Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s epilogue is a disappointing conclusion

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s series of post-launch content finally wrapped up on January 11 with the release of The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero‘s epilogue. Now, having played through it, I find it to be a fittingly odd end to one of the weirdest generations of the Pokémon series ever.

Instead of adding some grand endgame challenges to overcome, this is a story-focused epilogue about a Pokémon that is brainwashing and controlling people through mochi. It’s a cute and comedic horror riff that gives entertaining final moments to the friends players made throughout the main game and DLC’s adventures. Despite that, it’s underwhelming and still subject to the technical problems that have plagued Pokémon Scarlet and Violet since launch.

Officially titled The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero Epilogue: Mochi Mayhem, this additional story begins once you place a Mythical Pecha Berry on a decoration at Peachy’s shop on Kitakami Island. That initiates a call from Arven, who decides to visit the player’s house in Paldea with Nemona and Penny. While hanging out there, the group is invited back to Kitakami by Kieran, the player’s main rival in The Teal Mask and The Indigo Disk. Things seem normal at first when they all visit, but they quickly notice that Kieran’s sister Carmine is acting oddly.

Her eyes have turned purple, and she seems brainwashed. She’s forced to do a chicken dance while begging for mochi. This kicks off the silly story, where characters from the main game and DLC are slowly picked off by this mochi curse, which a new Pokémon is at the center of. It’s a kid-friendly horror story that’s ultimately more funny than frightening and ultimately serves as an opportunity for Game Freak to go on a victory lap with its games.