Pokémon Scarlet and Violet have received a mixed reception from fans and critics. The game is massive, offering a ton of new Pokémon content to deserved fans, but like many AAA games that release yearly, it has received criticism for its underdeveloped technical aspects.
All across the internet, fans have been posting hilarious videos and writing challenging rants about the amount of bugs, glitches, and general performance issues the game has been having. Most of these glitches are quite amusing, but it has still been a frustrating experience for fans who expect more from such a massive franchise.
Sun Glare
This fan either captured a very powerful Pokémon blasting a beam of light in their direction, or they made it just in time for Paldea's golden hour. Many fans from Spain joked that this wasn't a bug in the game, but actually just realistic sunlight in their country.
For glitches like this, fans are loving the meme potential coming from these clips. They're mostly harmless and just offer some funny content for the game, and at worst usually require the player to restart their game.
NPCs Wander Into Pokémon Battles
Unlike older Pokémon games that place the player and opponent into a cut scene for the battle, the battles in Scarlet and Violet occur in the main world, and the surrounding area will still exist in the background. Or in some cases, the foreground.
During Pokémon battles, players have encountered intrusions from oblivious NPC characters or wild Pokémon walking right through their battle, unbeknownst of the danger this could put them in! The glitch is hilarious to watch, with players posting a number of different characters and Pokémon intruding on their battles. The new games have some intense battles to offer, and even have some powerful wild Pokémon, so seeing an NPC walking across the field is a fun distraction.
Koraidon Mount Glitch
One of the greatest sources of glitches in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is the ridable Miraidon or Koraidon. Many fans ed videos of their bicycle stand-in Pokémon being invisible or getting locked in a strange, unusual animation.
This Twitter seemed to be able to replicate the glitch, as they were able to get a clip of it with the use of the in-game selfie camera feature. Capturing hilarious moments with friends like this is definitely one of the best benefits to multiplayer Pokémon.
Player Characters Stuck In Animations
With the introduction of open-world multiplayer, Scarlet and Violet added emotes into the game. Emotes are a popular staple of multiplayer games, and should ideally give players a way to interact with each other. In the case of Scarlet and Violet, they've been a bit of a mess.
Tons of glitches of this sort have been shown on social media, and they offer a great comedic effect, seemingly showing the player characters tweaking out in random emotes. These glitches are pretty harmless, but they had many fans questioning the completion of the game.
Escaping The Map
Going off map has been something fans have attempted to do in Pokémon games for a long time, but in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, it seems all too easy to do. This video in particular shows a player being displaced following the end of a Pokémon battle, another effect of the in-world battles.
For players who enjoy searching for bugs and glitches, escaping the map is often a source of amusement, as it allows them to see the inner workings of games that studios didn't actually intend for audiences to see. Some of the rarest Pokémon in Scarlet and Violet are blocked off by map borders, so making sure players can't escape the mount should probably have been tested well.
Flying Jigglypuff
Jigglypuff isn't a flying type. Nor are they Pokémon that fly despite not being a flying type. But when glitches come into effect, anything is possible, as this player noticed when they randomly walked past one on the road and it took off like Superman.
The Jigglypuff is already floating as the player approaches it. Many players will have noticed floating or displaced Pokémon throughout the game, as this is one of the most common glitches.
Mister Fantastic Player Models
Another highly common glitch fans have been noticing, particularly in multiplayer, is that players' body parts will become distorted and often very stretch. This is sometimes only for a brief moment, and at other times can last awhile, with players running around in their stretchy form.
With the frequency that players are discovering these glitches, many fans have criticized the game developers for not playtesting enough, as surely they would've experienced issues such as this.
Walking Issues
The more frustrating issues are the ones that actually impede gameplay. Video games strive to have clean and fluid character movement, as janky and unreliable movement can be a major source of annoyance for players.
In this case, the player seems to be slowed down by an unknown source of friction with a rather annoying movement glitch. While some issues may be fun to mess around with, this is one that could ruin players' experiences. Traveling and exploring, and finding some of Scarlet and Violet's best Easter Eggs is one of the game's main appeals, so traveling should be fun in itself.
Disappearing Quaxly
With seemingly perfect timing corresponding to the game's natural animation, this player's Quaxly just disappeared at the end of the battle. Hopefully for them, it was just returning to their Pokéball and not actually vanishing.
Disappearing objects, Pokémon and characters are fairly common in the game, with many players posting videos of their well-timed vanishings. Fans certainly wouldn't want Quaxly to disappear though, as it's one of the best new designs in Scarlet and Violet.
Falling Through The World
Seemingly activated by a similar trigger as escaping the map borders, players have also found that the end of Pokémon battles will sometimes result in them falling into the map and sinking under it entirely.
Luckily, the game has a mechanic in place for players falling into ravines that instantly teleports them back up. This same logic applies to falling through the map instead of letting the player free-fall forever.
