How to avoid Pokemon Scarlet & Violet's game-breaking bug

How to avoid Pokemon Scarlet & Violet's game-breaking bug
Images via Game Freak

Written by 

Tom Chapman

Published 

2nd Oct 2023 14:40

The long-running Pokemon franchise loves a good bug, and no, we don't mean Weedle. Heading back to the days of MissingNo in Pokemon Red & Blue, Pokemon games have quite a history of glitches and bugs. However, not all of them are helpful ways to get unlimited Master Balls. 

Pokemon Scarlet & Violet might be the biggest Pokemon outing to date, but this also meant it came with the biggest amount of glitches. We all remember the hilarious bugs of giant heads and nightmarish NPCs, but now, a new update has introduced a game-breaking Pokemon Scarlet & Violet bug. 

How do you avoid the game-breaking Pokemon Scarlet & Violet bug?

 

 

Game Freak released the 2.0.1 patch alongside The Teal Mask DLC on September 13. Unfortunately, it also introduced a game-breaking bug that is bricking your game during the final battle. Thankfully, by figuring out what causes the bug, they've also come up with a way to avoid it. 

Simply, the game-breaking Scarlet & Violet bug comes when you've registered your Legendary Paradox Pokemon that's native to your game, then try to swap Pokemon in slots four to six into battle. Twitter user @mattyoukhana_ spotted how the glitch ruins your fight against the Paradise Protection Protocol.

If you have Koraidon (Scarlet) or Miraidon (Violet) registered to your Pokedex before the battle, moving your cursor over the fourth, fifth or sixth Pokemon will crash the game. You won't be able to scroll down to your ride in the seventh slot. 

According to the OP, you can avoid bricking your final Pokemon battle by pressing up from the first Pokemon to teach the ride at the bottom. Alternatively, go into battle with a team of three. Until the bug is patched, this seems to be the only way around it. 

Nintendo promises to do better with future Pokemon games

Scarlet & Violet Teal Mask
Click to enlarge

Following a launch that was rockier than Graveller, Nintendo has vowed to do better with future releases. Pokemon Company COO Takato Utsunomiya promised to tackle complaints that the franchise is going for quantity over quality

While Scarlet & Violet's release was nowhere near as bad as Cyberpunk 2077's botched unveiling, it led to the worst reviews in the series' history. There's been a renewed interest in the title thanks to The Teal Mask DLC, with The Indigo Disc just over the horizon. Still, bugs and bug Pokemon go hand in hand with Pokemon. 

Tom Chapman
About the author
Tom Chapman
Tom is Trending News Editor at GGRecon, with an NCTJ qualification in Broadcast Journalism and over seven years of experience writing about film, gaming, and television. With bylines at IGN, Digital Spy, Den of Geek, and more, Tom’s love of horror means he's well-versed in all things Resident Evil, with aspirations to be the next Chris Redfield.
Trending
Pokemon GO’s Necrozma announcement overshadowed by avatar woes
Pokemon has revealed a mysterious new company, and it’s good news for Pokemon TCG Pocket
Pokemon restock proves everyone needs 59 inches of Slowpoke in their life
Pokemon players are worried about classic games releasing on Switch
Pokemon GO’s customisable avatars take a leaf out of The Sims’ book