Pokemon Scarlet and Violet introduced several new critters with the base games and brought back many others, for a grand total of 400 in the Pokedex, not counting creatures obtained from special Tera Raids ranging from Charizard to the recent Hisuian Decidueye. The Teal Mask DLC brought over a hundred Pokemon to Gen 9, with a mix of returning ones and 8 new pocket monsters. While there are officially 200 Pokemon in the Kitakami Pokedex, the number is actually higher due to the several regional forms and starters now available for transfer from Pokemon Home, and three returning starters are now much stronger than before.

There were a lot of new features in Gen 9 games that made the competitive scene in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet much more accessible to all players, including easy-to-obtain Mints and battle items, but also encompassing buffs to underused monsters. As Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Ogerpon proves, not all pocket monsters are born equal when it comes to how good they are in battle, as the story-related Legendary is arguably one of the most broken Pokemon to show up in Gen 9. As such, having critters from past generations come back as more powerful versions of themselves is a good change, and one that will make fans of Rillaboom, Empoleon, and Torterra quite happy.

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How The Teal Mask Buffs Rillaboom, Empoleon, and Torterra in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

While the first few events for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's 7-Star Tera Raids were received very well both because of the difficulty and the quality of the creatures that were brought back, including the likes of Charizard and Cinderace, Rillaboom came along without much fanfare. The main problem with this creature was that it was lacking Grassy Slide, a priority move that made it incredibly powerful in Gen 8. This was datamined way back before the 7-Star Raid, and players' hopes weren't high, but The Teal Mask eventually added Grassy Slide as a TM.

This alone made Rillaboom in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet a much stronger critter, even with the move being nerfed in terms of base power. Another starter that was heavily buffed with The Teal Mask DLC is Empoleon, who not only got Roost as an egg move, making it a great tank capable of recovering its own HP, but it also has access to Flip Turn to go back to its trainer while also attacking, and more importantly, a new Hidden Ability. Before the DLC, Empoleon's Hidden Ability was Defiant, increasing its Attack when its stats were lowered.

Now, Empoleon's new Hidden Ability is Competitive, which instead raises its Special Attack when its stats are lowered, making it a potential sweeper against teams that heavily rely on Intimidate or stat-decreasing moves. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Indigo Disk will add every starter back to the game, so not only will these creatures be easy to acquire, but the meta might change with the return of Incineroar, which Empoleon would counter quite easily. Lastly, the third starter to be buffed in The Teal Mask DLC was Torterra.

Torterra has a decent type combo in Grass/Ground, and with the DLC it gained several moves that can make it incredibly powerful. Shell Smash is among them, increasing its Attack, Special Attack, and Speed by one stage with each use, potentially sweeping on its own. Another self-buffing move it has is Iron Defense, which can be combined with Body Press for big damage. Then, it gained Headlong Rush as a single-target alternative to Earthquake, and with Loaded Dice it can now use both Bullet Seed and Rock Blast quite effectively. Although Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's meta is constantly changing because of new Legendaries and monsters being added, the return of Rillaboom, Empoleon, and Torterra is nothing to scoff at.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are available now for the Nintendo Switch.

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