Today, alongside the release of their first wave of DLC, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet received a huge new update, which has rolled out a number of new features and quality of life updates for free – available for all players, regardless of if they’ve bought the DLC or not.
As Nintendo Life reports, a number of changes have been made to the in-game camera app. Photos are now taken using the ‘A’ button rather than the Nintendo Switch capture button, and players can experiment with playing music while taking pictures to see how nearby NPCs and companion Pokémon react, a bit like in New Pokémon Snap. Alongside these changes, players who join others in a Union Circle (co-op) will now be able to share any pictures they take during that given co-op session with each other.
As for the quality of life improvements, they’re pretty significant. First of all, when using TM Machines, you now have the option to only show the moves your Pokémon can learn, so you don’t need to waste time scrolling through TMs that aren’t of any use to you.
Did the constantly rotating mini map ever confuse you while exploring Paldea? If so, you’re in luck, because you can now lock it to be fixed in a north-facing position by opening the full map, and pressing in the right stick twice. Now, it should be much easier to know which direction you’re actually headed in.
Finally, when you have a Pokémon following you in the overworld, it’s now possible to command them to stop moving by pressing in the left stick once. This could prove very useful for taking photos, as I know I’ve personally struggled to get them to stay in the right place before.
The update is rounded off with a number of bug fixes and minor changes – wild Pokémon with the Titan Mark can now respawn if you accidentally knock them out, and the descriptive text for some moves has been corrected. A bug that prevented the Itemfinder Mark from being awarded to a Pokémon has also been ironed out.
Perhaps most excitingly, the patch notes state: “We have made adjustments to the way Pokémon icons are displayed in the Boxes.” From some quick testing, it appears that icons now load in faster than before – players will know that there was previously a significant loading period every time you attempted to flip through your Boxes. This change will hopefully make browsing your captured Pokémon a much smoother affair.
Be sure to check out our ranking of the best Pokémon games, as well as our recommendations for the best Nintendo Switch games.
