Summary
- The Teal Mask DLC for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet introduces a major plot twist.
- The key art for the Indigo Disk DLC, revealed months ago, teases the aforementioned twist.
- Teal Mask sets up Indigo Disk in a great competitive fashion.
A massive Pokémon Scarlet and Violet DLC spoiler has been hiding in plain sight ever since the additional content’s reveal earlier this year. The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero is the first main expansion pack for the Generation 9 games, composed of two separate DLCs. They are called The Teal Mask and The Indigo Disk, respectively. These stories complement each other, with the former being a field trip to the land of Kitakami and the latter being an exchange program that takes Trainers to Blueberry Academy in Unova, a sister school of the well-known Naranja and Uva Academies in Paldea.
This article contains massive SPOILERS for Pokémon Scarlet & Violet’s Teal Mask DLC.
With the release of the Teal Mask DLC for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, much has been revealed about the path that The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero is treading. New characters, new Pokémon, and even a new story arc have been introduced with the first expansion of the pack, and it sets the stage for the release of The Indigo Disk. There is, however, an event that takes place after catching Ogerpon in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: Teal Mask that is a major spoiler for the campaign – and one that has been hiding in plain sight for months on end.
Indigo Disk DLC’s Key Art Features Pokémon Scarlet & Violet: Teal Mask’s Twist
At the end of the first DLC, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: Teal Mask’s Kieran changes his attitude, leaning into a certain darkness and jealousy unfitting of a hero. The character loses five battles against the player and misses the opportunity to keep Ogerpon for himself, which sends him down a self-pitying path. This somber version of Kieran is a major plot twist for the DLC. He even teases a haircut change when promising to get stronger. However, this is not exactly new. The key art for The Indigo Disk, which is a sequel to Teal Mask, features Kieran enveloped by shadow, with his face turned away, thus hiding his hairstyle.
“Shadow” Kieran Will Return In Pokémon Scarlet & Violet: Indigo Disk DLC
The key art for the Indigo Disk DLC, first shown with the announcement of the expansion itself, already featured the somber version of Kieran, even if players did not know how he would evolve during the Teal Mask expansion for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Both Kieran and his sister Carmine are confirmed to be a part of the second DLC in The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero, but it seems that he will return in his somber version, as a bitter rival. It is uncertain exactly how he will behave himself sometime after training, but it should be different from his usual self if narrative tropes are considered.
Kieran can return as a bitter and angry rival who will try to prove his own worth to the player, battling ferociously, for instance. Alternatively, he can also return as a tough Pokémon Trainer, rewritten as a friendly face that is confident in his own abilities – much like Nemona back in the base game’s region of Paldea. He may even be the top Trainer at Blueberry Academy when he is met again. Regardless of the exact approach to his demeanor, the result of “shadow” Kieran from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: Teal Mask’s ending is bound to make a splendorous return in the Indigo Disk DLC.
Kieran Has The Potential To Be Pokémon Scarlet & Violet’s Best Rival
Because of his emotional investment in being stronger than the player, Kieran has the potential to be the best rival character presented in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. No single Pokémon Trainer antagonizes the main player in Gen 9 so much, and even Nemona’s competitiveness is easily forgotten by her friendliness. Kieran, however, seems devoted to becoming an extremely strong character to best the player after a series of humiliating defeats. If a sense of revenge fuels him, he can actually become very strong. In addition to this, he can have much stronger Pokémon than any other Trainer in the game.
When players face him for the fifth time in the Teal Mask DLC after completing all three of the main storylines in the base game, all of his Pokémon will be above level 70. In a sense, he is already one of the strongest Trainers in Scarlet and Violet. Nevertheless, because the focus of Indigo Disk’s Blueberry Academy is on competitive battles, it is quite possible that Kieran will return with an even stronger party, which will pose a big challenge to the player. If he does, in fact, provide some of the toughest battles in the game, Kieran can easily become one of the best rivals, too.
Player’s Relationship With Carmine In Pokémon Scarlet & Violet DLC May Aggravate Kieran Even More
One of the main facts that turned Kieran into a somber version of himself is the fact that he was left out of the information about Ogerpon by both the player and his sister, Carmine. Although his sister often mistreats Kieran, she is very protective of him in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, so having her side with a stranger instead of Kieran himself also affected him deeply. At the end of The Teal Mask, Carmine hints at cherishing the player deeply, even if an impending declaration of love or friendship is interrupted by a phone call. Later on, Carmine seems genuinely sad when saying farewell to the player as well.
The affection that she seems to have developed for the player may be an additional reason to aggravate Kieran and his feelings. By arriving in Kitakami, the player humiliated Kieran in battle a total of five times, captured his beloved Ogerpon, and was even capable of swaying his own sister to their side. Although Carmine would never turn her back on Kieran, it is not necessarily what the young boy sees in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. His truth is that he needs to become even stronger as a Pokémon Trainer and reclaim all that he lost to the player by beating them in battle – and this includes Carmine.
If “shadow” Kieran will continue to drown in self-pity, use that feeling of anger to become a top-tier rival, or perhaps eventually understand things from a mature perspective in the Indigo Disk DLC remains to be seen, but the fact is that the main narrative plot around him has been teased in plain sight for a while now. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s Teal Mask DLC is already available, while The Indigo Disk’s release date has yet to be announced.
