A Pokemon Scarlet and Violet fan has released an image online showing a glitch that prevents players from completing a gym challenge. It's not the first bug of its type, with many other clipping glitches plaguing the games. These bugs are usually more silly than problematic, although they do break the immersion that the games create.
When Pokemon Scarlet and Violet were released in November 2022, fans took to the internet in droves to complain about the state of the game. Riddled with glitches, exploits, and poor performance, fans expected more from a mainline entry into the long-running franchise. While the glitch shown here would be frustrating, it still hasn't stopped the game from smashing sales records for the franchise, showing fan appetite for Pokemon is as strong as ever.
The glitch shown by Redditor LilBueno shows the olive ball from the Olive Roll gym test clipping into the ground, and is completely stuck in place making the test impossible to complete. Normally, the player would push the ball through a small obstacle course, and into a goal. It's a fairly standard puzzle when bugs don't decide to ruin the fun. Some players might like the extra hurdle to overcome, with many players complaining that the gyms are too easy in the new games.
While it looks like a fairly innocent bug, one comment from Redditor WildShichi suggests it may cause a bigger issue for players. They said, "same happened to me, just had to restart the whole game." Any game-breaking bug is a huge problem, as Pokemon games are usually a massive time commitment for players. To have to start all over again over a simple bug could potentially put any player off, even the most die-hard of fans.
While this bug certainly isn't the worst that's been found in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, it's a shame that the game has been released in a state where there are plenty of Pokemon glitch videos littered about on the internet. Pokemon is one of the most prestigious franchises in gaming, and it deserves to be treated that way by the developer and publisher. Fans of the franchise have been loyal over the years, even with tepid reception to some of the newer entries into the franchise. Hopefully, the post-launch support is enough to bring Pokemon Scarlet and Violet to a much more playable state.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are available now for Nintendo Switch.
