Today’s Pokémon Presents provided a load of new details regarding The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero expansion pack for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet set to launch later this year. Split into two parts, each one explores a new region beyond Paldea, offering up new Pokémon, regional variants, and returning Pokémon not found in the base games.
Taking part in a joint school trip, you’ll journey to the land of Kitakami in Part 1 – The Teal Mask. With a huge mountain landmarking the center of the region, Kitakami is surrounded by an abundance of nature inspired by rural Japan. Each year, The Festival of Masks is held in Kitakami, inspired by an old folktale, which you’ll seek to uncover and understand as you explore Kitakami. The folktale revolves around three new Pokémon; Okidogi, Munkidori, and Fezandipiti, who are said to have saved Kitakami from an ogre in ancient times.
Some other neat new features include a side adventure that sees you taking photos of Pokémon, Ogre Oustin’ which is a minigame based around popping balloons while riding Koraidon/Miraidon, and Mochi, which can improve the stats of Pokémon. There’s even a Mochi that resets base stats, giving you more control over your team. There’s also the Roto-Stick, which allows for wider angled photos, new poses, and added variety in your shots.
Part 2 – The Indigo Disc is set on the mostly underwater Blueberry Academy, housing a terrarium filled with 4 biomes filled with Pokémon and new trainers as you get to grips with life as a student at Blueberry Academy. The BB League looks to be the biggest draw of The Indigo Disc, offering up a new gym-like challenge with its very own Elite Four. Each one has their own Elite Challenge that has to be undertaken before battle, one of which lets you fly around on Miraidon and Koraidon temporarily, which is a cool addition to the mountable legendaries.
The League Club is a new extra-curricular activity with a club room you can redecorate as you see fit. You can change up the way you throw Pokéballs, and you can even invite trainers from Paldea to train and battle with. Everything comes full circle as you journey back to Paldea to discover the hidden treasure of the mysterious Area Zero.
Mew and Mewtwo are also coming to the games as an event, where you can add Mew into your team and challenge Mewtwo in a Tera Raid Battle. You can get your own Mew right now, with Mewtwo following shortly after with Tera Raid Battle events arriving over the course of August and September.
The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero is set to kick off on September 13th with the release of Part 1 – The Teal Mask, with Part 2 – The Indigo Disc to follow in the tail-end of this year. If you’ve got a hankering for Pokémon right now, new titles are available to Nintendo Switch Online subscribers.
