Have you ever read a book, or watched a movie, or looked at a scene in a show, and thought, “Why would they do that??” Maybe you were looking for a character’s motives, or maybe you were confused about a sudden decision or change in personality of a character. But what ties those things together, is that you were wondering, what was going on inside of their head.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are one of the newer installments of the Pokémon series, a creature capturing and battling game, and one thing they excelled at compared to older titles is that they have arguably one of the most thought out and deep stories from the whole franchise of games. An important aspect of that story is their characters. As you continue on through the main story of the games, you meet so many people that are really interesting, and it’s so intriguing to look into some of them, and their respective little side stories and character arcs. About a year after the base game’s release, GameFreak, the developers of the series, released a pair of DLCs (downloadable content, which is like an add on to the game’s core story). The first one, titled the Teal Mask, released in September 2023. The second one, the Indigo Disk, soon followed in December of the same year. A key character in the plot of this pair of DLCs is a trainer named Kieran. Compared to other characters though, his story is a bit more complex, to put it simply.

In this blog, I wish to investigate his story so I can further understand him, his motivations, and overall analyze his path as he develops through his story as he struggles with his view of self and the views of how people see him, among other things. An interesting way I’d like to address this subject is to look at it with the theories of some of the major schools of psychology, the main one being the school of Humanistic Psychology, which focuses more on the person and their thoughts compared to other theories. I plan to look at how the Teal Mask builds up to Kieran’s obsessive and destructive state in the Indigo Disk, and apply psychological ideas to details in the story to see how they contribute to his eventual down spiral.

Flight to Foreign Lands

The Teal Mask begins as the player, who I’ll now be referring to as MC for convenience sake, arrives in the land of Kitakami on a school trip. Soon enough, while venturing into the nearby town of Mossui, the MC meets siblings Kieran and Carmine, who both grew up in the town and attend a different school, the Blueberry Academy. Carmine, who’s Kieran’s older sister, comes off as really blunt and strong-headed, though the story does showcase a softer side later in the story. Then, Kieran, the younger sibling, is shown to be more meek and quiet, with the ability to be a bit more stubborn and assertive at times.

The first interaction between both of them and the MC helps put their personality on display. Carmine, acting rather confident, challenges the MC to a battle. Meanwhile, Kieran stands back, hiding behind his sister but quietly admiring the MC. They also do have a bit of an argument, but due to his timidness, Kieran relents. It’s a very effective way to introduce their characters and behavior. After the battle, both of them are chased off by one of the organizers of the field trip, since they technically were supposed to help the other students get to the community center.

They both don’t appear again until the next day, where the students are getting situated into groups for the assignment during the field trip. The assignment is to explore the region of Kitakami with a partner, and search for three signboards, each talking about an old folklore passed down through its history.

After the explanation, the students are let loose to sort themselves into pairs and get exploring. Since it’s encouraged for both schools to interact, the MC decides to try & pair up with one of the two siblings. When talking, Carmine reveals that Kieran’s actually been talking about the MC after the events of the last day. While he objects, she tells him to hush, claiming he would’ve never said anything on his own. She then asks the MC to battle him on his behalf, as well as to be his partner, both of which the MC accepts.

Since this is the first battle against Kieran, I do find a lot of interesting details about his timid yet kind character are found in this first sort of one-on-one interaction with the MC. The last thing he says right before the battle starts is “I-I got this!” which, compared to what we see later in both DLCs, makes him seem really happy about how he feels about himself, and at least somewhat confident in his abilities & strength. During the battle, something to note is that Kieran’s opening stance copies exactly that of his sister’s. This could either be a sign that he might have a bit of self-confidence issues already, and thus mimics his sister, who is more confident, or he might just be doing it since he looks up to her, at least a little.

Now, on the topic of self-confidence, I’d like to bring up the concepts of self-esteem, self-concept, as well as the ideal self, both being terms used in humanistic psychology. Self-concept and ideal self sorta go hand-in-hand, with self concept being a person’s perception of themselves, and the ideal self being where a person wishes to be, in their view. Self-esteem, then, is kind of like a gap between your self-concept and ideal self. Basically, the farther apart your self-concept is from your ideal self, the worse your self-esteem, and vice versa. From what we’ve seen so far, Kieran seems to have a good bit of self-esteem. He’s not super sure of himself just yet, but he has some bit of pride in himself too.

Back to the battle, we see that Kieran is actually perfectly content with losing. He claims he’s just super glad at the chance to battle the MC, showcasing how quickly he’s grown to admire them. He acknowledges that he isn’t as strong as them, but doesn’t let it weigh him down either. He’s happy with who he is, and understands he can still grow.

Legend of the “Loyal” Three

After the battle, the pairs are assigned the locations of the signboard and essentially set loose. Kieran, still a bit timid around the MC since they still only just met, insists on following them from a distance, so he won’t get in the way as they seek out the first signboard, in Loyalty Plaza, west of Mossui Town, through the apple orchards the area is famous for.

Once they reach the signboard, they read the excerpt listed. To summarize the little tidbit, it talks about the tale of a fearsome ogre that had come down Oni Mountain, which is above Mossui, to terrorize the citizens, as well as three Pokémon who had laid down their lives to protect the town. Those three were buried and honored by the town, and dubbed the Loyal Three.

After reading the story, Kieran actually confides with the MC, something that’s heavily implied to not be common for him to do. He talks about how despite being the antagonist of the tale, he actually thinks the ogre is cool. He admires how it held its own in a three on one. Already, some connections between his admiration of the MC and the ogre can be seen. He looks up to both of them, seeing them as powerful and independent, something he wants to be. Once he’s done speaking, he suggests that the duo take a picture to prove they were at the sign. Another neat detail shows up again, where similar to during his battle, he tries to copy the MC’s pose in the picture. Seems like he does that a lot to people he respects and holds dear.

After the photo, we see Kieran compliment the MC a bit more, even stunned at meeting either their Koraidon or Miraidon (the box art legendaries), depending on the version. This might be the point where he really starts to possibly see them as a friend and someone to look up to. Originally, he explains that he didn’t have that much interest in the trip. But after meeting the MC, he actually thinks it was a pretty fun trip, since he met them and is getting to know them. It’s also pretty likely that this is Kieran’s first real friend, from something we see later on, and that’s going to be important to remember for later on and in the Indigo Disk. I suspect this might be the point where he grows a bit self conscious of himself, though. He talks about how great of a person the MC is, before cutting himself off and changing the subject. He might feel a little bit of jealousy, even, seeing someone his age be so capable & powerful compared to him.

He then tells the MC the location of the next sign, Kitakami Hall, which is north of Mossui and a bit up on Oni Mountain. Though he has become more open with the MC, he still decides to follow from a distance and keep some space. He might be friends with them, but is still a bit shy and not fully trusting of them yet.

Up on Kitakami Hall, the MC passes multiple festival stands, before coming up on the hall itself, a big red building in the shape of a triangular prism. To the left of the hall, overlooking the edge of a cliff, stands the next signboard. As Kieran shows up, the pair both read the sign together. It describes how the ogre wielded four masks, which changed its type and modified the cudgel (similar to a thick club) it used as well. One of teal, granting it the power of grass and life, one of crimson, granting it the power of fire, one of blue, granting it the power of water, and one of gray, granting it the power of stone. The sign also reveals that the Loyal Three were able to greatly weaken the ogre before falling, snagging three of its masks away and leaving it with only the teal mask.

Once reading the sign, Kieran explains that the three stolen masks rest in Kitakami Hall. He also talks more about the ogre again too, but this time I get the feeling he may possibly be projecting onto it a bit, similar to how sometimes people see themselves in the main characters of a book, which obviously is a good feeling. He talks again about its strength, but also comments about how he thinks it didn’t care about being shunned by the town. Later, we know this probably wasn’t true, but it’s clear that Kieran is trying to relate to a figure he looks up to. He says he wants to be like that.

He opens up further to the MC, explaining how Carmine usually helps do things for him, even at Blueberry. We get some explanation into why he looks up to the MC and the ogre: he wants to get stronger to do things for himself. To be independent and someone people can rely on. He also thinks this goal will let him meet and even befriend the ogre eventually, who he’s looked up to since he was a small kid.

After that little personal talk, he gets dragged to the task at hand. Though, this time, in the photo we see Kieran a bit more happy and comfortable with the MC. Combining this with how open he just was with the MC helps show that he’s growing to trust them bit by bit, and seeing them as probably his first true friend.

Another important idea I’d like to bring up for further analysis during this blog and future blogs, is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. It’s a diagram to show how a person can fulfill needs in order to grow, and in what priority those needs should be placed. The levels, in order, are physiological (food, water, shelter, etc.), safety (Security, health, resources), love and belonging (community relationships like friends and family), self-esteem (hopefully self explanatory), and finally self-actualization. Self-actualization is a common term in humanistic psychology, which describes a person’s desire to express their talents and reach their full potential. Going out of order with these needs can usually lead to dysfunctional outcomes and struggles fulfilling higher levels, so you’ll have issues with growing if you haven’t properly developed your self esteem. For now, it seems like Kieran may be around the belonging and self-esteem regions, where he is getting more and more social and making a friend, yet still isn’t incredibly confident in himself.

Now, back to the pair. After the photo, Kieran invites the MC to the Dreaded Den, a cave on Oni Mountain where the fabled ogre lives. After the MC accepts, he’s genuinely happy to share his interest with someone who actually cares to see it. He goes on up ahead, taking a winding trail with stairs towards the den.

Up at the den’s entrance, Kieran comments how nothing’s different compared to the countless times he’s gone alone. He has an idea, and challenges the MC to a battle to see if it draws out the ogre, revealing that he’s been training and getting stronger. We still do see that he’s hopeful and believes in himself, telling himself “I’ll give it all I got. I-I got this!” Even though he sees the MC as stronger than him, he hopes to be on their level one day, and the talk he had near the Hall helps clear up more of what he wants to achieve too.

Though, at the end of the battle, I get a sense that the dialogue has a hint of foreshadowing. Once losing, he comments “How am I ever gonna be able to beat you?” He talks about how even the ogre might take notice of their strength, and how that if he was able to match them, he might be able to become the best trainer at his academy. He then stops talking, instructing the MC to follow into the Dreaded Den.

In the cave, he sympathizes with the ogre, thinking that it must feel pretty miserable living alone in a cramped, dark cave. He says how if he had met it in town, he’d offer it a place to stay at his house. I get a feeling that he’s, again, projecting onto the ogre, since he sees himself in a similar situation. They’re both lonely, and in his eyes outcasted. But because of these similarities, he also hopes he has the capability to be as strong as it, and in the process even make friends with it. Maybe a sort of “we gotta stick together” thought process.

As the pair leave the cave, it turns out it’s already gotten pretty dark. They agree that they should leave the last sign for the next day, before Kieran gets an idea. He brings up a festival celebrated by the town, called the Festival of Masks, which takes place at Kitakami Hall. It happens for a couple days, with it starting that night. He hesitantly asks if the MC would want to come to it, and when they accept, he excitedly invites them to his house so they can get ready. It goes to show how attached and fond he is of them during this interaction, seeing how excited he is for the festival.

At his house, both the MC and Kieran prepare for the festival. It’s also here where it’s implied they’re his first friend, or at least one of few, since both him and his grandparents have a bit of a reaction when they say they consider him a friend. This better illustrates the feeling of isolation Kieran usually talks about when relating to the ogre in the legend.

Nothing super eventful happens while they prepare, apart from Carmine showing up to get ready for the festival, and there only being enough masks to wear for two of them (which get claimed by Carmine and reluctantly by Kieran). So, after another battle against Carmine, the group heads off towards the festival as the sky darkens.

The Cracks in the Mask

As the trio arrives at the Hall, it’s totally different than it was earlier that day. The stalls are up and running, there’s lights and decorations, and it’s also filled with people attending the festival. While the three enjoy the festivities, the camera pans back up to the staircase used to climb up the mountain, revealing that the ogre, wearing its final mask, stands above, watching the celebration. As they walk into the festivals, it’s also revealed that the festival is to celebrate the Loyal Three, hence the masks of them and name of the festival. An interesting thing to note is that while most people wear masks of the three heroes, Kieran seems to be the only one who wears a mask of the ogre. I feel like this little detail helps explain why Kieran’s so ecstatic to the MC taking interest in the ogre, since most of his community just see it as the villain of the tale.

After playing a berry collecting game called Ogre Oustin’, the MC wanders off while the two siblings talk. As they walk around, they notice a green hooded child wearing a mask, before following. They approach it, and actually ask if it’s enjoying the festival, to which it answers happily. But, after Carmine finds them, it runs off to the top of one of the segments of stairs. As it tries to get away, the figure drops its mask, which the MC picks up and offers back. Although it was a nice gesture, the figure, still spooked by Carmine, runs off, leaving the mask in the MC’s hands as they stare at it.

Both of them think about what just happened, before coming to the conclusion that the figure might’ve actually been the ogre, but are cut off as Kieran finds them too. When he asks what they were doing away from the festival, while the MC tries to tell the truth, Carmine cuts them off, instead saying they were doing nothing interesting. This is where we start to see the cracks form in the MC’s and Kieran’s friendship.

We see Kieran’s insecurities pop up here, as he automatically just assumes they and his sister are making fun of him behind his back. While this could just be him being insecure, since they seem very secretive when he shows up, this could also be related to him comparing himself to the MC.

We see him compared himself to both the MC and the ogre pretty consistently in the story, but it’s actually not a healthy thing to be doing. Constant comparison could make him feel worse about himself, as well as his accomplishments. Mixing this with his insecurities might be one of the causes of his assumption. After all, why would someone he sees as so much better than him in nearly every way spend time with someone like him? Him downplaying himself when, in his eyes, someone so much better than him is right next to him just plays into his self-esteem issues. It shows a bit of a falter in the pyramid we saw earlier, he’s starting to pull away from his new friend, losing that sense of belonging he felt that he had with someone who didn’t immediately make him feel like an outsider.

Kieran walks away, before Carmine decides to explain to the MC why she lied to him. She thought he’d feel bad about missing the chance to meet the ogre, since he looks up to it so badly. Plus, he might’ve chased after it up the mountain, which wouldn’t be the best idea at that time of night. After that, the three of them decide to go back for the night.

In the morning, as the MC gets out of the community center to start the day, Carmine tells them that she had an idea to ask her grandpa more about what had happened at the festival, since he’s knowledgeable on the village’s history.

As they arrive at the siblings’ house, Kieran comes out, ready to go find the last signboard with the MC. But after he asks about it, Carmine cuts him off, insisting they’re busy. Kieran talks back a bit, calling her a jerk, before running off. Again, this pushes the idea of him feeling isolated, being shoved away from his friend by his own sister. He’s feeling left out, since they’re being so secretive and not wishing to tell him anything.

Isolation is a cause of a term called angst, which is a sort of umbrella term in humanistic psychology, used to describe thoughts of discomfort and dis-ease, like anxiety or guilt. There are four main conditions which usually can lead to angst, which are freedom (to make choices), isolation, lack of meaning (in life), and the awareness of death. For Kieran, the two main ones that’ll show up will be the feelings of isolation and lack of meaning. The only one that has shown up so far is him feeling isolated from everyone else, even friends and family.

Once Kieran leaves, his grandpa fully explains the truth about the legend of the Loyal Three and the ogre. He reveals that the legend of Ogerpon, the true name of the ogre, and the Loyal Three is actually the other way around. The true story, that was passed through their family from generation to generation.

The tale starts with the arrival of two newcomers to Kitakami, a man and an ogre, coming from foreign lands. They were feared and shunned by the townspeople, and so, dejected, they trekked up the mountain and settled in a cave. Though they were isolated by the town’s people, they were content with each other’s company. One villager, the town mask maker and ancestor of the siblings, took pity on the two. Using crystals brought by the man, he fashioned a set of masks for the man and the ogre, allowing them to socialize with the townspeople without revealing their identities.

Word of their brilliant and dazzling masks soon began to spread, even finding their way far outside of Kitakami. But, unfortunately, such rumors gained the unwanted attention of a group of thieving Pokémon, looking to claim the masks as their own. The squad of greedy bandits soon reached Kitakami, sneaking into the cave where the ogre and man had called home. As they attempted to run off with the masks, the man happened to be in the cave at the time. With all his might, he tried to protect the masks, but only managed to keep hold of one, as the Pokémon made off with the other three. Hours later, the ogre arrived at the cave, but all it could see were remnants of a fight, and a teal mask laid upon the ground.

It wore the mask, and raced down to the village, possibly looking for its missing companion. As it reached the village, though, all it found were the band of thieves, proudly showcasing their stolen treasures. In a fit of rage, it swiftly struck them down. The villagers, not knowing the context of the sudden attack, were confused. All they saw was the ogre, and its fury, and all they felt was fear. They had interpreted the deaths of the Pokémon as three heroes, losing their lives to protect the village. Meanwhile, wounded and fatigued, the ogre made its way back to the cave, alone and grief-stricken.

Once the cutscene ends, Carmine gets flared up, immediately wanting to spread the truth of the legend to clear Ogerpon’s name. But, as she tries to rush off, her grandpa stops her. He explains that the villagers wouldn’t take kindly to their whole perspective of who they thought were heroes being flipped upside down. He elaborates, describing how although the ancient mask maker had tried to clear things up, he was persecuted as a heretic. It’s why although the majority of the town believes otherwise, their ancestors have passed on the truth throughout the years in secret. An important point is brought up, as Carmine asks if Kieran knows the truth yet. Her grandpa replies, promising he’ll tell him eventually, when the time is right.

As they try to figure out their next course of action, they notice the gem on the mask’s forehead is chipped, a consequence from when Ogerpon had dropped the mask at the festival. They decide it’d be a good idea to lend it to the siblings’ grandpa, who still had some mask making skills, so they could return it to Ogerpon all nice and fixed up. Then, shockingly, the camera shifts angles, revealing Kieran had been around the corner since Carmine had chased him off earlier.

Before continuing with the story, I’d like to take a moment and discuss why these events cause a further tear in both Kieran’s relationship with his sister and the MC. We already know Kieran shows signs of having trust issues with people. He was suspicious of the two once they snuck off at the festival and refused to tell him what they were doing. Now that he knows what they were lying about, he feels excluded and pushed away by the two people he thought he could trust. They knew how much he cared about Ogerpon, and purposely kept it from him, thinking that he couldn’t handle it. Even if it was the right thing to do, it still doesn’t really make him feel better or less excluded. He feels betrayed and back-stabbed by the ones he was closest to. This just reinforces the feeling of isolation that can lead to the feeling of angst. It also just pushes him towards that idea of getting stronger that he brought up at the second signpost. He wants to be independent, someone people can depend on, and this situation just makes him want it even more, as a sort of way to prove himself.

Once they’re done talking, Carmine suggests that the MC returns to Kieran to not raise too much suspicion. They find him at a shop, near the community center in Mossui. He asks what they were talking about, and when they answer purposely vaguely, he just answers with a short “Oh, I-I see…”, before moving on to talking about the final sign. It’s in the Paradise Barrens, which is on the opposite side of the mountain to Mossui, in the northwest. Instead of following, he just tells them to go and he’ll catch up later. As they walk out of earshot, he asks himself “Why… why’d you lie to me…?” I feel like this little line of dialogue, while short-lived, shows that he held out the tiniest bit of hope that maybe the MC could clear things up. He held out hope that he was wrong, that they were friends. And, to him, that moment signified how he thought the MC saw him. Although it’s not the truth, he believed they saw him as someone who couldn’t take the truth.

At the signpost, he talks a bit about the Barrens, before asking the MC for a battle. Once again, it ends in a loss for him, and, feeling even worse again after losing, he comments to himself “I-it’s all… ’cause I’m too weak.” As time goes on, it’s becoming more and more apparent that his focus is that he needs to get stronger, that it’ll be able to fix his problems and prove that he’s capable. He laments over the battle, clenching his fist in frustration (one of the emotions that’s a symptom of angst) after feeling, from his perspective, weak and helpless. After a moment, he cuts to the chase and tells the MC they should check out the sign, even saying to get it over with.

While not related to the story of the Loyal Three directly, the sign instead serves as a warning to wear a mask when leaving the village at night, lest you be found by the ogre. Kieran again feels empathy towards Ogerpon, saying it must’ve felt pretty lonely being driven away by the village. This time, he emphasizes how alone it must’ve felt, almost like it’s to spite the MC, as if to say he knows what they’re hiding from him and that they’re pushing him away. This time for the photo, instead of copying them, he stands off more to the side, his body pointed away from them. It’s a good bit of storytelling using body language. It’s at this point where he sort of gives up on them, withdrawing away as their friend.

After the photo’s taken, he brings up the fact that the assignment’s technically done, but says he still needs to get stronger with his Pokémon. He mumbles that he’s going home, leaving the MC to head back to the community center for the day. The next day, we don’t see as much of him in the story during the morning. Carmine and their grandpa talk about repairing the mask, since they want Ogerpon to be happy, and they’re sure it’d appreciate the fact that they care about it.

When Kieran comes out while they’re talking, Carmine tries to tell him to go somewhere else to waste time, before he cuts her off, telling her to do whatever she wants since he has stuff to do anyways. After he leaves, both Carmine and her grandpa note how off he’s been acting since getting home, but they shrug it off. Grandpa then reveals that he’s actually almost done with the mask, just needing a crystal cluster from the Crystal Pool, a gem-filled pond at the top of Oni Mountain. While Kieran isn’t present in this section of the story that much, I’ll just recap it quickly since it’s still important overall. An important thing to note is that as the story goes on, Carmine is warming up to the MC, and it’ll become more prevalent as the plot continues.

They both venture to the top of the mountain, and reach the Crystal Pool at its peak. After admiring the pool for a bit, they both try and get the other to swim to the bottom of the pool & get a crystal cluster from the bottom of the pond. Before they can finish, though, a Milotic leaps out of the water, starting a battle. Once defeated by the duo, it flees back into the water, leaving behind a cluster of crystals that were stuck to it. They run into Briar arriving at the pool afterwards, who has a short talk about the terastal phenomenon and its link to the crystals in the water, but it isn’t too relevant at the moment. Once they’re done talking, they head back towards the siblings’ house to give the crystals to grandpa.

But, once they talk to him, he apologizes, admitting that Kieran made off with the mask while they were gone. He tells them that he ran off towards Loyalty Plaza, near the first signpost. When they both arrive, they find him at the Loyal Three shrine, where their bodies were buried by the town. Once confronted, he reveals that he knew about the truth about the legend, about them lying about it, and about them lying to him about meeting Ogerpon. He lashes out, talking about how even though the Loyal Three were the villains, Ogerpon was painted as the villain and treated like an outcast. Then, he addresses the other two, saying that they were both doing the same thing to him, treating him as an outsider. After Carmine tries to apologize, he cuts her off, calling them just like the villagers and laughing behind his back. When Carmine tries to explain what actually happens, he shouts at her and calls her a liar. In his rage, he challenges the MC to a battle, and in order to make sure they accept, he also offers the mask back if they win. He claims that he needs this battle.

I feel like this is a major turning point in not only Kieran’s relationship with the MC, but even ones with other people like his sister or grandpa. He’s lost all the trust he had for them, disregarding their attempts at an explanation. Something interesting I’ve noticed is that the situation that Kieran’s in is like an inverse of a therapy method used to focus on the patient. The three main components of person-centered therapy are empathy, genuineness, and unconditional positive regard, which are three things that have been pretty absent for Kieran while the story’s going on. He describes how the MC and Carmine disregard his love for the ogre when they lie about meeting it, both lacking empathy and being genuine with him. The unconditional loving regard is a bit trickier to explain, but I feel like Kieran views strength as a condition to receive that positive love and acceptance. Without it, he doesn’t think he can be respected, doesn’t think he can be someone dependable that people can be truthful to. With the complete opposite of these aspects being a prominent drive in the story, I feel like an opposite effect of the therapy would happen, where instead of personal growth being achieved, Kieran would just regress and play into his insecurities more and more.

During the battle, Kieran acknowledges that what he’s doing isn’t necessarily right, but he also can’t just stand aside and hand over the mask to them just like that. We also do see that he hasn’t totally lost hope in his abilities yet either, since even when it’s going a bit downhill, he still hypes himself up, saying “…I got this… I got this!” Something interesting I noticed is that he has a chance to compare the MC to a hero in a story. While this could just be maybe a funny jab of them being the main character of the game, I think it’s a deliberate choice that he only makes this comparison after he learns that the heroes of the legend are actually the villains of the true story. Unfortunately, he’s once again defeated. After the battle, he asks himself “Why…? Why can’t I be as good as you…” Annoyed and aggravated that he can’t compare to the MC, he punches the shrine in frustration. A subtle bit of visual storytelling is also shown, with a faint purple mist surrounding his fist after punching the shrine, possibly a visual representation of his negative emotions.

Obviously, it hurts punching stone, but he ignores Carmine asking if he’s ok, handing over the mask before spitefully telling them to say hi to the ogre for him, and running off home before giving them a chance to fully speak. While Carmine and the MC talk about what had just happened, suddenly, the Loyal Three monument shakes. Then, a purple beam of energy shoots up from it, and as the dust settles, it reveals the Loyal Three, Munkidori, a black-furred monkey with a poisonous chain around its head, Okidogi, a gigantic black dog with a another chain wrapped around its neck, and Fezandipiti, a black bird with a chain tied around its torso like a bow, all recently revived in the ruin of their shrine. While it’s never directly confirmed, a popular theory to explain their revival is that Kieran’s negative emotions, combined with the power of the Teal Mask that he was holding, were potent enough to bring the three poison-type Pokémon back from the dead.

The three Pokémon promptly run down the cliff of the plaza, heading towards the Kitakami Hall. Naturally, Carmine and the MC give chase. By the time they get to the Hall, the three are gone, leaving the caretakers of the Hall to describe what happened. From their retelling, the Loyal Three arrived and reclaimed the masks they stole, were fed by them with special herbs that made them bigger and stronger, and then made haste to climb up Oni Mountain. Carmine guessed that they were going to go and take revenge on Ogerpon, and remembering that it relied on its masks to battle, she realized they needed to get to the Dreaded Den quickly, since they had its only mask left, the Teal Mask. They planned to split up, Carmine heading back home with the mask to get it fixed up, and the MC racing up the mountain to make sure Ogerpon’s safe.

At the den, the MC arrives just in time to see the three legendaries harassing Ogerpon, who’s weakened and on the floor. Once they notice the MC, Munkidori tries to retaliate in a battle, but is quickly dealt with. After noticing they underestimated the MC, they get ready to take them on three-on-one, but run off when faced with a fair fight as Carmine and Kieran show up. There is a nice moment afterwards, though, since Kieran apologizes for how he acted earlier, and reconciles with the MC a bit. Then, they turn their attention back to Ogerpon. Since this is his first time seeing it in person, Kieran’s pretty amazed and happy to meet it. Carmine suggests he give it its mask back, but when he tries to offer it back, it shrinks away. Carmine learns that it’s probably not good with new people, so Kieran, a bit sad that it’s not comfortable with him, decides to give the mask to the MC, so that it would actually accept its mask back.

Seeing how happy getting its Teal Mask back made it, the two siblings had an idea. They decide to try and hunt down the Loyal Three, finding and defeating them to return Ogerpon’s masks. To make sure they don’t ambush it while they’re gone, they also decide to take her with them too. They decide to call themselves the Mask Retrieval Squad, and set out to Mossui to gain some info of the three’s whereabouts. They leave Ogerpon near the outskirts of the village, since it’s hesitant to enter, and meet back up with it after gathering info. They learn the location of the three, Munkidori in the southwest at Wisteria Pond, Fezandipiti on the east side of the mountain in Fellhorn Gorge, and Okidogi in the Paradise Barrens.

But, before they head out, Kieran hesitates. He announces that he doesn’t wanna go, thinking Ogerpon’s safe enough with the MC. He explains he has things to do, too, and so runs off. Carmine wonders aloud if he’s still upset, but shrugs it off, saying she can’t make him come along. Since he won’t show up for a good bit again, I’ll just quickly recap what transpires in-between his appearances.

It doesn’t really matter what order you chase down the Loyal Three, so I’ll just go in a random order. The trio (Ogerpon now following) encounter Munkidori near Wisteria Pond, where it’s grown in size quite a lot, now being called a Titanic Pokémon, similar to the Titan Pokémon in the base game. Ogerpon also gives stat boosts to the MC during the Loyal Three battles. Once defeated, Munkidori shrinks to normal size, and runs off, leaving the team to take back the Wellspring Mask.

Next, near the cliffs of Oni Mountain, they find a now huge Fezandipiti, which tries to flee into a cave, before they catch up to it at another cliff near the cave’s exit. The team defeats it. shrinking it down to size, and sending it packing. Left on the ground, Ogerpon runs forward and claims another mask, this time being the Heartflame Mask.

Finally, the squad makes their way to the Paradise Barrens, seeking out Okidogi and the final mask. This time, it’s a lot less involved, since when they track down the even bigger than usual dog, it’s a pretty straightforward battle. Similar to the other two, it gets defeated, shrunk, and scurries off, allowing Ogerpon to claim the third and final mask, the Cornerstone Mask.

After retrieving the final mask, Kieran meets back up with them. He asks them to follow him to the village, and to bring Ogerpon as well. He notices how hesitant they are, due to Ogerpon’s past with the village, but asks them to just trust him as he leaves for the town. Carmine notices his confidence in his eyes, and decides they should trust him, and the trio set off to return to Mossui.

As they enter the outskirts of the town, Ogerpon hesitates to follow and starts to get cold feet. Kieran attempts to reassure it, saying he did his best before asking for it to trust him. Regaining its composure, it rejoins the group and they enter the village. They encounter the townspeople gathered in front of the community center. When the group approached them, they all stared, commenting on Ogerpon, who flinched away from them in response. But, to the Ogerpon and Carmine’s surprise, the townspeople apologize to Ogerpon.

Grandpa then reveals that while the three of them were out collecting the masks, Kieran had worked up the courage to go around the town to tell the truth about the legend of Ogerpon and the Loyal Three. Now, it’s welcome in the village any time, and the townspeople also recognize the masks as rightfully belonging to it. Carmine notes how it’s a pretty nice ending, getting the masks back as well as clearing Ogerpon’s name. All that’s left is to return it home to the Dreaded Den.

The Last Straw

Once at the Den, while they try to return it to its home, Ogerpon instead turns around, rushing towards the MC. After hearing this Kieran speaks up, saying if it doesn’t wanna stay at the Den, then he wants to try and be its trainer. He says he knows it’s selfish, but he wants to prove that he’s capable of it, challenging the MC to one last battle. He tells them to not hold back as the battle starts.

This time, the mood of the battle is drastically different compared to past ones. Kieran adopts a new pose for the intro, clenching his pokéball, and his eyes losing the highlights they usually have. The music is also different, less calm and more and fast-paced with the addition of a guitar. His team is also swapped up, where he left out a lot of his original Pokémon, some of the ones that he first caught, for stronger ones.

During the battle, he has quite a bit of notable dialogue. He understands that the MC is probably the better trainer for Ogerpon, but still wants to battle. When sending out his final Pokémon, he shouts “It’s not over yet! I…I’m tired of losing!” I have a feeling this suggests that while he apologized to the MC, he still held a bit of a grudge for how they treated him, as Carmine suspected. He’s sick of feeling inferior to them, just trying to get this last thing up on them. But, eventually, once again, he gives way, losing. This time, his defeat animation is different. He falls to his knees, and curls up, hitting the ground in either anger, or frustration. He spits out one last thing before the battle ends, “…Figures.” He knew he stood no chance, and yet it still makes him feel worse.

Once he gets to his feet, he apologizes, he knew he couldn’t win, but wanted to give it a shot anyways. Afterwards, Ogerpon challenges the MC to an all out battle to prove themselves to it, as they battle against it wielding all four masks. As the battle rages on, Kieran just watches, stating he was no match as they go toe-to-toe with Ogerpon. After they best and catch it, Kieran congratulates them, before asking one final time why can’t he be like them, before running off.

The next day, Carmine meets the MC at Loyalty Plaza, briefly mentioning that Kieran’s shut himself in his room since the prior day. Then, the MC has one last battle with, this time using Ogerpon. After the battle, Briar calls, announcing that the trip is nearing its end. The students gather in front of the community center, all except for Kieran, suspiciously. Briar announces that her and the Blueberry siblings have to head back to their academy, since something had come up. Everyone says their goodbyes, where Carmine says that they’ll meet again, since Blueberry’s a school full of strong trainers, and the cutscenes ends.

Suddenly, the camera fades back in, this time in Kieran’s room. The camera doesn’t show his eyes, as he talks about how he needs to become stronger, a lot stronger. Then, it slowly fades back to black, as he smiles, ominously promising to the MC “Just you wait.”

So, as that wraps up the Teal Mask, I’d like to discuss more about how we see Kieran as he’s changed from the beginning, since we’ll see more of him in the Indigo Disk. After the last battle at the Dreaded Den, he plays into his insecurities a lot more, leading him to feel weak, and that feeling of weakness makes him feel useless and inadequate. He sees how successful the MC is, and links it to how strong they are. It’s leading him to obsess over strength above all, as if nothing else matters. Not his family, not his friends, not even the Pokémon he’s gotten attached to. This is where we see the two symptoms of angst, lack of meaning in life, and isolation, as he’s pushing everyone around him away. Even though they apologized to each other, Kieran still had a tough time being lied to by his sister and the MC, especially with how open he was to them, and how much they knew Ogerpon meant to him. The lying, the defeat, the obsessions, all of this is leading him down a darker path, a path we’ll fully see the sowing of in the Indigo Disk.

All this to say, nobody’s at fault. None of this originally came from a place of malice. The lying was Carmine being worried, and overprotective, which is natural. She just didn’t want to see her brother get hurt. Meanwhile, Kieran was just lashing out because of how it made him feel about himself, and how it made him feel about the people he thought he knew and could trust. While this doesn’t excuse him from what he’s done, and what he has yet to do, it does make it a more of a grey area. He’s just someone who’s been hurt, and doesn’t want to be hurt again, even if how he goes about it isn’t the best way to deal with those feelings (Therapy, people, therapy).

This first DLC, it plays a pivotal role in Kieran’s character development and story of toxic obsessions and unhealthy mental states. It shows some of the build up to his later more antagonistic personality change, and serves as a nice and clear jumping off point for the Indigo Disk. It clearly illustrates some context for his actions and personality in the future. Now that I’ve been able to establish some of the background info, as well as give some explanation in psychological terms, I think the next natural step is to look at the aftermath. In my next blog, I’ll try to take a closer look at his change from being timid and soft-spoken to becoming a more hostile and spiteful character. I’m really excited to talk about his character development throughout the Indigo Disk, so, with that prospect, I’ll see you then.