A number of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet players found a bug in the new patch has irreparably corrupted their save files. Apparent causes include buying the DLC, downloading the DLC, or connecting to Pokemon GO. Starting a new game is fine, which means the game is not broken. But until Nintendo releases a patch addressing the issue, players should avoid downloading the DLC or syncing to Pokemon GO. [Thanks, Kotaku!]
As of the time of writing, only about a dozen players have reported losing their save files. Not all of them connected to Pokemon GO. In the original Reddit post, one poster stated that you cannot even recover the backup save. Some who have lost their save files reached out to Nintendo. However, Nintendo’s response was that it was looking into it, so there is no official fix yet.
When Pokemon Scarlet and Violet launched in November 2022, it had no Pokemon GO or Pokemon Home support. Support for Pokemon GO appeared on February 27, 2023. You can send postcards to yourself or your friends, which will offer up new color patterns for Vivillon depending on where the postcard came from. You will also be able to catch a Roaming Form Gimmighoul in Pokemon GO, which you can evolve to Gholdengo after collecting 999 Gimmighoul coins.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are readily available on the Nintendo Switch. Only a minority of players reported experiencing the save-corrupting bug in Pokemon Scarlet or Violet. However, players should wait until Nintendo releases a fix if they wish to play it safe with their Pokemon and progress.
