Highlights
- The Teal Mask DLC for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet introduces new challenges, including battling Kieran and his powerful Yanma.
- Kieran's Yanma, despite being weak overall, can be a real threat with its high level and access to powerful attacks.
- Players who choose to use a new team for the DLC may face difficulty as Yanma's attacks can easily overwhelm their low-level, weak mons with bad type matchups.
There are a lot of new challenges to face and secrets to uncover in The Teal Mask DLC for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, including uncovering the mystery of Ogerpon, the Loyal Three, and the titular Teal Mask. While attempting to catch these new mons can be a challenge on its own, there is a surprising challenge that can catch unprepared Pokemon Scarlet and Violet players off guard in the early hours of the DLC. Despite being a fairly weak critter overall, Kieran's Yanma can pose a real threat to trainers under certain conditions, making it an unexpected terror.
Throughout The Teal Mask DLC, players will face off against Kieran and Carmine on multiple occasions, and their teams will become stronger with each encounter. As the de facto rivals in The Teal Mask, it makes sense that this pair of siblings would be somewhat of a challenge for players, especially if they choose to use a new team for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's DLC. However, Kieran's Yanma makes the battles against him much more challenging than one might expect, and players who underestimate this mon's power could end up with an embarrassing defeat.
Kieran’s Yanma Can Be a Surprisingly Tough Customer
In theory, Yanma shouldn't pose much of a challenge in battle for seasoned trainers who know what to expect from it. This Bug/Flying-type critter only has a base stat total of 390, and unless it is holding an Eviolite, doesn't have the best defenses compared to its evolution Yanmega. However, Kieran's Yanma can be quite difficult for players tackling the DLC after beating the base games since they will have to face it at level 60 where it gains access to powerful attacks like Bug Buzz and Air Cutter.
Yanma on its own wouldn't be much of a challenge for players who are bringing their original playthrough team into the DLC likely at a much higher level than 60, but what makes this battle difficult is if players decide to catch an entirely new team of mons specifically for their playthrough of The Teal Mask. Due to the large number of Bug, Grass, and Dark types that are available in the opening area of the DLC, players will likely end up having a team of base stage mons that are weak to Yanma's attacks while offering little to no super effective moves themselves. This can put players in a tough situation without them realizing it unless they know to expect Kieran's Yanma.
Going into this fight with a team full of mons like Sewaddle, Poochyena, Spinarak, and Cutiefly is asking for trouble, as Yanma's Bug Buzz and Air Cutter can quickly rip through this team. Even mons that don't have a weakness to Yanma's attacks and can be found early on like Corphish and Johtonian Wooper stand little chance, as their stats are noticeably lower than Yanma's, and it can easily out-speed and KO them. Players who are intent on using a new team for the DLC should keep at least one fully-evolved, high-level mon on their team until they get past this initial section of the DLC to avoid losing to Kieran early on.
Of course, players who play through the DLC with their original team likely won't have this issue because a team of fully-evolved mons at a higher level than 60 should have no problem dealing with Yanma. Additionally, players who access the DLC from an earlier point in their playthrough of the base Pokemon Scarlet and Violet games will face a much lower level Yanma on Kieran's team, and won't have to deal with its nasty Bug Buzz attack. However, players who box their original team for a team of new DLC mons could be in for a rude awakening.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are available for Nintendo Switch. The Teal Mask DLC is also available now.
