When the expansion to Pokémon Scarlet and Violet was first seen, The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero would bring two new locations to explore. The new region of Kitakami in the first part, with the Blueberry Academy of Unova for the second. I felt Kitakami to be a lovely place to explore, with that still being my thoughts upon doing so. But with Blueberry Academy and its terrarium, I felt different.
It was obviously an artificial environment, with four distinct areas split by a crystallised barrier. And I felt it being an artificial environment would affect the enjoyment of exploration. So, when the time finally came to head to the Academy in December, I was ready to see if it could change my mind. And such was the case. The terrarium has become my favourite place to explore in Scarlet and Violet.
Despite it being an artificial environment with four distinct areas, the terrain of those areas still flows naturally. The snowy mountains of the snow biome naturally flow into the canyon biome. The water of the coastal biome continues into the snow biome. Sure, there’s a few small inconsistencies where things don’t line up too well, but it never seems to affect exploration.
This being a Unova-based academy, that is in the middle of the ocean, there’s a lot of love for those who love Unova. It took me a while to realise, but when I realised that the wild and trainer encounters used the battle music from Black and White, I was absolutely delighted. And there’s various areas around the terrarium that reflect those found in Unova. It’s simply beautiful to find all the callbacks to the generation five games.
As for the story, upon first arriving at Blueberry Academy, I’m immediately interested by the fact double battles are a standard here. Yeah! Go, Umbreon! Go, Espeon! Let’s show this academy who’s the best! As if to show the importance of the terrarium to the academy, many of the lessons take place within it. Funnily enough, not soon after seeing the terrarium for the first time, one of those lessons gets announced. A simple hunt to find an Alolan form Pokémon.
The true story begins after this lesson, with Carmine wanting to meet up now I’m here. And it seems Kieron, in the months since we last saw him, has gained a goal to be the strongest trainer there is. But has also become obsessed with that goal, to the point that after he became the champion of the Blueberry League, he’s been pushing around anyone he can. Wanting them to be better trainers so he has some worthy competition. So that he can finally beat me.
In something exceptional for the Blueberry Academy, I’m allowed to join the League Club despite being an exchange student. And am immediately able to challenge the Elite Four of the league owing to the fact Kieron is the one who allowed us to join. To battle the Elite Four members is simple enough. Each one has a challenge that must be completed before moving onto a battle with them.
These challenges I found simple enough. Fly through hoops within a set time. Answer questions relating to Pokémon. Trade and fight for ingredients to make the spiciest sandwich. And battle using only Pokémon caught in the terrarium. That last one I felt I would fail at, but I’d been exploring and catching for a while before starting these challenges, so at least had a varied team to use.
With all four of the Elite Four defeated, it was time to challenge Kieron. Who, of course, I defeated again. But it was a close one. Along with every trainer here fighting in double battles, there’s a lot more strategical thinking from them, with items and abilities, buff moves, and strong attacks being utilised with them all. But, healing up while in battle meant I could survive. Even if I usually avoid doing so to make fights fairer.
Then, time for another trip to Area Zero. This is the section I was least enthralled by, since it simply requires heading for a Stellar-type Terastal Pokémon and beating it to open the way forward numerous times. But upon reaching the destination, it held a nice conclusion for Kieron’s story. That being his obsession to be the strongest almost destroying the lives of those he loved most. At first, he struggles to face that, but eventually joins the fight to undo what he had created.
Now, why am I giving these thoughts now, rather than last month? The epilogue for the entire Scarlet and Violet story. It took me a while to get to, since I was adamant on keeping the Eevee outbreak event active by not connecting the game to the internet so I could easily shiny hunt for the entire Eeveelution chain. But with that quest done, it was time to get the mystery gift item that starts this epilogue story off.
A nice, short story that provides a fun time, seeing both base game and expansion friends come together for some interaction. And a mystery that involves the residents of Kitakami becoming possessed by something with an affinity for mochi. I loved what it brought, as even if it wasn’t concluding any character arcs, it still provided a lovely end for these characters I’ve come to know throughout this adventure.
So… now I’ve seen everything The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero expansion holds, I’d say it is worth it. Two great new places to explore, a host of extra Pokémon to hunt down, and some great new characters with a story that is defined by them. And hey, I now have a Koraidon that can fly anywhere rather than just simply glide for a set amount of time. And if there’s one thing I love, it’s taking in these environments from both near and far.
Images Taken From:
Pokémon Scarlet | Nintendo Switch [Handheld]
