket Monsters to Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. For a DLC taking place in a brand new location away from the shores of Paldea, there don't seem to be many new additions.

Moreover, Dipplin was an evolution of an existing 'mon, and Bloodmoon Ursaluna was a new form, so The Teal Mask only really introduced new faces not linked to existing Pocket Monsters. Aside from Poltchageist/Sinistcha, The Loyal Three (Munkidori, Okidogi, Fezandipiti), and Ogerpon, trainers weren't exactly blown away by The Teal Mask's inclusions in Kitakami.

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2) Continued performance problems

The performance issues and glitches from Pokemon Scarlet and Violet haven't subsided (Image via Game Freak)

Arguably, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's largest criticism was how they ran after their launch. Some trainers had hoped that The Teal Mask might be able to put those early issues to bed, but unfortunately, most of the performance issues persisted in the expansion.

Framerate drops, deteriorating animation qualities at a distance, and bugs galore marred the experience for more than a few players. Even wonderful set pieces like The Mask Festival of Kitakami had their immersion broken by NPCs walking like slideshows and textures inexplicably popping in.

Comment byu/Illustrious-Fail5460 from discussion inPokemonScarletViolet

Although every Pokemon Scarlet and Violet player had a different experience, enough trainers were experiencing continued performance problems to have flashbacks of the two games' launch weeks.

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3) The Kieran/Carmine situation

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet: The Teal Mask introduced the sibling duo of Kieran and Carmine (Image via Game Freak)

Among all the aspects of The Teal Mask being discussed on social media, few likely would have expected the most divisive would have surrounded two new trainer NPCs introduced in it. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet players meet the sibling trainer duo of Kieran and Carmine in Mossui Town early on, but some players have a particular bone to pick with Carmine.

Specifically, while Carmine is relatively warm towards the player character, she's remarkably cold to her younger brother, Kieran. This led many trainers to claim Carmine was downright abusive toward her sibling. However, other fans remarked that that assertion was overblown and that she was actually a well-developed character in the story.

Does anybody hate Carmine? *Teal Mask spoilers* byu/avelinforl32 inpokemon

Whatever the case, Carmine's personality and Kieran's lack of a good ending have both been heavily scrutinized. The fact that his sister didn't warmly receive Kieran and also failed to find Ogerpon before the player has annoyed more than a few Pokemon Scarlet and Violet trainers.

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4) The overall story length

Comment byu/twitchy1989 from discussion inPokemonScarletViolet

Even though it was clear from the beginning that The Teal Mask was only the first portion of the "Hidden Treasure of Area Zero" expansion, players still found the game's story and progression remarkably short. Some trainers reported completing the DLC's content within less than 24 hours.

Even knowing that The Indigo Disk DLC will follow the Teal Mask in the future, it's understandable that trainers felt let down by the abrupt length of it. Many fans have already moved on from the DLC and are now patiently awaiting The Indigo Disk after just a short time in Kitakami.

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5) Version-exclusives

Completing the Pokedex in The Teal Mask required acquiring version exclusives (Image via Game Freak)

Although version-exclusive Pocket Monsters were expected to appear in the base games of Scarlet and Violet to encourage trading, players weren't as chuffed about The Teal Mask, including version-exclusives. In the minds of many fans, if they're paying for a DLC, they should have access to all the Pokemon in it without needing to trade like they would in the base games.

Overall, this wasn't a massive issue in the eyes of fans but more of a slight disappointment that rubbed salt in the wound. No trainers decried The Teal Mask for it, but it was somewhat inconvenient for a paid piece of downloadable content.