Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s corrupted save data error may have a fix

Player claims to have found a workaround for save data losses

Fear has recently gripped many Pokémon Scarlet and Violet players due to a mysterious bug that causes the game’s entire save data to be lost. No one has really figured out why that error exists and suggestions include the game’s newest update, the pre-ordering of the DLC, or the newly introduced connection with Pokémon Go as culprits.

This wouldn’t be a huge problem if cloud saves were allowed for Pokémon video games, but Nintendo is fearful of people abusing this feature to duplicate Pokémon. So even though these errors are extremely rare, players have fallen into a deep paranoia about the bug biting them and losing all their progress as a result.

A Reddit user called TragGaming claims to have found a solution to one type of this problem that has recently been observed, the “Save Data is Corrupted” error. They say that they have run this fix through tests with three different saves and two different Nintendo Switch consoles.

First you should make sure that you are using your Home Switch if you’re using the digital edition of the game. If you have the game on disc, this is nothing you need to worry about. Afterwards, follow these steps:

1. Check if you’re actually getting the “Save Data is Corrupted” error and not just a regular crash.
2. Open an alternate Nintendo Switch account or use a different existing one.
3. Use this account to play the game up to the point where you can save and then make a save.
4. Close the game immediately after saving, switch to your main account, and load up your game.

Loading in after these steps, the user claims, should work as normal and allow you to keep playing on your old save without losing any progress. “No clue what causes this to work or why data gets corrupted, but this should allow you to work around the bug and play your game,” the user concludes.

Players are still waiting for Nintendo and Game Freak to provide an official fix for the problem. Many are torn between risking their saves to play and remaining patient for the developer to respond, even though this could mean that they are missing out on the Decidueye Tera Raid event.