What is the Pokemon Scarlet and Violet save file bug? Recent issue deletes hard-earned progress

There is a new issue in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet known as the save file bug. Essentially, a player's hard-earned progress in either title could be completely wiped out because of it.

One common culprit for this game-breaking bug is tied to pairing up your account with Pokemon GO, often involving sending a postcard. Another potential cause for this issue is related to downloading the new DLC, The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero, which is a major problem since some players have spent money getting it. Sadly, several gamers have lost their hard-earned progress without doing either.

Regardless of the root of the problem, it's become increasingly clear that many players are losing everything tied to their Pokemon Scarlet and Violet accounts.

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The Pokemon Scarlet and Violet save file bug explained

A lot of people have been voicing their frustration with the new save file bug on the Pokemon Scarlet and Violet subreddit. Based on the common issues, this game-breaking glitch has occurred to people based on the following:

• Linking to Pokemon GO
• Sending postcards from Pokemon GO
• Downloading the new DLC

The save file bug has not affected everybody who has done the activities listed above. It is currently unknown why only a select portion of the playerbase is running into this significant problem.

For those who don't know, the save file bug essentially deletes everything in a gamer's account. All their Shinies, Gym Badges, items, and anything else they once owned basically disappear as if they never existed.

Naturally, several content creators and major publications have been discussing this issue. Many players are disappointed that there aren't any easily accessible cloud backups for these two games.

Gamers using either Lite or OLED models have also been hit by the save file bug. Nintendo has not commented on the matter when this article was written.

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Some players cannot access the secret save backup

People whose accounts were corrupted can't access this screen (Image via Game Freak)

Some players might think that the secret save backup could fix this problem. To attempt it, do the following:

1. Go to the title screen that states, "Press A button."
2. Press X + B + Up on the D-Pad at the same time.
3. Click on "Start from backup data."

However, several players have reported that this does not fix the save file bug. That means this old popular trick is not enough to help solve this severe issue.

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Fixing corrupted accounts

Note: The above solution is for corrupted accounts, not deleted ones. It might still be beneficial for some readers who were looking for a way to solve that issue.

There are different ways for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Trainers to lose their progress. If players experience the "Save data is corrupted" bug, then they do have a method to fix it. It essentially involves the following steps:

1. Creating a different account.
2. Playing it up to the point where the player can save the game.
3. Closing the game and returning to the main account that got corrupted.
4. Load it as usual.

This solution won't fix every player's issue with their save data being unusable in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. Gamers who had their accounts deleted will have to ask Nintendo Support for assistance and hope that Game Freak releases a patch this fix this game-breaking glitch.