No matter what part of life it happens in, there are few things worse than putting a ton of work into something and then that work being erased without any hope of getting it back. Think about if this were to happen with a work presentation that you’d spent weeks working on, then because of a random event, it was gone, and you had to start from scratch. That’d be pretty frustrating, right? Likewise, in the video game space, imagine sinking countless hours into a game, and then an update for the title comes in and erases your saved data. Well, that scenario is a reality for some Pokemon Scarlet and Violet fans.
As noted by Kotaku, Gen 9 recently got an update via Version 1.2, and some fans have found out the hard way that a glitch within that update has erased their save files for the game. Just so you know, it’s not happening to everyone who updates the game, but it has happened to a group of people, and there’s no clear cause of why the glitch is happening. Unfortunately, that means it could happen to you if you’re a bit unlucky.
Some cases had people syncing the game with a certain mobile title, and that’s when their save file was lost post-update. Another pre-ordered the DLC for the game, and that’s when they lost their save file. There is a function on the Switch to recover saved data, but it doesn’t work in this case. Those who have lost it have tried to contact Nintendo for help, but their suggestions haven’t been great. One even said the person should wait for Pokemon Home to come out so they can transfer their Pokemon to it. But how can they transfer the Pokemon if the game won’t recognize the save file and allow them to enter it? Exactly.
Sadly, this is the latest woe hitting Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, and it’s not likely to be the last. The games didn’t start in the best position as The Pokemon Company rushed out the ninth generation even though it was far from a polished title. There were bugs galore that people are still finding and posting online about. The Pokemon Company had to respond to its backlash officially and said they would fix things, but it’s not going well.
With the DLC coming out later this year, fans are undoubtedly crossing their fingers, hoping that more bugs and glitches like these won’t happen.