Cute, villainous Pokémon Pecharunt dabbles in mind control

Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet’s Hidden Treasure of Area Zero epilogue ties together all the different game and DLC stories — and it’s all centered around a devious little Pokémon called Pecharunt.

What looks like a cute stuffed peach toy is actually an evil little guy with a complicated backstory: Pecharunt. The Pokémon Company has, once again, introduced a Pokémon with a dark, heartbreaking backstory — a Pokémon that, at times, is a true villain. You see, one of Pecharunt’s abilities is called Binding Mochi, which it makes from its own secretions and then feeds to people. The mochi brings out “the deepest desires and powers of those who eat it,” The Pokémon Company wrote in a news release. The poison from the mochi also puts people under Pecharunt’s control, “chained to its will,” according to its PokéDex entry.

Pecharunt is a villain of sorts in the Scarlet and Violet epilogue, but its backstory is even more tragic and weird. The Mythical creature’s story is told in a folktale published in a five-minute video. Pecharunt, as it’s told, was adopted and loved by an old couple with no children. But Pecharunt wanted more love, so it fed its poison mochi to the couple to bind and control them.

The mochi made the couple greedy and ask Pecharunt to bring them gifts, like the masks from Scarlet and Violet’s DLC. I won’t spoil the details for you, but things don’t end well for Pecharunt or its Pokémon friends, the Loyal Three. Here’s how The Pokémon Company describes it in the news release:

Somewhere in the land of Kitakami, the Mythical Pokémon Pecharunt has been awaiting its time to reawaken.

This Pokémon rolls up poison secreted from its shell to make Binding Mochi, which is served to people and Pokémon. Pecharunt then uses chains to control those who eat its Binding Mochi, which is not only delicious but also appears to bring out the deepest desires and powers of those who eat it. Pecharunt can also be very sly. For example, it will feign weakness by weeping and acting like a baby to gain the sympathy of others.

There is a theory that long ago, Pecharunt travelled to the land of Kitakami with the Loyal Three, each of whom it had subjugated using its Binding Mochi — all to obtain certain masks coveted by an elderly couple who lived with Pecharunt.

Pecharunt found itself embroiled in a battle with Ogerpon over the masks — ultimately resulting in Pecharunt’s defeat. It withdrew into its shell and, over time, became known to the locals as the Never-rotting Peach. What appears to be a mere decoration in a shop is, in fact, Pecharunt eagerly awaiting its time to return.​

Tragically, now that it’s awoken in the DLC, Pecharunt is still likely looking for its adoptive parents, who are probably dead. Well!