Part 1 of Pokémon Scarlet & Violet's Hidden Treasure of Area Zero is finally here, and fans have been left pleasantly surprised by The Teal Mask's engaging story and vast new region despite recurring performance issues. Regardless of its shortcomings, The Teal Mask has plenty for players to get sucked into, even if it is condensed into a bite-sized DLC-sized package. Players can set off to fill the 200-strong Kitakami Pokédex, but there are other activities to engage in.
Ogre Oustin' is one such minigame that players can sink hours into. It is especially enticing as it can be played solo or with friends — which is especially appealing as there are limited multiplayer activities in Scarlet & Violet. But what is Ogre Oustin', and how do you play it?
What Is Ogre Oustin'?
Ogre Oustin' is a new minigame introduced in The Teal Mask, in which players and their respective ride Pokémon set about bursting balloons and returning the specific Berries inside them to the starting table area. Ogre Oustin' is located next to Kitakami Hall and is seen as a traditional activity by the people of Kitakami, as it opens up their Festival of Masks.
Ogre Oustin' plays into the story of the Loyal Three versus the "evil" Ogerpon, with that being represented through bursting the color-coded balloons of each of Ogerpon's masks. While its origins and premise may be misguided, the game itself is a fun activity for the people of Kitakami to take part in, as well as Pokémon fans and players.
How To Play Ogre Oustin'
Rules Of The Game
While Ogre Oustin' has a simple enough premise at face value, it does have some more complex rules and moving parts that keep things interesting. When the time starts, players have to look at what color balloons they need to burst and how many Berries of each type they need to collect. They will then have to return to the Berry Tables and deposit the Berries. Once all Berries have been deposited, the stage is over.
Color Balloon | Ogerpon Mask Type | Berry |
|---|---|---|
Red | Hearthflame | Liechi |
Green | Teal | Salac |
Blue | Wellspring | Apicot |
Grey | Cornerstone | Ganlon |
This may seem easy enough in principle, but there are limits that put extra pressure on players. A time limit is the obvious restriction, but players also have limited storage space. This means that they can only carry so many Berries at once, with them having to deposit the current load before going out again to collect the rest. Leaving Berries unsupervised at the Berry Tables doesn't mean that they are safely stored away, however, as wild Pokémon come along to steal and eat them, which makes passing a stage of Ogre Oustin' all the more difficult. Skwovet and Munchlax appear in the easier modes, while Snorlax and Greedent are hungry for Berries in the tougher rounds.
There Are Various Difficulties
When Carmine introduces Ogre Oustin' to the player toward the start of The Teal Mask's story, players will struggle to beat her high score, but they should not despair at this. They will get used to Ogre Oustin' the more they play, and there are even difficulty levels to alter the experience — Easy, Normal, and Hard.
Difficulty | Stages |
|---|---|
Easy | 3 |
Normal | 6 |
Hard | 10 |
Easy mode has three stages to get through, with 6 stages in Normal and a whopping 10 stages in Hard mode. The rewards get better the harder the difficulty, which makes sense, given how strenuous and tough these later stages can be.
Tips & Tricks
There are plenty of tips and tricks to keep in mind for those looking to optimize their Ogre Oustin' performances in reaching success and the various rewards on offer as efficiently as possible. First up is focusing on the amount of specific Berries needed. Collecting more than the required amount may seem like a solid plan, but filling up the player's bag capacity with unwanted Berries can force them to have to deposit and leave again, which is not an efficient strategy if it can be avoided. It is also worth noting that players can move before the starting countdown finishes, meaning that they can position themselves appropriately for when the stage starts. An additional tip is that players should start further away from the Berry Table and work their way back, just in case they need to double back again, and then there will be balloons close to the start.
Easy mode is appropriately easy to do solo, but the other difficulties are better when attempted with friends. Stage 10 of Hard mode requires 200 total Berries to be deposited in 120 seconds, which just isn't possible on a solo run. That is where multiplayer comes in. Having four players branch out and cover almost the entire map is the most efficient way of obtaining and delivering those Berries quickly. When the wild Pokémon attack the Berry Table, it is also a valid strategy to have a player hang back and press R, which has their Legendary Pokémon roar and scare the Pokémon off, protecting the Berries in the process.
Rewards
Repeated Rewards
As with Tera Raids in Scarlet & Violet and Dynamax Raids in the previous generation, Ogre Oustin' will give players some repeating rewards every time they complete a session of the game. These can vary in number and quality, but in the case of Ogre Oustin's rewards, there will be items that can be sold — Tera Shard, Candies, and the newly-introduced Mochi.
- Mochi
- Treasures
- EV Feathers
- EV-Reducing Berries
- Mints
- EXP. Candy
- Tera Shards
- Misc. Berries
- Evolution Items
Mochi is an interesting new item group that has been introduced in The Teal Mask, with its premise revolving around manipulating stats. The Fresh-Start Mochi resets all EVs to zero, allowing players to use the other six types of Mochi accordingly to shape the Pokémon however the player wants. These repeated rewards are a nice bonus on top of the one-time rewards that can be obtained from each of the difficulty levels.
One-Time Rewards
These one-time rewards are generally more exciting than the repeated rewards, as they are held items, sellable items, or even, in one particular case, a Shiny Pokémon. Players get an EXP. Charm as a part of the main story as a reward for playing Ogre Oustin' for the first time. They can then get three Nuggets and an Air Balloon held item for completing Easy mode and moving on to the next. These Nuggets will come in handy later on.
Difficulty | One-Time Reward(s) |
|---|---|
Easy | EXP. Charm |
Air Balloon | |
Nugget x3 | |
Normal | Fairy Feather |
Big Nugget | |
Hard | Shiny Munchlax |
Players can get their hands on a Fairy Feather and a Big Nugget for completing the Normal mode, but completing the Hard mode is where it is really at. For completing the grueling 10-Stage Hard mode, players get a Shiny Munchlax, an incredible prize.
Ogre Oustin' is a ton of fun, especially when played with friends. Multiplayer is the best way to ease through the various stages and earn the maximum amount of rewards while still enjoying the experience. A Shiny Munchlax and Mochi will steal the show in terms of what players can get out of this minigame, but Nuggets are easy money at the end of the day.
It may take players a number of runs to get into the swing of things when it comes to Ogre Oustin', but it is well worth their time to at least try. Ogre Oustin' even deserves to be remembered as one of the highlights of The Teal Mask, even with an intriguing storyline and exciting new additions to the Pokémon roster.