Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's upcoming DLC expansion The Teal Mask sees players travel outside the Paldea Region to the land of Kitakami. While on this school trip, they will discover a variety of new creatures, including the Legendary Ogerpon, the mascot character for this first DLC expansion. While Pokemon Scarlet and Violet draw upon a variety of sources for the designs of their monsters, Ogerpon's design feels very reminiscent of a classic villain from The Legend of Zelda series that could be a source of inspiration for the new mon.
From what has been shown of the DLC so far, it's clear that the designs for Ogerpon and the other three new creatures, The Teal Mask's Okidogi, Munkidori, and Fezandipiti are based on the story of Momotaro from Japanese mythology. In this story, Momotaro travels to and defeats an island of ogres with his three companions, a dog, monkey, and pheasant. However, even with the obvious allusions to this story influencing their designs, it's likely that more inspirations behind these creatures' designs will become apparent once they're seen in action and The Legend of Zelda's Skull Kid is a strong contender for one of the inspirations behind Ogerpon's deign.
Ogerpon's Design is Very Reminiscent of Skull Kid from The Legend of Zelda Series
Skull Kids in The Legend of Zelda series are a recurring race of creatures said to be children who wander into the Lost Woods and are turned into mischievous tricksters. While not ogres per se, the Skull Kids in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask do resemble another mythological Japanese creature, the kappa, with their beaked mouths. Their designs in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess could be considered more ogre-like, losing the beaks in favor of a sinister grin, but either could serve as an influence for Ogerpon's design.
What really makes the Skull Kids a potential design inspiration for Ogerpon is the role one particular Skull Kid plays in The Legend of Zelda: Marjoa's Mask. This Skull Kid serves as the main villain for the game, having stolen Marjoa's Mask from the Happy Mask Salesman and gaining powerful magical abilities under the control of Majora as a result. Given the mask portion of Ogerpon's design, and the title of the DLC expansion being The Teal Mask, it seems logical that masks would play an important role in the DLC's story.
With how much of a trickster Majora's Mask's Skull Kid is, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet should follow suit with their characterization of Ogerpon. Having the Pokemon act as an elusive yet cunning monster would help build its ethos as a Legendary while also giving it a distinct and memorable personality, which could even influence Ogerpon's typing in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet and the in-game universe as a whole. The tremendous power Skull Kid displays in felling the moon in Majora's Mask could also serve as an inspiration for Ogerpon's battle prowess or its function as a threat within The Teal Mask's story.
There are enough similarities between the designs of Ogerpon and Skull Kid that it seems like a waste not to give the new Pokemon a personality similar to The Legend of Zelda character. Creatures with memorable personalities tend to become fan favorites, so it would be in Game Freak's best interest for the purpose of marketing the DLC for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet to give Ogerpon a unique personality to match its design. While it would be unprecedented for a Pokemon game to directly pull from The Legend of Zelda, the popularity of the two franchises seems like a great reason for one to give a nod to the other in its character design and lore.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is available now for Nintendo Switch.
