A new bug has been discovered in Pokemon Scarlet And Violet‘s Teal Mask DLC that locks some players out of an optional side quest.

The discovery was highlighted by Pokemon dataminers @Sibuna_Switch and @mattyoukhana_. As detailed below, the game has an internal system that tracks the number of non-story trainers that the player defeats, capping off at 300. However, with the addition of the Teal Mask, the total number of non-story trainers in the game exceeds 300, and the game will be unable to track any trainers defeated beyond the 300 mark.

It seems SV can only track 300 trainers defeated. @mattyoukhana_ suggests that if you maxed these out by beating everyone in Paldea, the game can't track trainers defeated anymore.

Won't affect story trainers but does affect the generic ones in the field, like the Ogre Clan. https://t.co/d7si7PX54A

— Anubis (@Sibuna_Switch) September 18, 2023

It seems SV can only track 300 trainers defeated. @mattyoukhana_ suggests that if you maxed these out by beating everyone in Paldea, the game can’t track trainers defeated anymore. Won’t affect story trainers but does affect the generic ones in the field, like the Ogre Clan.

Although seemingly minor in the grand scheme of things, this bug has caused some players to be locked out of one of the DLC’s optional sidequests. This sidequest involves a group called the Kitakami Ogre Clan, who are very powerful trainers that appear throughout the DLC area. Defeating all the clan’s members is required to complete the quest and obtain it’s rewards.

However, players who have exceeded the 300 trainers defeated mark when battling the Ogre Clan will not have their victories recorded, meaning they will be left unable to complete the quest. @Sibuna_Switch says that this can only be fixed with a patch to increase the capacity of trainer record storage.

You can battle, but the game won't remember it, which is why some people are unable to finish the Ogre Clan sidequest.

— Anubis (@Sibuna_Switch) September 18, 2023

You can battle, but the game won’t remember it, which is why some people are unable to finish the Ogre Clan sidequest.

The trainers would not act like they were defeated and you wouldn’t be able to complete it.

Yes, they would need to expand the capacity of trainer record storage.

Players who have been mostly ignoring the non-story overworld trainers so far may wish to prioritize completing the Ogre Clan sidequest to avoid being affected by this bug, although it will likely be patched out eventually. Stay tuned for more updates as they come.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments.

[Update]: A patch is in the works to fix this bug. More info here.