What’s the Recommended Level to Play Pokemon Scarlet and Violet DLC The Teal Mask?

The Teal Mask is the first of two expansions coming to Pokemon Scarlet and Violet and takes place immediately after the main story. As you’re already meant to be a pro Trainer by the time you tackle the Teal Mask DLC, the level of your Pokemon matters. What’s the Recommended Level to Play Pokemon Scarlet and Violet DLC The Teal Mask? This is a tricky question to answer, and let me explain why.

What’s the Recommended Level to Play Pokemon Scarlet and Violet DLC The Teal Mask?

As The Teal Mask takes place after the events of Scarlet and Violet, you should have access to fairly powerful team. Wild Pokemon you encounter in the starting area of Teal Mask are around LV55. The DLC’s early Trainers have teams of Pokemon around Level 60. With this in mind, a comfortable starting point is LV60-70. 

Naturally, you can blast through the DLC with your battle-hardened LV100 Pokemon, but it will make the Teal Mask incredibly easy. 

Just like the base game, you will stumble across much stronger opponents if you explore the map. Toward the north, there are Trainers with teams almost LV80, so it doesn’t hurt to have some strong backup options in your party. 

If you’re like me and have played plenty of Scarlet and Violet after beating the story, the level bracket can be a problem. I have a lot of LV100’s and a few babies, but nothing in between. If you’re in the same boat, I recommend teaching a Pokemon False Swipes and grabbing a few wild Pokemon in the new region to run with. This way, you won’t crush everyone you encounter right away.

Even if you’re happy to tear through the Teal Mask with powerful Pokemon, False Swipes is an excellent move as it means you safely catch wild Pokemon without killing them. False Swipes can’t be learned by everything, but if you caught Rillaboom from the 7-Star Tera Raid, it’s a great candidate.

Can I play the Teal Mask DLC if I’m a new player?

If you’re new and want to try out the DLC before you beat the main story, you can do that. You can travel to the new region if you’ve completed the Treasure Hunt at the start of the base game. It takes roughly three hours to reach this point. When you enter the DLC this way, the Pokemon in the Kitakami region are at a much lower level. In this instance, you should be fine if you have a team that’s roughly level 10-20.

If you’re rushing through the Gyms in the base game, you may struggle with the one in Medali. The Gym Test here tasks you with ordering a ‘Secret Menu Item.’ Check out our guide to finish this test instantly.