Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s Perrin Quest Is Worth The Time Investment (2024)

Perrin isn’t part of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet - The Teal Mask’s main plot, but she is one of the most compelling characters in the DLC. She’s a photographer visiting the Kitakami region and bears a striking resemblance to Adaman from Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Given that she’s clearly a descendant of a character from that game, it’s only fitting that her quest leads you to a new form for a Pokémon that originated from that game’s historical era: Ursaluna.

If you talk to Perrin in Mossui Town, she’ll ask to take your photo and introduce you to her Growlithe. Notably, hers is the Hisuian regional variant which, by all accounts, should be extinct. Curious, that. She’ll also ask if you can fill your Kitakami Pokedex up to 150 known Pokémon. Depending on how many Pokémon you caught in the base game, you may already have up to 100 of these entries filled out, which will save you a lot of time in completing this quest.

What’s the best way to catch a lot of Pokémon real fast?

Moving forward with Perrin’s story is pretty self-explanatory. You’ll need to run around Kitakami catching as many Pokémon as you can until you hit 150 different species. Wild Pokémon in this region tend to hover around level 60, so if you don’t have a team that’s at least a comparable level who won’t risk knocking out wild Pokémon in one hit, see if you have a Pokémon that can learn False Swipe, which is guaranteed to leave at least 1 HP on your foe. If you want to further raise your chances of capturing a weakened Pokémon, try using non-damaging status effect attacks like Thunder Wave or Sleep Powder, as these will make it harder for your opponent to break out of a Pokéball without risking knocking them out.

One thing also worth noting is that some of the dex entries can be filled out by evolving Pokémon rather than catching them. For example, if you’ve caught a Poochyena, you can simply raise it up a level to evolve into Mightyena, which is two dex entries for the price of one Pokéball. Since most Pokémon in Kitakami are fairly high-level, one level gained should be enough to evolve them if that’s their evolution method. Using Rare Candy or Exp. Candies you might have earned as Raid rewards can speed up the process if you’d rather not grind out battles.

Another helpful tool to have is an abundance of Quick Balls before you head out on your catching spree. These Pokéballs are more effective if they’re used early on in a battle, so it’s perfectly viable to use them without even attacking a prospective catch. Be sure to stock up on Ultra Balls if those don’t work, but using a Quick Ball right off the bat can shave off a lot of time, and given that you’ll be catching anywhere from 50 to 150 Pokémon, this can take a while.

Can I catch Bloodmoon Ursaluna now?

Not so fast, eager McBidoof. Now that you’ve captured 150 Pokémon in Kitakami, you’ll begin another segment of the quest to find the new Ursaluna form. Perrin will ask you to follow her around while you both take photos of some of the Pokémon in the region, and she’ll show you some spooky photos of Bloodmoon Ursaluna until it finally reveals itself, letting you capture it and add it to your team.

But what makes this new form special? Bloodmoon Ursaluna is pretty much an inverse of the Pokémon’s standard form introduced in Pokémon Legends: Arceus in that it’s specced for special attacks instead of physical ones. It has a signature move fittingly called Blood Moon, which has a whopping 140 base power and 100 accuracy rating. However, it can’t be used twice in a row. So don’t expect to just be able to spam it until it wipes out an enemy team.

The most ridiculous part of its build is the Mind’s Eye ability. It allows Ursaluna to ignore changes to an opponent’s evasiveness, so moves like Double Team are pretty much null and void against it. Its accuracy also cannot be lowered, and it can hit ghost-type Pokémon with normal and fighting-type moves, which typically don’t affect the spooky ghosts of the Pokémon world.

So yeah, this guy is kinda busted, but it’s good that such an involved quest has a great payoff at the end. What remains to be seen is how Bloodmoon Ursaluna affects the competitive meta, because this thing sounds like it would be a ridiculous addition to any team.

For more on The Teal Mask, check out Kotaku’s review.