For what seems like decades, Pokemon fans have been clamoring for a developer to make a one-to-one clone of the world-famous monster-collecting game that can be played on platforms beyond Nintendo consoles, and that resolves issues fans have had with the Pokemon series for ages. It's been a long time coming, but that dream is finally realized. Temtem, made by Crema games in Madrid, Spain, has left early access and is now available to purchase.
Anyone familiar with Pokemon will get the gist of Temtem: build a roster of monsters (called Temtem), travel the world, and battle against other trainers or online against friends, although this game is much more challenging than the Nintendo classic. There are, however, a few other ways to pass the time in-game. The devs at Crema have hidden a number of secrets around the world of the Airborne Archipelago. Some are nothing more than Easter eggs, while others are valuable items that can grant new game-changing abilities to a player's Temtem.
9 Easter Egg: The Retired Tamer
In the Southern part of Mokupuni, there is an old man standing by a fence. He goes by the title "Retired Tamer," and he has a story to tell. Speaking to him brings up the dialogue "You know, I used to be a Tamer just like you... but then..."
Players will then have a few dialogue options they can respond with. The obvious choice is the response "Took a Piraniant to the knee?", which is a direct reference to the "Arrow to the knee" meme from The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim. However, the old man will throw a curveball the player's way with his response: "... It wasn't the knee." Yikes. Poor guy.
8 Hidden Item: The Lost Pendant
This item, the key to the "Gone with the Silaro" side quest given by Clara in Zadar, can be tricky to find without some directions on where to go. Players will need the Surfboard item in order to reach it, as it is located on a beach that can only be accessed by traveling North along the Silano River.
The Pendant isn't the true quest reward here though. Upon returning the item to Clara, the player will be rewarded with the TC001: Tsunami, which allows them to train their Temtem to use the Tsunami technique, a powerful Water ability that can be combined with a Wind ally to inflict the Cold condition on top of its base damage.
7 Easter Egg: The Choppa
It's a bit of an unusual decision to reference a famous Arnold Schwarzenegger line from a gory 80s action movie in an ostensibly kid-friendly game about building a family of cute monsters, but in this era of referential media, nothing is off limits.
The line is a bit of a throwaway, but it shows up when the player is batting their way through the Clan Belsoto tamers in Anak Volcano. A pair called Lab Security, once defeated, will shout "Ruuun! Gooo! Get to the Doctooor!" in reference to the now-famous line from 1987's Predator. Obviously, reading this line in anything other than Arnold's accent is against the rules.
6 Hidden Item: Misogi
Along Silano River - the same river that held the previously mentioned Lost Pendant item - is a waterfall. Once again, players will only be able to access this part of the world after acquiring the Surfboard item to be able to travel along the river. Behind the waterfall is a hidden item, in classic video game fashion.
The item is TC005: Misogi, which lets the player train their Temtem in the use of the Misogi Technique. Misogi is an extremely valuable support technique that is more than worth the extra effort to find the item. When used, it removes all status conditions inflicted upon the Temtem that uses it. This will affect both positive and negative status conditions, so bear that in mind.
5 Easter Egg: Bothered By The Cold
Get ready for the return of a famous earworm song. The ability Iced Stalactite is a Physical and Water Technique that deals damage to a single target while also inflicting them with the Cold condition. There's nothing particularly special about the technique itself, but the in-game description does make reference to a famous Disney movie.
That movie is Frozen, the smash hit from 2013, which has contributed Easter eggs to many games over the years. In Temtem, the first line of Iced Stalactite's description reads "The cold *does* bother you anyway...," in reference to the final line from "Let It Go." Enjoy being unable to think of any other song for the next few hours.
4 Hidden Item: Confiscate
While attempting to enter the city of Quetzel on the island of Tucma, the player will be arrested and taken to the Prison of Quetzel as part of the "Shipwrecked on Tucma!" quest. They will lose their items and Temtem and have to earn them back by completing various tasks.
On the North end of the prison, hidden inside a bucket along the North wall, players can find the item TC010: Confiscate, a fitting name for a Technique found in a prison. Once players have their Temtem back, they can be taught the Confiscate Technique, which allows their Temtem to negate the effects of any items an opposing Temtem has equipped.
3 Easter Egg: How To Find Mew
It would be a massive oversight on Temtem's part to not include a Pokemon Easter egg somewhere in the game. Thankfully, they included several, one of which pokes fun at a schoolyard myth that revolved around Pokemon Red, Blue, and Yellow back in the day. When the original Pokemon games were at their height, certain players insisted that the legendary Pokemon Mew could be found hiding under a truck at the Vermillion City docks. This was never the case, but still, the myth persisted long after it was definitively proven false.
Temtem has enshrined that myth in their game. From Brical de Mar, players can use the Surfboard item to travel all the way around the docks until they arrive at the beach on the far side. There they will encounter a character named Believer who insists they saw something underneath a nearby truck. Players can search the truck, but there won't be anything there. That's kind of the point, isn't it?
2 Hidden Item: Relax
By far the toughest hidden item to track down in the game, TC017: Relax can be found after players have reached Kakama Cenote, which is only accessible after acquiring the Acid-proof Surfboard. However, the item is hidden underwater, and finding its location can be tricky.
Kakama Cenote is a large landmass surrounded by water to the East and West. To find TC017: Relax, players should hop on their Surfboard and travel North along the Western lake. The Northern edge of the lake has a pair of points that jut out into the water, and TC017: Relax can be found underwater in between the tips of those two points. The Relax Technique is an invaluable ability that allows any Temtem who learns it to inflict all combatants on the battlefield with the Asleep condition, preventing them from attacking until the condition wears off or until they take damage.
1 Easter Egg: Fry And Leela
This Futurama reference is very easy to miss, and yet impossible to ignore once it's spotted. While battling tamers on Ulterior Omninesia near Anak Volcano, players will encounter a pair of Temtem tamers who bear a striking resemblance to the main characters in Matt Groening's legendary sci-fi comedy cartoon.
One tamer has blonde hair and is wearing an unbuttoned red t-shirt, while the other has purple hair, and is wearing a white tank top and black combat boots. In case that's not obvious enough, the girl with purple hair is named "Lila." The boy with blonde hair is named "Uta," so make of that what you will, but it's hard to deny that these two are intended as references to Fry and Leela.
Temtem left early access with a full release on September 6th, 2022, and is available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC.