Pokémon Scarlet and Violet The Teal Mask’s new map has a hidden secret for Tauros

In the new DLC Pokémon Scarlet and Violet The Teal Mask, there are plenty of returning Pokémon for fans to catch, with the goal of completing an extended Pokédex. At the same time, there’s a little secret fans can use to get a Kanto Pokémon without having to even throw a Poké Ball.

When playing Scarlet and Violet, players are limited to Pokémon local to the region of Paldea, outside of Tera Raid Battles or Mystery Gifts. Now, with the new DLC taking players to the island of Kitakami, players can technically breed non-Paldean versions of their favorite Pokémon. One of the key examples of this is Tauros, where players can breed a Paldean version on the new island and get the original Kanto variant, which doesn’t even appear on the Kitakami Pokédex.

Fans were quick to pick up on this little secret, posting it as a public service announcement on Reddit. Plus, avid Pokémon fans who use Serebii.net for all their Pokémon information can find the same news on the Tauros page. As of Sept. 17, the only way to get the Kanto variant of Tauros is by breeding one outside of Paldea, on the DLC island of Kitakami.

Players who have already bred Tauros in Scarlet and Violet know the pains of trying to get the right form of the Pokémon with three different Paldean variants. Luckily enough, no matter how you do it, if you try and hatch a Tauros egg while roaming Kitakami, you’ll get the Normal-type version of Tauros. No Everstone is needed, either, even though it would make sense. 

While this is a secret for the game, avid Pokemon fans will recognize this opportunity from previous games where you could visit other regions. One of the best examples of this was highlighted in a comment on Reddit, with Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. It revolved around the wormholes, but you could evolve Pokémon and get different regional variants. 

Though, you aren’t technically directly moving regions like you do from Johto to Kanto in Silver or Soul Silver, or from Paldea to outside Paldea. Plus, that second generation of Pokémon games didn’t have regional variants, just two different Pokedexes to try and complete. That leaves this DLC for Scarlet and Violet in a rare position, and for clever players, an easy way to collect even more of the Pokémon that the games offer.