At long last, the ninth generation is among us in the form of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. This article will serve as an ongoing list of official patch notes coming to the games as software updates roll in over time.
Even with new and exciting features, Scarlet and Violet have the worst technical performance at launch of nearly any title on Nintendo Switch, as well as every other Pokémon game that came before.
- Read more: Pokémon Scarlet & Violet: Version Exclusives
With the lowest Metacritic score of any new mainline entry in the history of the Pokémon series, developer Game Freak has a lot to answer for concerning Scarlet and Violet’s graphical and gameplay problems.
Pokémon Scarlet & Pokémon Violet was released worldwide on November 18, 2022, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.
What are the technical issues with Pokémon Scarlet and Violet?
Of all the concerns, the core issues include the following:
- Framerate dips
- Character models popping in and out
- Stop-motion animation speeds
- General blur across all textures, not just those in the distance
- Shadows appear and disappear illogically
- Camera clipping
- Pokemon clipping
- Laggy cutscenes, menus, and battles
- Occasional hard crashes
As of the game’s launch on November 18, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s technical problems are attributed to memory leak issues. This is according to a tweet found on Centro Pokemon. Restarting the game appears to reset the use of memory.
What has Nintendo said about the bugs?
Nintendo released a statement on the company’s official Twitter/X page saying that they understand the feedback related to Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s technical problems. Furthermore, they are taking everything seriously, and all issues are under due consideration, with future updates focusing on fixing performance.
The second patch, Version 1.1.0, began addressing the technical shortcomings of the games.
Version 3.0.1 Patch Notes (February 1, 2024)
NOTE: This update is required for your game to go online.
Fixes
- Alters the crafting materials required to make TM223, removing Shieldon from it
- Fixes the glitch where the Dragon Cheer effect would persist after switching
- Fixes the glitch where the game would freeze if you used items to level up an Inkay to Level 29 or under
- Fixed an issue where, under certain circumstances, players become stuck between the Item Printer and the wall in the League Club
- Fixed an issue where Calyrex wouldn’t remember learning certain TM moves after being separated from Glastrier & Spectrier. It will now be able to remember the moves, even if recombined with Glastrier and Spectrier
- Smeargle can no longer use Transform in Wild encounters.
Version 3.0.0 Patch Notes (December 14, 2023)
Fixes
- Added access to the The Indigo Disk and all its relevant contents, new items and improvements.
- Added data for Returning Pokémon, as well as the new Pokémon as well as new moves and abilities.
Other
- Adjustments made to Ogre Oustin’s difficulty
- A bug fix was made for the move Hospitality which caused unintended behaviour
- A bug fix was made for the abilities Quark Drive & Protosynthesis to prevent them working when Neutralising Gas is in effect
Version 2.0.2 Patch Notes (October 12, 2023)
Fixes
- Fixed an issue where trainers wouldn’t register as being defeated if you had already beaten 300 trainers in the game, preventing progress on some story elements.
- Fixed an issue where Special Pokémon from Pokémon GO couldn’t be deposited into the game from Pokémon HOME, even if they previously had been in the game.
- Fixed an issue where the game would crash in the final battle if you already had Koraidon or Miraidon registered in your Pokédex and moved down your party list to select Koraidon/Miraidon when you had over 3 Pokémon in your party.
Version 2.0.1 Patch Notes (September 13, 2023)
Fixes
- Added access to The Teal Mask and all its relevant contents, new items, and improvements.
- Added data for 101 Returning Pokémon, as well as the new Pokémon Dipplin, Poltchageist, Sinistcha, Okidogi, Munkidori, Fezandipiti & Ogerpon as well as new moves and abilities
Other
- The top direction in the minimap can be set to always fix north by pressing the Right Stick twice on the map screen.
- Camera-related settings have been added to the Settings to adjust the field camera.
- You can now signal Pokémon walking on the field by pushing the L stick to stop them moving and photos can be taken with the A button. You can also play music with ZL/ZR in the camera app and share photos.
- With the TM Machines at Pokémon Centers, you can add a filter to only display TMs that your Pokémon can learn.
- Bug fixes have been made including correction of the text for Dire Claw, Stone Axe, and Ceaseless Edge mentioning Critical Hits.
- Fixed an issue where the Itemfinder mark would not attach to PokémonFixed an issue where Titan Mark Pokémon may not appear after being defeated if you didn’t catch them.
- Adjustments made to the display of Pokémon icons in boxes to load faster.
Version 1.3.2 Patch Notes (June 29, 2023)
Fixes
- Made some alterations for the Live Competitions
- Changed text for the Illuminate ability to: By Iluminating its surroundings, the Pokémon prevents its accuracy from being lowered
- Other select bug fixes have been implemented.
Version 1.3.1 Patch Notes (May 25, 2023)
Fixes
- Fixed an issue where players participating in invite only online competitions had issues exiting battles, as well as being unable to see their rating
- Other select bug fixes have been implemented.
Version 1.3.0 Patch Notes (April 20, 2023)
Fixes
- Fixed an issue where players who caught an Egg by mistake in Version 1.1 instead of Walking Wake and Iron Leaves can now catch those Pokémon during the event repeat
- A change has been made to the deadline for entries for Friendly Competitions, which are found in the Online Competitions section of the Battle Stadium.
Before this change: Entries were allowed until the Friendly Competition began.
After this change: Entries will be allowed until the Friendly Competition ends.
Feature adjustments
Link Battles
- Fixed a bug in Link Battles where selecting Swap in just before the selection timer reached zero could fail to switch in the selected Pokémon and subsequently cause switching — and the battle itself — to act abnormally.
- Fixed a bug in Link Battles where once the remaining time for the battle was under one minute, it would no longer be displayed where it was supposed to.
- Fixed a bug that occurred in Link Battles where, depending on the move being used at the time a Pokémon fainted, the amount of time a Trainer received to select their next Pokémon was reduced.
Battles
- Fixed a bug where the Cud Chew Ability would trigger again once every two turns after it triggered the first time, contrary to what is written in the Ability description.
- Fixed a bug that occurred when Zoroark Terastallized while using its Illusion Ability to disguise itself as another Pokémon. On the Check Status screen, the Terastallized Zoroark’s type would display as the original type of the Pokémon it had disguised itself as, rather than Zoroark’s Tera Type.
- Fixed a bug that occurred when Zoroark used its Illusion Ability to disguise itself as another Pokémon that had already Terastallized. This bug caused Zoroark’s type on the Check Status screen to incorrectly display as the Tera Type of the Pokémon Zoroark had disguised itself as.
- Fixed a bug in Double Battles with moves that cause stat changes for the Pokémon using the moves. This bug caused the stat changes to incorrectly happen twice if the user hit two opposing Pokémon with the move while an opposing Pokémon was behind a Substitute.
Pokémon GO Connectivity
- Fixed the main issue causing the game to crash on the screen used to pair with a Pokémon GO account.
Other
- Fixed a bug affecting Trainers who received Hisuian Zoroark from the Mystery Gift screen as a special early-purchase bonus for The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero for Pokémon Scarlet or Pokémon Violet without first having seen Zoroark in their game. This bug caused Zoroark to be incorrectly displayed as registered in these Trainers’ Pokédexes.
- Other select bug fixes have been implemented.
Version 1.2.0 Patch Notes (February 27, 2023)
Feature adjustments
- Additional functionality will be added for Pokémon Boxes:
- From a Pokémon’s summary, players will be able to change Pokémon’s nicknames, markings, held items, and mark- or Ribbon-related titles, as well as being able to reorder moves, have Pokémon remember moves, have Pokémon forget moves, and use TMs.
- Players will be able to swap out held items by pressing the Y Button when in the Held Items view.
- Players will be able to select All Boxes while moving Pokémon or items in the Party and Boxes view and Held Items view.
- When in the Battle Team view, Pokémon in your Boxes that are assigned to a Battle Team will now have their icons displayed in a darker hue if those Pokémon are members of the Battle Team that is currently being displayed.
- The News screen will be displayed when you connect to the internet from the main menu, just as it is when connecting to the internet from the Poké Portal.
Bug fixes
Tera Raid battles
- A bug that can prevent an opposing Tera Pokémon’s HP gauge from properly reflecting damage done by certain moves (such as Play Rough) or certain status conditions may occur in Tera Raid Battles, resulting in the Tera Pokémon’s HP gauge fluctuating in an unusual manner. This will be fixed.
- A bug that causes all Pokémon on your side to faint at once despite their HP gauges indicating that they still have HP may occur in black crystal Tera Raid Battles against Pokémon with the Mightiest Mark. This will be fixed.
- A bug that can temporarily prevent a player from entering any input into the game may occur if a Tera Pokémon takes certain actions while the player is choosing the target of their move. This will be fixed.
- A bug that causes a communication error may occur when someone connecting to a Tera Raid Battle sees a different Pokémon displayed on their screen than what the host sees. This will be fixed.
- A bug may occur that causes players joining a Tera Raid Battle from the Tera Raid Battles search screen to be brought to a Tera Raid Battle against a Pokémon different from the one they saw displayed. This will be fixed.
- A bug that causes Tera Raid Battle crystals to not appear for a set amount of time may occur under certain circumstances. This will be fixed.
Battles
- Type matchups against Pokémon that have fainted will no longer appear when selecting a move or target during Double Battles.
- A Zoroark that has Terastallized and is disguised as another Pokémon via its Illusion Ability can be identified as a Zoroark by using the Check Target option. This is a bug and will be fixed.
- When a Zoroark has Terastallized and is disguised as another Pokémon via its Illusion Ability, the type matchups of moves are displayed based on the type of the Pokémon that Zoroark is disguised as, rather than Zoroark’s Tera Type. This is a bug and will be fixed.
- The stats of a Dondozo with a Tatsugiri in its mouth will increase when Dondozo uses Order Up, even when the move should have been negated (for example, by an opponent using Protect). This is a bug and will be fixed.
- If a Pokémon Terastallizes after using Destiny Bond and then faints, the effects of Destiny Bond will fail to activate. This is a bug and will be fixed.
Other
- Addresses an issue that can cause the game to forcibly close at certain locations. As a result of this fix, there may be a reduction of Pokémon and people displayed in certain towns or in the wild.
- When a Pokémon that is not a part of the Paldea Pokédex is obtained through a Link Trade, it is displayed as being registered to the Paldea Pokédex. This is a bug and will be fixed.
- Certain actions can cause the main character’s expressions to not change until the game is closed and reopened. This will be fixed.
- A bug occurred for some players after Ranked Battles Season 1, wherein visiting the Ranked Battles screen immediately after the season’s results had been calculated caused a communication error right after these players received their rewards. Following this error, players were unable to participate in any further Ranked Battles. This will be fixed.
- If a player has created several Battle Teams but does not use the Battle Team in the first slot for their Ranked Battles, they may not receive the Master Rank Ribbon after winning Ranked Battles in the Master Ball Tier. This will be fixed.
- When a Pokémon you caught comes back to you from another player through Link Trade, it may not listen to your commands in accordance with what is written in the profile app (“Pokémon caught at Lv. XX or below will listen to your commands”). This will be fixed.
- A bug is preventing the Pokédex from displaying additional entries (such as entries for Shiny Pokémon or Pokémon that were received through Surprise Trade from players that play in a different language) for Pokémon species that were already registered in the Pokédex. This will be fixed.
- Objects such as Poké Balls may be displayed in certain locations of the field unintentionally. This will be fixed.
- Passersby will no longer be displayed during certain battles that take place in towns during the main story.
- Other select bug fixes will be implemented.
Version 1.1.0 Patch Notes (December 1, 2022)
- Season 1 of Ranked Battles will kick off, allowing you to enjoy Ranked Battles through the Battle Stadium. Please check the in-game notice for more details about Ranked Battles Season 1.
- An issue has been fixed that caused the music to not play correctly during the battles with the Elite Four and the Top Champion in the Victory Road path.
- Other select bug fixes have been made.
Version 1.01 Patch Notes (November 18, 2022)
This Pokémon Scarlet and Violet patch does not seem to focus on technical problems but rather does some fine tweaking to the game’s core mechanics.
- All Scarlet Paradox Pokémon now learn Sunny Day via Move Tutor.
- All Violet Paradox Pokémon now learn Electric Terrain via Move Tutor.
- Aracnine now learns Charm via TM.
- Baxcalibur now learns iron Head via TM.
- Blissey now learns Electric Terrain via TM.
- Cacturne now learns Dig via TM.
- Ceruledge now learns Night Slash, Shadow Sneak, Quick Guard, Solar Blade via Move Tutor.
- Chesnaught now learns Helping Hand via TM.
- Chi-Yu Special Attack was reduced by 10.
- Chien-Pao Attack was reduced by 10.
- Coalossal now learns Overheat via TM.
- Donphan now learns Mud-Slap, Mud Shot via TM.
- Dragapult now learns Sunny Day via TM.
- Dragonite now learns Helping Hand via TM.
- Dudunsparce now learns Shadow Ball via TM.
- Dugtrio now learns Scary Face via TM.
- Floette now learns Trailblaze, Chilling Water via TM.
- Gabite now learns False Swipe via TM.
- Galarian Slowking now learns Future Sight, Chilly Reception, and Toxic via Move Tutor.
- Galarian Slowking now learns Waterfall via TM.
- Hisuian Basculin can now evolve into Basculegion.
- Mewoscarada now learns Double Team, Trick via TM.
- Muk learns Mud-Slap via TM.
- Perrserker now learns Helping Hand, Fake Tears, X-Scissor, Stealth Rock via TM.
- Quaquaval now learns Counter via Move Tutor.
- Quaquaval now learns Low Kick via TM.
- Rabsca now learns Safeguard, Psych Up via Move Tutor.
- Roaring Moon now learns Jaw Lock, Breaking Swipe, Scale Shot via Move Tutor.
- Skeledirge now learns Sing via Move Tutor.
- Slowbro learns Future Sight via Move Tutor.
- Slowking now learns Future Sight, Chilly Reception via Move Tutor.
- Talonflame now learns Rain Dance via TM.
- Ting-Lu HP was reduced by 10.
- Tyranitar now learns Mud Shot, Aerial Ace via TM.
- Wo-Chien Attack and Special Attack were reduced by 5.