A First Look At Poltchageist From Pokémon Scarlet & Violet's Hidden Treasures of Area Zero DLC

A brand new Grass/Ghost Pokémon has been revealed for the Scarlet and Violet DLC Hidden Treasures of Area Zero, along with a new ability.

In a teaser trailer for the Pokémon Scarlet & Violet DLC Hidden Treasures of Area Zero released August 22, 2023, Pokémon has debuted a brand new Ghost/Grass Pokémon named Poltchageist, the Matcha Pokémon.

Poltchageist resembles a haunted matcha caddy and carries a small scoop, or chashaku, with which to dispense its powder. But Poltchageist's offerings won't make for a delicious and caffeinated beverage. A press release from The Pokémon Company for the new Pokémon reads "After a target is sprinkled with some of Poltchageist's powdery body or eats food dusted with it, Poltchageist drains their life-force and absorbs it as energy." Poltchageist is the second beverage-themed Ghost-type Pokémon line alongside Sinistea and Polteageist, and it shares another key design element with them as well. Sinistea and Poltchageist both feature swirl patterns, but where Sinistea's swirl is its major weakness, Poltchageist's seems to be for decoration only. A third spiral-based Pokémon is also featured in the trailer, Poliwag, though it remains to be seen if spirals will be a running theme throughout the Hidden Treasures of Area Zero DLC.

Poltchageist features the brand new Hospitality ability, which restores "a small amount of its ally's HP when it enters a battle." This suggests that Poltchageist will be most at home in a supportive role in double battles, helping keep hard-hitting allies alive by swapping in to restore their HP. This ability also hints at another of Poltchageist's aesthetic inspirations, kintsugi pottery repairs. Kintsugi is a process by which broken pottery is rejoined using resin or lacquer and gold dust to create obvious and beautiful seams where the pieces were broken. According to the press release, "Poltchageist takes up residence in old houses where it is sometimes known to patch up broken objects." Poltcha geist has a line of green running along the top of its jar where its old owner, a cantankerous old tea master, repaired it using a green paste long ago. It now travels Kitakani repairing broken objects and sprinkling unsuspecting tea drinkers with matcha to drain their life-force. This puts a sinister spin on the Pokémon's ability, as it seems to care more for objects and other Pokémon than it does for people.

RELATED: Pokémon: What Can Players Expect From The Scarlet and Violet DLC?

Hidden Treasures of Area Zero is a two-part DLC for Pokémon Scarlet & Violet, much like Pokémon Sword & Shield's Isle of Armor and Crown Tundra DLC. The first part, The Teal Mask, sends students on an exchange program to the land of Kitakami, the home of Poltchageist. This will be followed by The Indigo Disk in winter 2023, which has players exploring a floating research lab with exclusive Pokémon from past regions.

Declan is a writer and editor for Comic Book Resources and an independent game designer. They've been playing video and tabletop games since childhood and continue that love today.