With the recent announcement ofPokemon ScarletandViolet’s ‘The Teal Mask’ DLC, players will have the opportunity to travel to Kitakami, a land full of new Pokemon and unique fashion choices to boot. WithPokemon Legends Arceus' emphasis on its Japanese garments and compelling character customization, the DLC could benefit from a look at Hisui’s offerings.
The base games ofPokemon ScarletandVioletmet players with a disappointing lack of fashion choices. With clothing shops relegated only to accessories, the dressing limitations of the games felt unbefitting of their open-world freedom. While trainer customization was weighed down byScarletandViolet’s narrative constraints, its DLC doesn’t necessarily have to be. The Teal Mask could serve as a competent successor toLegends: Arceus' customization design, making use of patterned garments and unique accessories to allow for a wider range of character expression.
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Pokemon Trainer Customization
While there is still much to be revealed aboutScarletandViolet’s Teal Mask DLC, its emphasis on showcasing Kitakami’s lush Japanese-inspired environment and summer-festival styled clothing points toward a similar array of fashion already present inLegends: Arceus.Though it’s likely that the DLC won’t have to contend with outfits based on differing climates, it still opens up a vast amount of customization offerings that could make its fashion feel more inclusive.
WhileLegends: Arceusallowed for customization based on the region’s varying topography, offering up snow jackets and goggles alongside the more traditional Survey Corps attire, its particular focus on pattern and design variation made its accessories and base clothing feel more compelling. Making its kimono tops and trouser offerings more unique by pulling from the palettes of Pokemon like Shaymin and Wyrdeer, the gameopened up its customization through its focus on neat references. From itsShiny Baneful Fox Mask, a face covering inspired by the sinister-looking Hisuian Zoroark, to its navy brimmed hat, a special nod to Riley’s character from the Sinnoh region, the fashion ofLegends: Arceusfelt closely intertwined with thePokemonworld itself, which in turn made its clothing feel more special.
TheHisui region’s focus on traditional Japanese garments could very well overlap with the fashion choices present in Kitakami, allowing for the reuse or reconfiguring of assets fromLegends: Arceus. This could present players with the ability to customize their trainers with patterned kimono tops and bottoms, geta sandals, and accessories reminiscent of belovedPokemondesigns. Already shown through the DLC’s promotion image were Paldea’s male and female protagonists dressed in green and red-accented Japanese garb, speckled with the patterns of its featured Pokemon designs,Okidogi, Fezandpiti, and Munkidori. It is likely that players will also see accessory customization based off of the trio, considering the promotion’s reference to festival masks in their likeness.
While this first look bodes well for character customization, there is the chance that outfits could still be restricted; given that the Pokemon Presents announcement emphasized The Teal Mask DLC as taking place on a school trip, this might mean that in order to keep narrative cohesion, players will be unable to venture outside of the garments shown in the promotional material. With the base games ofScarletandVioletputting limits on outfit customization, allowing only for seasonal school uniform variants, this could point towards a similar style-restriction on student clothing playing into its DLC. At the very least, there is hope that the DLC’s fashion will factor in additional patterns and accessories that help customization feel more varied, though only time will tell if this is the case.
Pokemon ScarletandVioletare available now on the Nintendo Switch.
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