Pokémon Day (AKA Pokémon’s 27th birthday) is just a little over a week away, and through what is very unlikely to be a coincidence, Game Freak and Nintendo have confirmed that version 1.2.0 of Pokémon Scarlet & Violet is due out as a free patch “in late February”.

While the last patch released shortly after the games came out last December was a relatively small one that fixed some undisclosed bugs and rolled out ranked online battles, the latest patch is considerably meatier. It tackles a huge range of bugs while also doing some much-needed tidying up of the Pokémon Box features.

Further feature updates and bug fixes are also promised, potentially within this specific update, as well as in future updates. It’s also been speculated that Pokémon HOME compatibility might be announced and rolled out during Pokémon Day, which might be included in this patch.

On 2020’s Pokémon Day, the first after the release of Pokémon Sword and Shield, an update distributed that day also brought with it the debut of Galarian Slowpoke in a new short, interactive scene. Perhaps something similar could happen again with Scarlet & Violet?

Other recent Pokémon Day announcements have included a new Pokémon Together social media campaign, asking fans to post photos of enjoying the series with friends using the hashtag #PokemonTogether that will be collected into an interactive mosaic on a special microsite. That same microsite has also generated speculation that a new Pokémon Mystery Dungeon game might be announced on the 27th, thanks to a reference to the series’ developers Spike Chunsoft hidden in a currently unused element of the site’s source code.

No Pokémon Presents live stream or video has yet been confirmed, but one is expected to be announced within the next week for the big day itself. While nothing has yet been confirmed, it’s anticipated that DLC expansions for Pokémon Scarlet & Violet will be announced, mirroring Pokémon Sword & Shield’s Isle of Armor and Crown Tundra expansions as well as paying off various elements and even legendary Pokémon that are set up within the latest games themselves.

As well as covering all the news from the day itself, we’ll also be launching our first major content update for the Trainer Card Maker this year on the day to celebrate, which we can confirm will include the official artwork for all the new Paldea Pokémon as well as the remaining Paldea Gym Leaders and main characters. Plus some bonuses we’ll keep as a surprise for now!

The full v1.2.0 patch notes are listed below:

Feature Adjustments

• Additional functionality will be added for Pokémon Boxes:
  • From a Pokémon’s summary, players will be able to change Pokémon’s nicknames, markings, held items, and mark- or Ribbon-related titles, as well as being able to reorder moves, have Pokémon remember moves, have Pokémon forget moves, and use TMs.
  • Players will be able to swap out held items by pressing the Y Button when in the Held Items view.
  • Players will be able to select All Boxes while moving Pokémon or items in the Party and Boxes view and Held Items view.
  • When in the Battle Team view, Pokémon in your Boxes that are assigned to a Battle Team will now have their icons displayed in a darker hue if those Pokémon are members of the Battle Team that is currently being displayed.
• The News screen will be displayed when you connect to the internet from the main menu, just as it is when connecting to the internet from the Poké Portal.

Bug Fixes

Tera Raid Battles

• A bug that can prevent an opposing Tera Pokémon’s HP gauge from properly reflecting damage done by certain moves (such as Play Rough) or certain status conditions may occur in Tera Raid Battles, resulting in the Tera Pokémon’s HP gauge fluctuating in an unusual manner. This will be fixed.
• A bug that causes all Pokémon on your side to faint at once despite their HP gauges indicating that they still have HP may occur in black crystal Tera Raid Battles against Pokémon with the Mightiest Mark. This will be fixed.
• A bug that can temporarily prevent a player from entering any input into the game may occur if a Tera Pokémon takes certain actions while the player is choosing the target of their move. This will be fixed.
• A bug that causes a communication error may occur when someone connecting to a Tera Raid Battle sees a different Pokémon displayed on their screen than what the host sees. This will be fixed.
• A bug may occur that causes players joining a Tera Raid Battle from the Tera Raid Battles search screen to be brought to a Tera Raid Battle against a Pokémon different from the one they saw displayed. This will be fixed.
• A bug that causes Tera Raid Battle crystals to not appear for a set amount of time may occur under certain circumstances. This will be fixed.

Battles

• Type matchups against Pokémon that have fainted will no longer appear when selecting a move or target during Double Battles.
• A Zoroark that has Terastallized and is disguised as another Pokémon via its Illusion Ability can be identified as a Zoroark by using the Check Target option. This is a bug and will be fixed.
• When a Zoroark has Terastallized and is disguised as another Pokémon via its Illusion Ability, the type matchups of moves are displayed based on the type of the Pokémon that Zoroark is disguised as, rather than Zoroark’s Tera Type. This is a bug and will be fixed.
• The stats of a Dondozo with a Tatsugiri in its mouth will increase when Dondozo uses Order Up, even when the move should have been negated (for example, by an opponent using Protect). This is a bug and will be fixed.
• If a Pokémon Terastallizes after using Destiny Bond and then faints, the effects of Destiny Bond will fail to activate. This is a bug and will be fixed.

Other

• We will address an issue that can cause the game to forcibly close at certain locations. As a result of this fix, there may be a reduction of Pokémon and people displayed in certain towns or in the wild.
• When a Pokémon that is not a part of the Paldea Pokédex is obtained through a Link Trade, it is displayed as being registered to the Paldea Pokédex. This is a bug and will be fixed.
• Certain actions can cause the main character’s expressions to not change until the game is closed and reopened. This will be fixed.
• A bug occurred for some players after Ranked Battles Season 1, wherein visiting the Ranked Battles screen immediately after the season’s results had been calculated caused a communication error right after these players received their rewards. Following this error, players were unable to participate in any further Ranked Battles. This will be fixed.
• If a player has created several Battle Teams but does not use the Battle Team in the first slot for their Ranked Battles, they may not receive the Master Rank Ribbon after winning Ranked Battles in the Master Ball Tier. This will be fixed.
• When a Pokémon you caught comes back to you from another player through Link Trade, it may not listen to your commands in accordance with what is written in the profile app (“Pokémon caught at Lv. XX or below will listen to your commands”). This will be fixed.
• A bug is preventing the Pokédex from displaying additional entries (such as entries for Shiny Pokémon or Pokémon that were received through Surprise Trade from players that play in a different language) for Pokémon species that were already registered in the Pokédex. This will be fixed.
• Objects such as Poké Balls may be displayed in certain locations of the field unintentionally. This will be fixed.
• Passersby will no longer be displayed during certain battles that take place in towns during the main story.
• Other select bug fixes will be implemented.

Notes:

• We are planning further features, and bug fixes not listed in these patch notes.
• Update contents and details are subject to change.