by Nintendo has shared what changes are coming to Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s long-awaited February update, but still hasn’t revealed an exact release date.
The patch, which includes several bug fixes along with a handful of quality of life improvements, has been long awaited by fans after Pokémon Scarlet and Violet launched in a state Nintendo itself was forced to apologize for.
Most of the new quality-of-life changes, as outlined on Nintendo’s website, revolve around Pokémon Boxes, with Nintendo aiming to make managing the status of Pokémon in one place a bit easier.
From the Pokémon summary screen, players will now be able to change nicknames, markings, held item and badge or ribbon-related titles, rearrange moves, make Pokémon remember or forget moves, and use TMs.
The patch also makes it easier to exchange held items and move Pokémon around in large quantities, and it will now be easier to see which Pokémon are in Battle Teams.
As for bug fixes, which is perhaps a bigger concern for the nearly 20 million people who have purchased Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, Nintendo is addressing several issues across different categories, including Tera Raids and Battles.
A Tera Pokémon’s health not being accurately reflected in the HP bar, connection issues, National Dex Pokémon appearing in the Paldea Pokédex, random items appearing unintentionally in the world, and more (shown in the full notes below) will all be addressed.
Nintendo also confirmed that it would continue to update Pokémon Scarlet and Violet and address additional issues in the future, but did not provide any information on when the next update would arrive.
This February update will only be the second released for the games despite several issues reported after launch. These included a broken endgame PvE experience, a rigged Battle Stadium, duplication bugs, a bizarre method of running at double speed, and more.
The poor performance was also a major factor in our 6/10 review, as IGN said, “The open-world gameplay of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is a brilliant direction for the future of the franchise, but this promising shift is sabotaged by the many ways Scarlet and Violet feels deeply unfinished on.”
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Ver. 1.2.0 Patch Notes
Functional adjustments
- Additional functionality will be added for Pokémon boxes:
- From a Pokémon’s summary, players will be able to change the Pokémon’s nickname, markings, item held, and tag or ribbon-related titles, as well as being able to rearrange moves, make Pokémon remember moves, make Pokémon forget moves, and use TMs .
- Players will be able to exchange held items by pressing the Y button when in the Held Items view.
- Players will be able to select All Boxes while moving Pokemon or items in the Party and Boxes view and the Hold Items view.
- When in the Battle Team view, Pokemon in your boxes that are assigned to a Battle Team will now have their icons displayed in a darker shade if those Pokemon are members of the currently displayed Battle Team.
- The News screen will appear when you connect to the Internet from the main menu, just like when you connect to the Internet from the Poké Portal.
Error corrections
Tera Raid Battles
- A bug that could prevent an opposing Tera Pokémon’s HP gauge from reflecting damage done by certain moves (such as Play Rough) or certain status conditions could 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 pass out at once despite their HP gauges indicating they still have HP can occur in Tera Raid battles with black crystal against Pokémon with the most powerful brand. This will be fixed.
- A bug that can temporarily prevent a player from entering the game can occur if a Tera Pokémon performs certain actions while the player is selecting the target for moves. This will be fixed.
- A bug that causes a communication error can 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 who join a Tera Raid Battle from the Tera Raid Battle’s search screen to be brought into a Tera Raid Battle against a Pokémon different from the one they saw. This will be fixed.
- A bug that causes Tera Raid Battle crystals to not appear at a certain time can occur under certain circumstances. This will be fixed.
Matches
- Type matchups against Pokémon that have fainted will no longer appear when selecting a move or target during double battles.
- A Zoroark that has Terasallized 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, type matchups of moves appear based on the type of Pokémon the Zoroark is disguised as, rather than the 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 the 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 Pokemon terastallizes after using Destiny Bond and then faints, the effect of Destiny Bond will not activate. This is a bug and will be fixed.
Other
- We will fix an issue that could cause the game to force close in certain locations. As a result of this fix, there may be a reduction in Pokémon and humans appearing in certain cities or in the wild.
- When a Pokémon that is not part of the Paldea Pokédex is obtained through a Link Trade, it appears as registered to the Paldea Pokédex. This is a bug and will be fixed.
- Certain actions may cause the protagonist’s expression to not change until the game is closed and reopened. This will be fixed.
- A bug occurred for some players after Ranked Matches Season 1 where visiting the Ranked Matches screen immediately after the season results were calculated caused a communication error after players received their rewards. Following this bug, players were unable to participate in multiple ranked matches. This will be fixed.
- If a player has created multiple battle teams but does not use the battle team in the first slot for their ranked matches, they may not receive the Master Rank Ribbon after winning ranked matches 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 according to 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 prevents the Pokédex from displaying additional entries (such as entries for Shiny Pokémon or Pokémon received through Surprise Trade from players playing in a different language) for Pokémon species that were already registered in the Pokédex. This will be fixed.
- Objects such as Poké Balls can appear in certain locations on the course unintentionally. This will be fixed.
- Bystanders will no longer appear during certain battles that take place in cities during the main story.
- Other selected bug fixes will be implemented.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer and UK acting news editor. He wants to talk about The Witcher all day.
