Have you lost your save file for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet? Don’t worry, this is how you can get it back.
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet experienced many crashes and bugs immediately after release. However, the most intrusive and game-affecting issue you may have experienced is losing your save file.
Fortunately, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet have a nifty save recovery option that, even if autosave is turned off, backs up your game sessions as you play.
So if you want to know how to recover a lost save file in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, we can help you.
Why you may need to recover a save file in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
The most common issue that can affect your copy of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet and cause you to lose a save file is a hard crash.
A hard crash is when your game completely freezes causing it to quit, taking you to the main menu on your Nintendo Switch. In the case of a long session of playing Pokémon, pre-existing frame rate issues and memory leaks can make your game more prone to crashes.
Fortunately, there are some quick ways to alleviate performance issues for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet and hopefully prevent them from crashing and losing progress from a long session.
Also, any issues with your Nintendo Switch could cause any software you play on the platform to crash, so fixing the most common Switch problems could also help limit serious crashes.
However, even if your save file is lost due to a hard crash, there is still a way to recover your saves and restore your lost progress.
How to recover your save files in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet have a hidden save file recovery screen that you can use to restore your game to the last recovery. Fortunately, even if you’ve disabled autosave, Recovery Mode will periodically back up your save file.
To recover your save file for Pokémon Scarlet or Violet, follow these steps:
- From the Pokémon Scarlet or Violet main menu, press and hold DPAD up + the X button + the B. button.
- After a moment, the main menu will fade out and display the most recently backed up save data. To restore your data, select Start from backup data.
Your game will then tell you that if you continue playing from your backup save and then save, the previous save data will be deleted and the game will load normally but in the recovered save file.
Make sure your Pokémon experience runs as smoothly as possible
Despite being a fun and inventive Pokemon entry, Scarlet and Violet’s problems do their best to interfere with your enjoyment of the game.
Fortunately, simple tips and tricks, like Game Recovery Mode, can help reduce the chance of game problems interfering with your game and preventing you from enjoying it.