Herba Mystica

Sweet Herba Mystica in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Herba Mystica (Japanese: 秘伝スパイス Secret Spice) are a group of five special ingredients in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, found rarely in Paldea.

History

According to the Scarlet Book^S/Violet Book^V, they were originally found in the Great Crater of Paldea, specifically Area Zero 200 years ago. When researchers tried to cultivate them elsewhere in Paldea, they were taken by wild Pokémon, which became Titan Pokémon as a result of the herbs' effects.

Each Herba Mystica supposedly has a different health effect depending on the herb that is used.

• Sweet Herba Mystica is good for gut health such as aiding in digestion, curing stomachaches, and stimulating one's appetite.
• Bitter Herba Mystica is good for one's blood circulation and helps warm up the body, even boosting the immune system.
• Salty Herba Mystica is good for alleviating aching hands and feet. It also aids in healing neuropathy injuries such as numbness and muscle weakness.
• Sour Herba Mystica is full of nutrients to help heal people who are tired, specifically those who are physically or mentally exhausted.
• Spicy Herba Mystica helps boost metabolism and circulation in order to help flush out both toxins and sweat.

In the Path of Legends story, Arven requests the player's assistance in finding some Herba Mystica of each flavor. These are obtained by defeating Titan Pokémon and are immediately used by Arven, so they are not added to the player's Bag.

The player can obtain Herba Mystica for themselves as possible rewards from 5-star, 6-star, and 7-star Tera Raid Battles, as well as participating in the Hard difficulty of Ogre Oustin' as part of The Teal Mask. They can also be obtained by defeating certain special coaches invited to the Blueberry Academy League Club Room after completing the main story of The Indigo Disk. Three each of the Sweet, Bitter, Salty, Sour, and Spicy Herba Mysticas can be obtained by defeating Katy, Tyme, Larry, Saguaro, and Kofu, respectively. These can be used in sandwich making.

In The Teal Mask, the Kitakami Mochi are heavily implied to be made of Herba Mystica or herbs to similar to them, as they're referred to as "special herbs" and caused the Loyal Three to grow into Titanic forms, just like the Titan Pokémon. In The Indigo Disk, it is implied that Herba Mystica, just like Area Zero, grow in the Terarium as well since Amarys gives Koraidon^S/Miraidon^V a supplement she calls flying supplements made with plants from the Terarium, possessing similar effects to the Herba Mystica on Koraidon^S/Miraidon^V, enhancing their flying capabilities even further.

It's heavily implied the Herba Mystica grow due to Terapagos's Terastal energy, as they were only found in Paldea, Kitakami, and Unova's Blueberry Academy Terarium, all locations filled with Terastal energy.

Variants

The five flavors of Herba Mystica are Sweet, Bitter, Salty, Sour, and Spicy. Five Titan Pokémon each guard a cavern where one of these variants can be found during the Path of Legends story line.

• The Sweet Herba Mystica is guarded by the Stony Cliff Titan Klawf, in the South Province (Area Three).
• The Bitter Herba Mystica is guarded by the Open Sky Titan Bombirdier, in the West Province (Area One).
• The Salty Herba Mystica is guarded by the Lurking Steel Titan Orthworm, in the East Province (Area Three).
• The Sour Herba Mystica is guarded by the Quaking Earth Titan Great Tusk^S/Iron Treads^V, in the Asado Desert.
• The Spicy Herba Mystica is guarded by the False Dragon Titan, consisting of a Dondozo and a Tatsugiri, found on Casseroya Lake.

Sweet Herba Mystica	Bitter Herba Mystica	Salty Herba Mystica	Sour Herba Mystica	Spicy Herba Mystica

Uses

The Herba Mystica obtained by the player can be used in making sandwiches during picnics. Preset recipes can be learned by the player if they show each Herba Mystica to an NPC present near the counter of any branch of Every Wich Way. Each flavor is associated with one variant of Jambon-Beurre, one Legendary sandwich, and some Master-rank sandwiches.

Saguaro requests a Sweet Herba Mystica for his final event at Naranja Academy^S/Uva Academy^V. The player can give him one serving of the requested herb to get a Slowpoke Cup in exchange.

In animation

Herba Mystica in the anime

In Fly! Wattrel!!, Murdock bought different kinds of Herba Mystica in Levincia, though he was missing the Spicy variant. Liko later received a supposed advertisement for Spicy Herba Mystica being sold in Levincia and left to get some for Murdock, but it turned out to be a lie created by Spinel to lure her into a trap.

In the manga

Pokémon Adventures

Scarlet & Violet arc

Herba Mystica were first mentioned in PASV01, where Violet revealed that his goal was to find them in order to restore Miraidon to its full power. For this purpose, he sought out Arven to help him in his quest.

Sweet Herba Mystica was the first Herba Mystica discovered by Violet and Arven after being led to it by Titan Klawf. After Klawf had been driven off, Arven made sandwiches with the Herba Mystica for himself, Violet, and Nemona. When Miraidon consumed one of the sandwiches, it gained the ability to dash faster.

Violet and Arven discovered the Bitter Herba Mystica after defeating Titan Bombirdier. Arven once again made some sandwiches out of it, sharing them amongst himself, his Mabosstiff, Violet, and Mireia, a Musician who had helped them against Bombirdier. The power of the Bitter Herba Mystica allowed Mabosstiff to recover a little more, much to Arven's relief. When Miraidon ate one of the sandwiches, it gained another power-up, with Professor Turo contacting Violet to specify that Miraidon had regained its ability to swim.

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  Sweet Herba Mystica in Pokémon Adventures

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  Bitter Herba Mystica in Pokémon Adventures

Trivia

• Herba Mystica can be abbreviated as "HM", alluding to Koraidon and Miraidon's capabilities replacing HMs in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. The names for Herba Mystica in other languages except German likewise reflect this, being named similarly to HMs in the respective languages.
• The Salty Herba Mystica is the only one to not share the same naming convention as the flavors used in Contests, where it would be referred to as "Dry"; instead the flavors are the ones associated with the Chinese Five Phases.

In other languages

Language Title Chinese Cantonese 秘傳調味料 Beichyùhn Tìuhmeihlíu Mandarin 秘傳調味料 / 秘传调味料 Mìchuán Tiáowèiliào French Épice Secrète German Geheimgewürz Italian Spezia nascosta Korean 비전스파이스 Bijeon Spice Polish Herba Mystica Brazilian Portuguese Erva Mística Spanish Especia oculta