Top 5 Things to Do in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Before The Teal Mask

The Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: Teal Mask DLC will be released sooner than anticipated for many players. Although this leaves a little less time to prepare, there are still some activities worth completing before the DLC drops—and some that you really don’t need to worry about. 

Things You Must Do in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Before Starting The Teal Mask DLC

5: Prepare Pokémon to Transfer From Pokémon HOME

Although part of the fun of completing the Pokédex is in catching the Pokémon around you, it can sometimes be a bit exhausting. It never hurts to prepare some Pokémon to transfer through HOME that can be used for The Teal Mask’s Pokédex completion or as a parent Pokémon for breeding later. Getting them all organized in Pokémon HOME before the DLC drops will save you the hassle later of trying to find them scattered around your boxes. 

4: Organize Your PC Boxes

Speaking of scattered around your boxes, many Pokémon players know what it’s like to have messy PC Boxes. This can be especially bad in Scarlet and Violet since there have been plenty of special raid events encouraging players to catch tons of Tera Raid Pokémon. There will be plenty of new and returning Pokémon to catch in The Teal Mask, so now is as good a time as any to organize your PC Boxes—maybe even Surprise Trade away some of the Pokémon you don’t need. You might get something common, but there’s also always the chance you get something interesting.

3: Farm Herba Mystica

Herba Mystica is a special ingredient that you can get only from 5-, 6-, and 7-star Tera Raid Battles. These elusive herbs are best used for making sandwiches that have the invaluable Sparkling Meal Power Level 3. This Meal Power, like all others (with the exception of the Egg Power), is separated into types. While active, the Meal Power will greatly increase the odds that Pokémon of the specified type will be shiny in the wild. Players who are interested in shiny hunting during their time in Kitakami should farm as many Herba Mystica as possible so they don’t run out in the middle of their adventure. 

Using a Raid Power Level 2 sandwich will increase the opportunities for a Herba Mystica to drop from a 5- or 6-star raid. Here are the easiest sandwiches to make for each raid type using store-obtained recipes: 

• Normal Raid Power Level 2: Ultra Peanut Butter Sandwich (Banana x1, Butter x1, Jam x1, Peanut Butter x1) 
• Ghost Raid Power Level 2: Ultra Herbed-Sausage Sandwich (Lettuce x1, Herbed Sausages x1, Mustard x1, Ketchup x1) 
• Fire Raid Power Level 2: Ultra Five-Alarm Sandwich (Onion x1, Chorizo x1, Basil x1, Jalapeño x1, Ketchup x1, Mustard x1, Pepper x1) 
• Electric Raid Power Level 2: Ultra Cheese Sandwich (Cheese x1, Avocado x1, Basil x1, Salt x1, Pepper x1, Cream Cheese x1) 
• Psychic Raid Power Level 2: Ultra Smoky Sandwich (Red Onion x1, Watercress x1, Basil x1, Smoked Fillet x1, Salt x1, Pepper x1, Vinegar x1) 
• Dark Raid Power Level 2: Ultra Fried Fillet Sandwich (Lettuce x1, Potato Salad x1, Fried Fillet x1, Mayonnaise x1, Ketchup x1, Horseradish x1) 

The sandwiches with Bug, Water, and Dragon Raid Power Level 2 all require a Herba Mystica of their own. For that reason, it’s best to avoid using these recipes when trying to farm Herba Mystica. You can instead use creative mode to make Raid Power Level 2 for these and for the remaining raid types. 

The following are the easiest sandwiches to make for each remaining raid type using creative mode: 

• Bug Raid Power Level 2: Chorizo x2, Potato Salad x2, Banana x2, Cream Cheese x1, Jam x1
• Fighting Raid Power Level 2: Herbed Sausages x3, Rice x3, Whipped Cream x1, Chili Sauce x1 Horseradish x2
• Flying Raid Power Level 2: Rice x6, Wasabi x1
• Poison Raid Power Level 2: Chorizo x4, Potato Tortilla x2, Mustard x2, Pepper x1, Peanut Butter x1 
• Ground Raid Power Level 2: Noodles x6, Pepper x4
• Rock Raid Power Level 2: Egg x4, Potato Tortilla x2, Pepper x2, Yogurt x1, Chili Sauce x1 
• Steel Raid Power Level 2: Egg x4, Fried Fillet x2, Pepper x4 
• Grass Raid Power Level 2: Egg x4, Potato Tortilla x2, Pepper x3, Yogurt x1 
• Water Raid Power Level 2: Herbed Sausage x2, Rice x2, Pineapple x2, Chili Sauce x1, Whipped Cream x1, Curry Powder x2 
• Ice Raid Power Level 2: Egg x4, Fried Fillet x2, Peanut Butter x4 
• Dragon Raid Power Level 2: Chorizo x4, Potato Tortilla x2, Mustard x2
• Fairy Raid Power Level 2: Egg x4, Potato Tortilla x2, Pepper x4

There is also an alternative for Water Raid Power Level 2: you can buy the Exclusive Four-Piece Sushi (Frost Set) at Sushi High Roller in Montenevera for 4,000 Pokédollars to activate this meal power. 

2: Sell Your Treasure Items (and Extra TM Materials)

Treasure items in Scarlet and Violet can be sold for varying amounts of Pokédollar currency. They drop as Tera Raid Battle rewards and can also be found scattered throughout Paldea as hidden items, which look like golden sparkles on the overworld. These items can accumulate surprisingly quickly and help add weight to your wallet. Be sure to sell them all to a Poké Mart clerk before starting The Teal Mask so you can be prepared to buy any new items the DLC throws your way. 

A bonus tip is to use the Technical Machine Machine to “exchange materials for LP.” LP can be used in place of Poké Dollars at most locations, making it a great alternative to the traditional currency. If you’ve been farming a certain Pokémon a lot, their dropped materials can add up very fast, and you won’t need even close to all of them for the purposes of making TMs.

You may realize that you have close to 999 materials from Pokémon you’ve been defeating in mass outbreaks, or Pokémon such as Chansey that you’ve been defeating en masse for Experience Points, so take the opportunity to sell your extras and line your pockets as much as possible. 

1: Get the Shiny Charm

Whether you’re interested in actively shiny hunting in The Teal Mask or not, the Shiny Charm is the best item to bring with you into the DLC. The Shiny Charm increases the chance for wild Pokémon to be shiny without you needing to prep fancy sandwiches or plow through mass outbreaks. Having this Key Item won’t guarantee that you find any shiny Pokémon while in Kitakami, but the increased chance never hurts—you might just find a surprise shiny while playing without the need to change how you approach the game.

Completing the Pokédex to unlock this valuable item is no easy feat, but it can be done at any point in Scarlet and Violet, even before completing the story, and it’s definitely worth bringing into The Teal Mask. 

What You Don’t Need to Do in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Before Starting The Teal Mask

Don’t Over Prepare Your Team

You’ll definitely need to do some amount of team preparation before starting The Teal Mask. It can be as easy as simply reassembling the team you used throughout your adventure in Paldea. Some players, however, may want to catch or breed completely new Pokémon to have an all-new team in the DLC. This may even involve preparing Pokémon in an older game and transferring them using Pokémon HOME. 

If you fall into the latter category, be aware that HOME will be undergoing maintenance starting at midnight UTC on September 13—or 8 PM on September 12 Eastern Time, which is the same predicted time that The Teal Mask will release worldwide. Once Pokémon HOME has finished maintenance at approximately 6 AM UTC (if there are no maintenance extensions), log in times will be staggered randomly for all players. So, while the DLC will have already been out for five or six hours after HOME’s maintenance is completed, you might not be able to log in right away. Players who want to transfer Pokémon from older games should do so before their timezone’s equivalent of 8 PM on September 12 Eastern Time. 

Another thing to keep in mind is that Pokémon that are confirmed to return in The Teal Mask, such as the Sentret evolutionary line, won’t be available to transfer before the maintenance. This may seem obvious, but it takes on a new meaning with the six-hour maintenance and staggered log in times: if you’ve prepared an older Pokémon to transfer as part of your team, you’ll have to wait for quite a few hours before you can send it into your copy of Scarlet or Violet. It’s best to not over-prepare your team if you plan on playing the DLC immediately upon release. 

Don’t Rush to Finish the Main Story

It can definitely be helpful to finish Scarlet and Violet’s main story before starting The Teal Mask, especially if you’re hoping to have the Shiny Charm at your side. But like Sword and Shield’s Isle of Armor DLC, game completion isn’t a requirement to start The Teal Mask. If you’re taking your time through Scarlet or Violet, or if you’re picking up the game for the first time alongside the DLC, you can jump right into Kitakami once you’ve begun the game’s big Treasure Hunt. It shouldn’t take much longer than three hours to get to this point for most players, so there’s no need to rush through the game if you want to get started on The Teal Mask.