Eevee is one of the most popular Pokémon throughout the series, and there's always a bit of mystery surrounding how to acquire its many different evolutions. There are eight different Eeveelutions in Pokémon Sword and Shield that can be caught or evolved differently. Here is how to catch Eevee, followed by how to evolve Eevee in Pokémon Sword and Shield, which is one of the best Nintendo Switch games available, to fill out your collection.

What you'll need

Is there a new Eeveelution in Sword and Shield?

Unfortunately, there aren't any new Eeveelutions in Gen 8. However, you can catch Eevee and all eight of its pre-existing Eeveelutions in Sword and Shield.

While there are 18 different Pokémon types, only half of them have received an affiliating Eevee-related evolution. Of the ones that we haven't seen, I'd especially love to see a Dragon-type, Ghost-type, and Flying-type Eeveelution. Maybe we'll see one of these in the next core Pokémon game.

Where to find Eevee in Pokémon Sword and Shield

Eevee can be found in the grass on Route 4 at any time during the day or night. You'll arrive at Route 4 after taking the train from Wedgehurst.

Eevee is very elusive, so it's going to take a while for it to appear. Keep wandering around in the tall yellow grass and keep an eye out for those adorable tell-tale ears sticking out.

How to catch Eevee in Pokémon Sword and Shield

1. Enter into a Pokémon battle with Eevee.
2. Weaken it with one of your Pokémon until its HP is in the 'red' zone.
3. Throw a Poké Ball and hope for the best!

How to evolve Eevee in Pokémon Sword and Shield

The pursuit of collecting and evolving every Pokémon is one of the reasons why this is one of the best Nintendo Switch games out there. Eevee has eight Eeveelutions, but each one has a different way of evolving:

Where to find stones in Pokémon Sword and Shield

An easy place to find these stones is on the narrow strip of land on the other side of the Lake of Outrage. However, you'll need to be far enough in the game to be able to ride your bike over the water. On this strip of land, you'll find a tall ring of stones. Each one has an element stone next to it.

How to check and quickly increase friendship in Pokémon Sword and Shield

A great way to increase your Pokémon's friendliness in a hurry is by having it hold the Soothe Bell. This is a special item that you get from a blonde-haired woman inside a house in Hammerlocke. The house is immediately on the right once you enter the city. Additionally, another person in the same home can tell you your Pokémon's current friendship level.

Catching Eeveelutions in Pokémon Sword and Shield

You'll find one of Eevee's evolutions if you go to the Lake of Outrage section of the Wild Area and head across the water to the ring of stones surrounding a den. A new Eeveelution appears each day, and the one you'll see depends on the weather.

Weather conditions for specific Eeveelutions

Evolve them all

Now you know all there is to know about how to catch and evolve Eevee in Pokémon Sword and Shield. Good luck on your journey to becoming the very best trainer. I hope you can capture all of the Pokémon you set your mind to in Sword and Shield. And be sure to check out some of the other best Pokémon games available on Switch — there are too many to count!

With apps like CrunchyRoll being available on the Nintendo Switch, you'd think getting Netflix on the Switch would be intuitive. It would make sense for a portable entertainment system to connect you to Netflix. Unfortunately, the app is not currently available in the eShop and we're not sure if it will be. Although there is a way to get to Netflix, you cannot actually watch any shows with the Switch the way it is. 

What you'll need

Why watch Netflix on your Nintendo Switch when you can play incredible games like Pokémon: Legends Arceus? The best way to play Switch games is on the Nintendo Switch OLED, why not pick one up today?

While there is a way to get to Netflix on your Nintendo Switch through the hidden web browser unfortunately once you select a show or movie to watch it will ask you to download a plugin. This is due to the hidden browser not being updated enough to run a video. The only way you'd be able to download the plugin is to jailbreak your system which would leave it open to being able to be hacked and Nintendo would no longer assist with any issues your console may have. 

Other streaming options on Nintendo Switch

Netflix isn't your only option for streaming content! There are currently six streaming apps available for free download through the Nintendo eShop. The thing that's most similar is Hulu, a subscription for which gives you access to several shows and movies. For anime fans there's Crunchyroll and Funimation, both have free watching options as well as paid subscription plans.

Take your viewing back to your childhood and watch the very beginning of Pokémon with Pokémon TV! In addition to the hundreds of episodes throughout the animated series' time, there's also card and video game competitions available to view. There are even sing-alongs and other great content for kids. All of this is available for free.

Finally, there's also access to Twitch and YouTube to watch your favorite streamers! Twitch is largely known for video game streaming and is a great way to watch some gameplay before purchasing games or just to relax. YouTube has a wider variety of content creators from video game streaming, to music creation, educational videos, and more! 

Switch between games and shows

The portability of the Switch along with the great screen size makes for a great way to enjoy entertainment on the go. Although you can't watch Netflix, you can pull up any of the other streaming options available and set up one of the best stands for your console and stream anywhere with Wi-Fi from your portable Nintendo Switch! While there isn't any word of Netflix coming to Nintendo Switch's eShop yet, we'll be sure to update you here if that changes.

Four colossal Pokémon are associated with the Sinnoh region: Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, and Arceus. You have to defeat the first two to beat Legends: Arceus, but that leaves Giratina and Arceus still waiting for you. These two require a whole lot of work to unlock and capture, but it is doable.

What you'll need

To catch Giratina in Legends Arceus you'll need access to a copy of the game and a Nintendo Switch. In our opinion, the Nintendo Switch OLED is the best version of the hybrid console to buy right now.

How to unlock Giratina

As with most Pokémon games, after you've beaten the main storyline, some awesome Mythical and Legendary Pokémon are still waiting to be captured. Within Pokémon Legends: Arceus, one of the last big Pokémon you can catch is Giratina, as long as you do three things:

1. Beat the main story. You'll know you've accomplished this after seeing the credits roll.
2. Catch Azelf, Mesprit, Uxie, Heatran, Cresselia, and Regigigas and collect all of the Plates.
3. Head back to the Ancient Retreat and talk to Cogita.
4. She will mention that she needs three pieces of Wood for some reason. If you don't have three pieces in your satchel or storage, you can find some in the following locations:
   • Obsidian Fieldlands: Find it by going to the northern side of the Deertrack Path.
   • Crimson Minelands: Look just south of Brava Arena.
   • Cobalt Coastlands: Make your way to the shore between Windbreak Stand and Castaway Shore and you should see some.
   • Coronet Highlands: Head to the northern side of Heavenward Lookout.
   • Alabaster Icelands: Climb up to the Glacial Terrace and you should see some lying about.
5. After giving her the wood, she'll give you a Pixie Plate.
6. Go to Jubilife Village and stock up on the best Potions and Revives you can buy if you don't have them already.
7. Head to Coronet Highlands and make your way to the Celestica Ruins.
8. I highly recommend manually saving at this point.
9. Now head up to the top of Mt. Coronet where you previously saw Dialga and Palkia.
10. Surprise! Volo is obsessed with Giratina and Arceus and has a crazy hairdo to prove it. You're going to have to battle Volo. This will be a really tough fight. Bring your best Pokémon to the table, and use his Pokémon's weaknesses against him.
    • Spiritomb (Lv 68) Weakness: Fairy
    • Roserade (Lv 68 ) Weakness: Psychic, Fire, Flying, Ice
    • Hisuian Arcanine (Lv 68) Weakness: Rock, Fighting
    • Lucario (Lv 68) Weakness: Fighting, Fire, Ground
    • Garchomp (Lv 68) Weakness: Fairy, Ice, Dragon
    • Togekiss (Lv 68) Weakness: Steel, Ice, Poison, Rock, Electric
11. Make sure to use Max Revives and Max Potions as often as you need to throughout the course of this battle. This is by far the toughest stretch in the game.
12. Once you have beaten Volo, Giratina will appear and you'll have to battle Giratina without your Pokémon getting healed.

Battle Giratina

Giratina Altered Forme will be level 70 when you fight it. You cannot catch it here, so just work on beating it. You'll be able to catch it later. I highly recommend your team be level 65 or higher for this battle.

1. Use Giratina's weakness against it to defeat it faster.
   • Giratina Altered Forme (Lv 70) Weakness: Dark, Fairy, Ghost, Ice, Dragon
2. Don't get too excited when you get its health down the first time. Now it changes to its Origin Forme and has full health again. Its weaknesses are the same so continue to fight it as you did before.
3. Make sure to use Potions and Revives to keep your team afloat.
4. Once you defeat Giratina Origin Forme, it will disappear and your Flute will turn into the Azure Flute so you can battle and catch Arceus.

Capture Giratina Request 91: On the Trail of Giratina

Don't worry, you haven't been cheated out of catching Giratina. But you will need to battle it once more in order to sync it in a Poké Ball.

1. Talk to Professor Laventon near the gate to Jubilife Village. He'll tell you he's "seen a huge shadow" that he thinks is Giratina.
2. Travel to the Cobalt Coastlands and head to the Spring Path in the northwest corner of the map.
3. Enter Turnback Cave, and you'll be confronted by Giratina.
4. I highly recommend you switch to manual saves if you haven't done so yet and save before starting the battle. That way, if something goes wrong, you can restart the game and attempt to catch it again.
5. Now it's time to battle Giratina, which is level 70. It is a Ghost/Dragon-type, so it is weak to Dark, Fairy, Ghost, Ice, and Dragon moves.
6. Once you whittle its health down into the red, start throwing the best Poké Balls you have at your disposal until you catch it.

Note that Giratina has two forms: Origin Forme and Altered Forme. For it to change forms, you need to talk to Professor Laventon and get the Griseous Core from him. Then give it to Giratina.

How to get all Plates

You're going to want to collect all of the Plates if you plan to go after Arceus next.

• Blank Plate: Catch Regigigas in Snowpoint Temple.
• Draco Plate: Catch Azelf at Lake Valor, Mesprit at Lake Verity, and Uxie at Lake Acuity.
• Dread Plate: Catch Cresselia in Moonview Arena.
• Earth Plate: Main story point, given after earning Ursaluna's respect in Crimson Mirelands' Sludge Mound.
• Fist Plate: Defeat Commander Kamado.
• Flame Plate: Defeat noble Pokémon Hisuian Arcanine at Cobalt Coastlands.
• Icicle Plate: Defeat noble Pokémon Hisuian Avalugg at Alabaster Icelands.
• Insect Plate: Defeat noble Pokémon Kleavor at Obsidian Fieldlands.
• Iron Plate: Catch Heatran in Lava Dome Sanctum, located in Cobalt Coastlands.
• Legend Plate: Defeat Arceus at Mt. Coronet.
• Meadow Plate: Defeat noble Pokémon Hisuian Lilligant in Crimson Mirelands.
• Mind Plate: Main story point, received after earning Wyrdeer's respect.
• Pixie Plate: Give Cogita three pieces of wood.
• Sky Plate: Main story plot, received after unlocking rideable Braviary.
• Splash Plate: Main story plot, received after unlocking rideable Basculegion.
• Spooky Plate: Defeat Volo and Giratina.
• Stone Plate: Defeat Alpha Vespiquen in Crimson Mirelands.
• Toxic Plate: Main story plot, received after unlocking rideable Pokémon Sneasler.
• Zap Plate: Defeat noble Pokémon Hisuian Electrode.

Distorted origins

Now that Giratina is in your party, you can make it transform between its Altered Forme and Origin Forme whenever you'd like. Have fun showing it off or using it to take on various creatures around the Hisui region! Pokémon Legends: Arceus is an exciting addition to the collection of Pokémon games because of its open-world feel, so take advantage now that you've unlocked Giratina. 

So one moment everything was fine. You were playing with your Switch and having a grand ol' time. Next thing you know, something has gone terribly wrong. You put your Nintendo Switch in its dock and suddenly the green LED on the front of your dock starts blinking. Even worse, your Switch doesn't seem to be outputting a signal to your TV or even charging while in the dock.

It seems that you have encountered what is beginning to be colloquially known as the blinking green light of death. Well, before you throw your Switch down the garbage disposal and sit down for a nice long cry, there are a few things you can try to get your Switch back in working order. Don't worry, in no time at all you'll be able to get back to the best Nintendo Switch games you've been playing!

What you'll need

Having problems with your Nintendo Switch's dock? You might need to purchase a new one. While you're at it why not treat yourself to a brand new Nintendo Switch OLED which comes with a dock in the box?

Check for updates

1. Undock your Switch
2. Go to the Settings menu to ensure that there are no updates available for your Switch.
3. Once you are certain that you are up to date, restart your Switch by holding the Power button for three seconds, selecting Power Options, and choosing Restart.

Power Cycle

1. Unplug the HDMI cable from your dock.
2. Unplug your power cable from the wall and your dock and wait for 30 seconds.
3. While you are waiting the 30 seconds, take this opportunity to inspect your power cable to ensure that it is not damaged in any way.
4. Plug everything back in and see if that resolved the issue.

Skip the middleman

If none of these things so far have worked for you, plug the power cable directly into your Switch. If it begins to charge, the dock is the likely culprit.

If you have a faulty or malfunctioning dock, you're unfortunately going to have to send it in to Nintendo for repair. If you're not under warranty, you're going to have to pick up a new one. New Switch docks are still a little pricey, but you can find them for a little over $100 from various retailers. It's worth noting that you can now get the Nintendo Switch OLED dock separately, so if you want to upgrade and get a LAN port, that's the way to go.

Hopefully, you were able to get your dock back in working order. If not, I wish you all the best and I hope that everything will come to a quick and simple resolution. You can always contact Nintendo to get assistance with the issue.

There are literally hundreds of potential villagers for you to meet while playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons — more than 400 of them, to be exact. However, you can only have up to 10 villagers living on your island at a time.

Fortunately, you have some control when it comes to determining who lives on your island. Trying to figure out how to get villagers in Animal Crossing: New Horizons? We'll help you invite them. Trying to get rid of an annoying villager? We have tips for making someone move out. Want to know how to make your villages happy? We can help you there too!

What you'll need

To invite neighbours or ask them to move out in Animal Crossing: New Horizons on Nintendo Switch you're obviously going to need the console and the game. Maybe your old Switch is running low on battery life, if so a Nintendo Switch OLED might be calling your name. Here's everything you need for this how to:

How to get villagers in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

There are a few different ways to get villagers to come to your island. I'll list out the four different methods and then explain how each one works further in the article.

1. Visit an island using a Nook Miles Ticket
2. Talk to random visitors at the campsite
3. Scan an Animal Crossing amiibo card
4. Adopt another player's moving villager

By the way, we have an article on the most popular Animal Crossing villagers as well as our own picks on who the best Animal Crossing villagers are in case you want some ideas for who to invite.

Get Nook Miles Tickets

In order to recruit your first three villagers, you'll need to have some Nook Miles Tickets. These can be bought for 2,000 Nook Miles each from the kiosk at Resident Services and only become available after the first day of play. When the tickets are in your inventory, run to the airport and tell Orville, the dodo behind the counter, that you want to explore another island.

While you're exploring, you might come across a random animal NPC. Talk to them and invite them to live on your island. You might need to talk to them a few times before the invitation comes up.

Once the first three villagers have been invited and you're back on your island, Tom Nook asks you to scout out a plot of land for these newcomers (this happens after you've built Nook's Cranny). One of the new villagers you invited will appear on your island the day after you've completed setting up the new housing area. The other two will appear one day at a time after that.

Random visitors at the campsite

Things change once your island starts getting a bit more established. For instance, after you finally upgrade Resident Services from a tent to a proper building, you'll eventually be able to set up a campsite for traveling villagers.

Talk to these guests while they're visiting and you might be able to convince them to stay on the island. Campers might appear of their own volition or you can make one instantly appear by scanning their Animal Crossing amiibo card at the Resident Service kiosk. A camper that just randomly appears behaves a little differently than one that gets summoned with an amiibo card.

Villagers that just randomly appear at the campsite will want to play games with you. This usually takes the form of a card game of some sort where you need to guess the color or the suit of the card that the villager is holding. You can earn items from them if you win these games.

Eventually, you can even ask them to move in, however, they'll only agree to it if you can win their games. You'll need to talk to them multiple times to get to the point where you can suggest that they move in. However, if you already have 10 villagers, then the camper will decide who they want to boot from your island to make way for themselves. You'll have to decide if this is worth the exchange or not.

Dust off your Animal Crossing amiibo cards

All of those adorable Animal Crossing amiibo cards that you either just collected or have had on your shelf for a few years can finally be put to good use. All you need to know is how to use Animal Crossing amiibo.

Once the campsite has been built on your island, run to the Nook Stop kiosk and invite an animal to your campsite. You'll then need to scan your amiibo by hovering it over the joystick on your right Joy-Con. Shortly thereafter, you'll discover that a new camper has appeared on your island. Talk to them and convince them to move in.

Instead of playing games with them, you will need to convince them to stay by crafting multiple items for them and inviting them back several days in a row. Make sure to talk to them multiple times while they are on your island. If you already have 10 villagers on your island then you'll get to decide who gets removed to make way for the new resident. That's one of the reasons why using an amiibo is so much better, you actually determine who to boot rather than having the camper decide for you. More on that later.

Adopting villagers from other players' islands

Whenever a villager is planning on leaving an island, it will take them a full day to pack up their things before they actually leave. The internet has dubbed this as a villager being "in boxes." If you happen to visit another person's island while a villager is in this packing state, you can invite the homeless villager to live on your own island. However, you won't be able to adopt them if you already have 10 villagers.

Preparing land for new residents

As your island develops, additional villagers won't be OK with roughing it and will want a nice place to live. As such, when Resident Services is in a proper building, you'll be able to influence your island a whole lot more. Tom Nook will enlist you to help him sell land for housing development, which means you'll need to ready the land for your new residents. It'll cost you 10,000 Bells to set up each new plot, but you'll earn 1,000 Nook Miles for your efforts. Remember that you can have up to 10 villager houses on your island.

Pay Tom Nook the 10,000 Bells for a kit and then locate the perfect spot for a new home. Once a housing kit is placed, it will become a proper home the following day.

How to keep your favorite villagers happy

Now that your villagers are on the island, they're going to want to feel appreciated and liked. Keep them happy by doing the following:

• Talk to them every day
• Write them letters
• Fulfill errands for them
• Remember villager's birthdays
• Give your Animal Crossing villagers presents they will enjoy.

If you lavish your favorite characters with enough attention, they will eventually reward you with a physical token of their esteemed friendship: a framed photo of your villager.

Can Isabelle help me boot out a villager?

Contrary to how it might seem, talking to Isabelle won't make villagers leave. If you talk to her at Resident Services, there's an option to discuss a resident. If you select this option, you'll be able to select one of your villagers and tell Isabelle that either the way they talk or the way they dress is upsetting you.

This is mainly there so that you can reset a character's clothing or catchphrase in the event that another player gave them clothing with something inappropriate on it or taught them a rude phrase. Isabelle ensures that their clothes and catchphrase get set back to the default option.

How to make villagers move out

Every once in a while one of your villagers will walk around with a bubble over their heads. If you talk to them while they're like this, they might mention that they want to move away. If you don't want them to go you'll need to convince them to stay. Otherwise, you can tell them to hit the road. Unlike previous Animal Crossing games, a villager won't move out unless you tell them to. However, it's still a good idea to talk to troubled villagers to see what's on their minds.

As you keep playing, you might decide that you just don't care for one of your animal neighbors or that you're ready for someone new to join your village. If that's the case, there are a couple of ways that you can boot someone off your island. And no, smacking villagers in the head with a net won't make them leave, it only makes them sad or angry.

Here are the ways that you make a villager leave your island.

Additional methods for getting a villager to move out

1. Using the campsite and amiibo cards
2. Time traveling

1. Using the campsite and amiibo cards

If you've built the campsite and have Animal Crossing amiibo cards you can invite specific villagers to your island and hopefully convince them to move in. Thing is, if you already have 10 occupied houses on your island, then you'll have to choose which of your current residents gets the boot to make way for the camper you've just invited.

Visiting campers can be really hard to convince, though. You'll likely need to invite them to your island at least three times and craft souvenirs for them each day they visit. Make sure to check in with them multiple times each day to see if they're willing to move in permanently. I had to invite Flora three days in a row and craft her some furniture each day, before she became interested in staying. But, then I was able to choose which of my villagers I kicked off of my island to make way for her.

2. Time traveling

One way to make a villager move away is via time traveling. I'm personally not a big fan of this within Animal Crossing games since it feels kind of like cheating and it also has the potential to mess with your game. However, if you don't mind doing this then go for it. Just note that you don't get to choose which villager gets removed from your island. Here's how to do it.

1. Go into the System Settings menu on your Nintendo Switch.
2. Scroll down to System.
3. Select Date and Time.
4. Select Synchronize Clock via Internet to turn it off.
5. Change the date to two weeks from now.
6. Enter your Animal Crossing game and look for a villager with a thought bubble over its head.
7. Talk to this villager. If they tell you that they've been thinking about leaving, tell them to hit the road. If you don't want that particular character to leave. Tell them to stay. If you want to try again, set the date to two additional weeks away and once again look for the character with the thought bubble.
8. Change the date to the next day and the enter New Horizons again. The villager should have moved out and now you have a vacancy.
9. Now you can get another villager to move in by either using a Nook Miles Ticket to travel to an island and look for a new villager or wait and see who fills that villager's place. If a house is left empty for a few days, a new villager will automatically move in.

Gather all of your favorite villagers!

Animal Crossing: New Horizons doesn't make it terribly easy to remove unwanted villagers or add the ones you most want. However, if you are patient and put the time in, you can remove the villagers you don't like and fill your island with your favorite ones. 

This process is a whole lot easier if you own amiibo cards, so it's a good idea to acquire some if you haven't already. Unfortunately, since Animal Crossing amiibo cards are such a hot item, it's hard to find them selling in stores. Your best bet is to search third-party sellers on Amazon, eBay, and similar stores to buy the specific cards you need separately. 

Once you get your favorites on your island, you'll just need to maintain relationships with current residents and make sure they're happy. I hope you're able to find all of your favorite villagers and that all of your residents are able to get along well together.

One of the biggest goals in any Pokémon game is tracking down and catching all of the various Legendary Pokémon available. Pokémon Legends: Arceus is no exception here, with a roster of Legendary Pokémon to track down so you can truly master the game, even after finishing the main story.

What you'll need

To catch legendary Pokémon in Legends Arceus you'll need access to a copy of the game and a Nintendo Switch. In our opinion, the Nintendo Switch OLED is the best version of the hybrid console to buy right now.

List of Legendary Pokémon in Pokémon Legends: Arceus

In Pokémon Legends: Arceus, you'll spend possibly dozens of hours completing every possible task and filling up your Pokédex. There's a lot of differences between Pokémon Legends: Arceus and past titles, including how there's only one mainline version of the game.

This means that unlike in most Pokémon games, you don't have to trade with a friend to acquire special version exclusives, instead, every Pokémon can be caught by you as you progress through the game. Here's the full list of Legendary Pokémon in Pokémon Legends: Arceus.

• Arceus
• Azelf
• Cresselia
• Darkrai
• Dialga
• Enamorus
• Giratina
• Heatran
• Landorus
• Manaphy
• Mesprit
• Palkia
• Phione
• Regigigas
• Shaymin
• Thundurus
• Tornadus
• Uxie

Before taking on any of them, we recommend you use crafting to get plenty of high-quality Poké Balls. You'll also want to get lots and lots of stunning items, such as Mud Balls.

Dialga and Palkia

• Dialga (Level 65) weaknesses: Fighting, Ground
• Palkia (Level 65) weaknesses: Fairy, Dragon

First up in acquiring Legendaries are Dialga and Palkia, back so soon after Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.

Unlike many of the Legendaries in this list, which are firmly acquired after finishing the main path, you'll run into both of these Legendary Pokémon as part of the initial main story, though close to the end. After progressing through Mission 13: Disaster Looming, you'll be asked to choose between Adaman of the Diamond Clan and Irida of the Pearl clan. This determines the order in which you'll see Dialga and Palkia later on, as well as determining which one you can acquire the Origin Form of. Siding with Adaman will have you see Dialga first, while you'll see Palkia first if you chose Irida.

After, progress through the various missions until you make it to Mission 17: Atop Mount Coronet, where you'll acquire either Dialga or Palkia, depending on your prior choice. You'll acquire the second of the pair in Mission 18: The Counterpart.

Manaphy and Phione

• Manaphy (Level 50) weaknesses: Grass, Electric

Now begins the collection of Legendaries after finishing the main story. To begin the search for Manaphy and Phione, you'll have to head back to Jubilife Village. Head to the professor's room, interact with the blackboard and accept Request 66: The Sea's Legend.

Put three specific Pokémon in your party: Buizel, Mantyke, and Overquil. Now head to Sea Side Hollow within the Cobalt Coastlands. Inside the cave, you'll find one Manaphy and three Phiones.

Uxie, Mesprit, Azelf

• Uxie (Level 70) weaknesses: Bug, Ghost, Dark
• Azelf (Level 70) weaknesses: Bug, Ghost, Dark
• Mesprit (Level 70) weaknesses: Bug, Ghost, Dark

Uxie, Mesprit and Azelf are part of a post-game mission, specifically, Mission 21: The Plate of the Lakes. After finishing Mission 20, go talk to Cogita and listen to everything she has to say in order to receive this new task.

Mesprit can be found at Lake Verity in the Obsidian Fieldlands. Azelf is located at Lake Valor's cave, in the Crimson Mirelands. Finally, head to Lake Acuity in the Alabaster Icelands to face Uxie.

Once you've gathered all three Legendaries, you'll receive the Draco Plate, a vital step for grabbing other Legendary Pokémon further down on this list.

Heatran

• Heatran (Level 70) weaknesses: Fighting, Ground, Water

It's time to gather Heatran as part of Mission 22: The Plate of Firespit Island. Head to Firesprite Island, which is located within the Cobalt Coastlands. You'll need to use stunning items on Heatran before you can battle it, so stock up beforehand if need be. After you've got Heatran, you'll receive the Iron Plate, which allows you to take on the next mission.

Cresselia

• Cresselia (Level 70) weaknesses: Dark, Bug, Ghost

Cresselia is found as part of Mission 23: The Plate of Moonview Arena. Time to jog on over to Moonview Arena, located within the Coronet Highlands. Be stealthy: You'll have to sneak up on this particular Legendary in order to get close and fight. Once you're close enough, start the battle. After this fight, you'll have the Dread Plate.

Regigigas

• Regigigas (Level 70) weaknesses: Psychic, Flying, Fairy

Time for Mission 24: The Plate of Snowpoint Temple. Take a trip to Snowpoint Temple within the Alabaster Icelands. You'll hit a door that requires the the Icicle Plate, Stone Plate, and Iron Plate in order to open. Proceed in and engage Regigigas in battle. You'll acquire the Blank Slate once you're done here.

Giratina

• Giratina (Level 70) weaknesses: Dark, Fairy, Ghost, Ice, Dragon

This one is a bit of a multi-step doozy. You'll need to beat Giratina in a fight initially before later being able to capture it.

After collecting every plate and speaking with Cogita in Jubilife Village, you'll want to stock up and head to the top of Mt. Coronet, in the Coronet Highlands. After a protracted battle against Volo and his Pokémon team, you'll face Giratina. You'll have to beat Giratina, but you won't be able to catch it right now.

After all of that, head back to Jubilife Village again and speak with Professor Laventon. This kickstarts Request 91: On the Trail of Giratina. To find it, go to Turnback Cave within the Cobalt Coastlands. You'll see Giratina upon entering the cave. Engage Giratina in a fight and emerge victorious!

Shaymin

Shaymin is found with Request 92: A Token of Gratitude. In order to receive this request, you have to have save data from Sword and Shield on your Nintendo Switch. If you have that file, after beating the main story, head to the professor's room at Galaxy Hall and accept the request on the blackboard.

From there, travel to Floaro Gardens in Obsidian Fieldlands. After a cutscene upon reaching the flower patch, just throw some Poké Balls. Shaymin is Level 70 but in a refreshing change of pace, won't fight you, so capturing it is a bit of a breather.

Darkrai

• Darkrai (Level 70) weaknesses: Fighting, Dark, and Fairy

Darkrai is the focal point of Request 93: The Darksome Nightmare. This request only shows up on the professor's blackboard if you have save data from Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.

After accepting it, head off to Coronet Highlands. If it isn't nighttime, use your camp and wait until nightfall. Follow the marker for the quest, which leads you just south of Clamberclaw Cliffs. Prepare for a tough fight once you spot it. Note that you'll only be able to throw a Pokémon and start fighting Darkrai when it screams.

Tornadus, Thundurus, Landorus, and Enamorus

• Thundurus (Level 70) Weaknesses: Ice, Rock
• Tornadus (Level 70) Weaknesses: Ice, Rock, Electric
• Landorus (Level 70) Weaknesses: Water, Ice
• Enamorus (Level 70) Weaknesses: Electric, Ice, Rock

It's time to take on Tornadus, Thundurus, Landorus, and Enamorus. These four are found as part of Request 94: Incarnate Forces of Hisui, which you unlock by finishing Mission 26 and then speaking with Cogita. Note that you can tackle Thundurus, Tornadus and Landorus in any order you want, but Enamorus will have to wait until last.

Thundurus is found in the ocean area near Sand's Reach, within the Cobalt Coastlands. Thundurus will only appear if there's a thunderstorm. Once it pops up, you'll need to use stunning items to drop Thundurus' barrier before fighting it.

Tornadus is located in the Bonechill Wastelands within the Alabaster Icelands. Tornadus will only appear if there's a snowstorm. Once it shows, use stunning items, as you'll have to drop Tornadus' barrier twice in order to begin a battle.

Landorus is waiting at Ramanas Island in the Obsidian Fieldlands. There's no waiting for a storm this time, just charge forward. Be careful and use stunning items plentifully: You have to take Landorus' barrier down three times in order to fight it.

Now, after catching those three, head back to Cogita. She'll reveal there's a fourth and final Pokémon to catch as part of this request.

Enamorus can be found at the Scarlet Bog in the Crimson Mirelands. Get ready for a literal slog: You have to take Enamorus' barrier down four times before you can fight it and capture it.

Arceus

• Arceus (Level 75) weaknesses: Rock, Ghost, and Steel

At long last, it's time for the titular Arceus. You'll go after this literal god with Mission 27: The Deified Pokémon. To unlock this mission, you have to complete the Pokédex. Once that monumental task is done, head over to Professor Laventon and speak with him. He'll have you head to the Temple of Sinnoh, which is on Mt. Coronet.

The fight against Arceus is spread across four phases, with you hurling balms to calm Arceus before sending in some of your Pokémon to fight. When you finally win, you don't have to worry: Arceus will join you without having to be caught through a Poké Ball.

Caught them all

With Arceus on your team, that's it, at least for now! You'll have finished the Pokédex and collected every Pokémon within Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Bask in the fact that you really did catch them all.

A huge staple of any Pokémon game is grabbing every single Pokémon available, including all the different legendaries, which tend to be the "Poster Boys" of any particular game. Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl is no exception, with several Legendary Pokémon to grab. There's a solid handful to acquire while you're collecting the 151 Pokémon, with even more becoming available later on.

If you're having trouble figuring out how to grab one in particular, don't worry, we're here to help. Here's a list of all Legendary Pokemon and how to catch them in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. 

What you'll need

List of Legendary Pokémon in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl

Depending on which version of the game you grab, you'll need to do some trading, since several Pokémon are exclusive to either Brilliant Diamond or Shining Pearl. There's also a handful of Legendary Pokémon that are present across both versions of the game. We've marked each Pokémon accordingly in the full list below. Please bear in mind that this list includes Legendary Pokémon from the National Pokédex, which can only be acquired after finishing the main story. There are several Legendaries from previous Pokémon games. 

• Articuno (Shining Pearl)
• Azelf
• Cresselia
• Dialga (Brilliant Diamond)
• Entei (Brilliant Diamond)
• Giratina
• Heatran
• Ho-Oh (Brilliant Diamond)
• Lugia (Shining Pearl)
• Mesprit
• Moltres (Shining Pearl)
• Palkia (Shining Pearl)
• Raikou (Brilliant Diamond)
• Regigigas
• Suicune (Brilliant Diamond)
• Uxie
• Zapdos (Shining Pearl)

Now, if you need to a particular Pokémon, there's a few different ways to go about it in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.

BDSP Legendaries: Dialga and Palkia

Dialga and Palkia are exclusive to Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, respectively. You'll get a chance to acquire whichever one is in your game as part of the story, after you've beaten the seventh gym. Upon taking down the leadership of Team Galactic, you'll get a chance to fight and capture Dialga or Palkia. If something goes wrong and you aren't able to capture the Legendary Pokémon, you'll get another chance after you beat the Elite Four and the Champion, finishing the story.

For whichever one isn't in your game, you'll need to find someone to trade with if you want to actually have both of these Legendaries and not just an entry in the Pokédex.

BDSP Legendaries: Uxie, Azelf and Mesprit

Uxie, Azelf and Mesprit are integral to the storyline and shared between both games, so no trading is required for these three. After beating Team Galactic, you can return to the three lakes to capture them. Uxie and Azelf are relatively straightforward. Mesprit isn't and you'll have your work cut out for catching them, as they'll start hopping around the island, requiring you to get the Marking Map app to find out where they are at a given time.

BDSP Legendaries: Cresselia, Giratina, Heatran, and Regigigas

Cresselia, Giratina, Heatran and Regigigas are also all in both Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, so you don't have to worry about trading Pokémon to grab any of these four. Unlike the other Legendary Pokémon so far, these four will require you to have unlocked the National Pokédex, so make sure you've got that first.

Cresselia is located on Fullmoon Island. You'll want to speak to a sailor in Canalave whose child is sick. After speaking with the child, you'll head to Fullmoon Island with the sailor. After you encounter Cresselia, it'll start to wander the map. Like with Mesprit, you'll now want to use the Marking Map app to track it down.

Giratina is located in Turnback Cave. Head to Sendoff Spring near Route 214 and make your way into Turnback Cave. It's a maze, which you have to navigate within less than 30 turns. If you succeed, you'll find Giratina at the heart of the maze.

Regigas is located in Snowpoint Temple. You unlock access to the temple within Snowpoint City after getting the National Pokédex. Regigas is within the temple...and is sleeping. To wake it up, you'll need to bring Regirock, Regice and Registeel after catching them in Ramanas Park.

Heatran is located in Stark Mountain. Head to the Fight Area and speak with Buck, accompanying him on a journey to Stark Mountain. Events will transpire that Buck has to return to the mountain and put back a stone he took. When accompanying him back, you'll now be able to find Heatran in the final room within the mountain.

BDSP Legendaries: Ramanas Park

The remaining Legendary Pokémon, and quite a few other Pokémon, can be found in Ramanas Park. As mentioned above, some of these Legendary Pokémon are version exclusives, so this is where you'll have to trade in order to acquire every single one of them. Link up with a friend to fill out your collection.

Keep on collecting!

Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl may not quite be some of the best Nintendo Switch games available, but they are still solid remakes of the classic titles, letting veterans and newcomers alike experience their adventures with some added bonuses. If you're having trouble making your way through the story, we recommend consulting our Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl beginners tips and tricks.

If you're like me, then you have an adorable set of Animal Crossing amiibo figures as well as Animal Crossing amiibo cards sitting around your house somewhere. Each figure or card can bring a specific villager to the game either for a photoshoot or so that you can invite them to become a permanent resident. What's more, using amiibo cards, you can invite one of the 390+ villagers to your island to recruit them. Even more functions are available to those who purchase the paid DLC.

If you've been playing for a while and still haven't found out how to use amiibo in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, you can only use them once amiibo functionality has been unlocked. There are a few different places you can use amiibo including the Campsite, Harvey's Island, and The Roost cafe. On this page, we'll explain how to unlock amiibo functionality, what amiibo do in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and also explain how to use them.

What you'll need

To use amiibo with Animal Crossing: New Horizons on Nintendo Switch you're obviously going to need the console and the game. Maybe your old Switch is running low on battery life, if so a Nintendo Switch OLED might be calling your name. Here's everything you need for this how to:

The amiibo figures vs. the amiibo cards

There are a few different ways to use amiibo in New Horizons. We'll step you through how to unlock each amiibo-related activity and how to use amiibo to bring characters to your island.

There are over 400 Animal Crossing amiibo that you can use if you count the 18 NFC figures and the hundreds of Animal Crossing amiibo cards. Both the figures and the cards feature NFC chips and get scanned the same way using your Nintendo Switch. However, in New Horizons, the amiibo cards are more useful since they allow you to invite new villagers to your island. The amiibo figures are fun to collect, but they can only be used to invite the unique characters they depict to photoshoot sessions while you're on Harvey's Island.

If you have your heart set on inviting a specific villager to your island, you might want to scour eBay for a particular Animal Crossing amiibo card as many sellers will let you buy them individually. But be warned. Some of the more popular villagers' amiibo cards are incredibly pricey.

A full list of Animal Crossing amiibo cards can be found on Animal Crossing's official website.

Sanrio amiibo cards

Now that the 1.9 update has gone live, Animal Crossing players can get six unique Sanrio villagers and their items by scanning Sanrio amiibo cards. Unfortunately, these cards are currently in limited supply and are hard to find.

New Series 5 Animal Crossing amiibo cards

The newest wave of Animal Crossing amiibo cards released November 5, 2021. There are 48 new cards total and six come in each pack. This set includes the newest characters added into the Animal Crossing franchise via New Horizons. For instance, the fan-favorite Raymond, Shino, and others.

How to unlock amiibo in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

There are three different ways that amiibo can be used in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, which means there are three different areas to unlock for amiibo usage. There's also a use for amiibo cards in the Happy Home Paradise DLC for those that purchase the expansion.  

Keep reading to learn more details about what each area offers along with more step-by-step instructions on how to unlock them. 

What can you do at Harvey's Island? Villager Photopia

If you've played Animal Crossing: New Leaf, you might recall a hippy dog named Harvey as one of the particular villagers. After a few days of playing in New Horizons, this dog will randomly appear on your island. Make sure you talk to him, and he'll invite you to visit his island home. The awesome thing is that the airport allows you to fly to him for free. No Nook Miles Tickets required.

Instead of foraging for materials, bugs, and fish, Harvey's island only lets you walk into Harvey's house. Once inside, you'll be able to set up a scene in one of his rooms and take pictures with your favorite villagers. That is, as long as you have that villager on your island or have a corresponding amiibo to invite them with. You can place different furniture, change the lighting in the room, and position your favorite Animal Crossing villagers in various locations before taking pictures with them. You can have up to 10 animal villagers in one room at a time.

However, it should be noted that not every amiibo works with New Horizons. So far, the game has warned me that Digby and Resetti can't be invited to Photopia. This had also been the case for Reese, Cyrus, and Rover up until another update arrived. I'm guessing that any amiibo figures that currently don't work with New Horizons will be usable once future updates are released.

If you scan a character's amiibo figure or card into the game while at Harvey's Island, a poster depicting that character will becoming available to purchase at the NookStop in Resident Services. This works even for characters that I wasn't able to invite into Photopia. All you have to do is go up to the kiosk, select Nook Shopping, and then press R to view all available posters. Use these awesome images to spice up rooms in your home.

How to use amiibo at Harvey's Island

1. Talk to Orville at the airport and tell him I wanna fly.

2. Next, tell him that you want to Visit Harv's Island.

3. Confirm that it's Time for takeoff.

4. After a brief cutscene, you'll find yourself on Harvey's Island. Enter Harv's house.

5. Now that you're inside, you'll find six different rooms that you can take photos in. To use your amiibo, press the down button on the left side of your Switch.

6. Hover your amiibo figure or your amiibo card over the NFC reader. If you're playing in handheld mode, the NFC reader is near the right joystick. If you're playing with the Pro Controller, the NFC reader is over the Nintendo Switch logo. The characters you scan will appear in the room. You can have up to 10 animal villagers in a room at a time.

7. While still in this viewing mode, hover over the character and more options will appear on the screen.

8. You can make them emote by pressing ZR and then selecting one of your available Reactions.

9. If you hold down A while highlighting a villager, you can pick them up and then place them somewhere else in the room.

10. If you want to select multiple characters, hold down the R button and then highlight the characters you want to move.

11. Quickly tapping A while hovering over a villager makes that character rotate 45 degrees.

12. If you decide you want to remove a villager, hover over them and then press Y.

Brewster and the Roost

Once unlocked, a cute little coffee shop makes its way into the museum. You'll be served by a returning favorite character, Brewster. He's a pigeon with a formal look. You can build his cafe, The Roost, in your museum and even allows you to invite any character that has an amiibo card, even characters like Resetti and Digby who aren't in New Horizons. Sometimes, they'll bring a friend along with them.

How to find Brewster

There are a number of things you need to do to unlock Brewster. Make sure your island meets these requirements and then go on the miniquest to unlock the Roost when you can.

1. You must have built the museum and have the artwing.
2. Donate at least one fish, bug, fossil, and art piece to the museum.
3. Have a three-star rating on your island. You can check with Isabelle to see where your island currently sits.
4. When those requirements are met, talk to Blathers and he'll mention his friend Brewster.
5. Run to your island's pier and go on an Island Tour with Kapp'n.
6. You'll see Brewster on the island. Talk to Brewster and relay Blathers' message.
7. Head back to the museum and tell Blathers what happened.

Your museum will immediately close for construction, but when you get on the next day the new cafe will be in place along with Brewster.

How to use amiibo at Brewster's The Roost cafe

You don't have to do anything extra to unlock amiibo scanning at the cafe. I've tested amiibo figures and amiibo cards, including ones for characters that don't appear in New Horizons, and so far they have all worked.

1. Interact with the yellow amiibo telephone in the left side of the room.

2. Select Yes!

3. Select Yes, I am.

4. Scan your amiibo figure or amiibo card by hovering it over the joystick on your Joy-Con. If you're using the Pro Controller hover it over the Nintendo logo in the middle. Note that you can only have one amiibo guest at a time.

5. The character you requested will appear after a short cutscene. You can talk to them and sit with them. If you use a Reaction while sitting with your guest, they'll respond. Sometimes the things they do might surprise you.

6. If you're done talking to this character and want to invite another one, simply go to the telephone and scan another amiibo card. Note that this will make your first guest leave.

That's all there is to The Roost cafe! Enjoy sipping joe with your favorite characters. You might just learn something new about them as you talk.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons — Happy Home Paradise paid DLC

Animal Crossing: New Horizons — Happy Home Paradise is the first and only paid DLC for New Horizons. With this new content, players can create vacation homes for various villagers. If you scan an Animal Crossing amiibo card, you can invite that specific villager as a client and create the perfect getaway just for them.

How to unlock the campsite

The campsite allows random villagers to appear on your island, which gives you the option of inviting them to live their as pemanent residents. If you have amiibo cards, you can use them to ask specific villagers to your campsite. To be more precise, the character depicted on the card gets invited to your island.

Note: You can only use Animal Crossing amiibo cards here. None of the characters that have been turned into amiibo figurines can be invited to the campsite.

Steps for building the campsite

You'll need to complete several steps to build a campsite. Here's what you need to do to unlock the campsite and invite villagers to your island using amiibo:

1. Upgrade Resident Services to a building
2. Build a campsite
3. Invite a visiting villager to live on your island
4. Build additional homes on your island
5. Wait for the villager to move in
6. Use the NookStop kiosk at Resident Services

We'll go over all of these steps in more detail below. 

1. Upgrade Resident Services to a building

You must first take all the steps necessary to upgrade Resident Services from a tent to a building to unlock the campsite's amiibo functionality. If you haven't gotten that far yet, click the link above to go to a guide.

2. Build a campsite

Once you've upgraded Residential Services, Tom Nook will tell you that he's interested in opening a campsite. He'll then ask you to stake out a plot of land specifically for this purpose. After selecting a location for the campsite, you'll have to wait for the next morning. The campsite will appear on your island the next day, but you won't get any visitors until the following day after that.

3. Invite a visiting villager to live on your island

The first animal NPC that comes to the campsite will be chosen at random. When someone does appear in the tent, you can invite them to live on your island simply by talking to them. You'll need to play some games or crafting items for them in order to convince them.

4. Build additional homes on your island

Now it's time to talk to Tom Nook at Resident Services. Since you're inviting even more villagers to your island, this loaded raccoon will tell you that more houses need to be built to accommodate everyone. He'll then give you a housing kit and will ask you to pick a location for this new home. Run around your island and select the perfect place for your new villager to live. You'll need to wait until the following day for this new house to show up on your island.

5. Wait for the villager to move in

You're going to have to do some waiting. It takes a day for the house to show up after you've chosen a location, and then it takes another day for the new villager to move into your island.

6. Use the NookStop kiosk at Resident Services

Once the new villager has moved in, head back to Resident Services and talk with Tom Nook. He'll tell you that he wants to bring even more villagers to the island. Now, run over to the Nook Stop kiosk and interact with it. He'll tell you that you can now use Animal Crossing amiibo cards to invite more villagers to the island. Just note that you can only have one camper per day.

How to invite villagers to the campsite using amiibo

Now that you've unlocked the ability to use amiibo cards, it's time to learn how to scan them in and convince campers to move into your island. You're going to have to scan a villager's card multiple days in a row if you want them to become a resident of your island. Here are the steps needed to acquire a new villager using amiibo cards.

1. Interact with the kiosk at Resident Services.

2. Select invite a Camper.

3. Select Yes, I do!

4.  Scan the amiibo card you want to use.

5. The kiosk will identify the character on the card. Now select Yes!

6. After scanning your card, a cutscene will play, showing the invited camper. Run to your campsite and enter the tent.

7. Talk with the villager a couple of times until they ask you to craft something for them.

8. Agree to their request. They might even give you a new recipe in the processes.

9. This villager will leave your island by the end of the night, so be sure to craft the requested item and give it to the camper before they're gone.

10. The camper is closer to being persuaded, but they won't be ready to move in just yet. The following day repeat steps 1 - 9.

11. After giving them an item on the next day, talk to them several times to see if they are interested in moving in. You might have to invite them back one more time and craft them another item before they're willing to move in.

12. If they agree to become a resident but you already have 10 villagers on your island, then you'll need to choose which of your current villagers gets kicked off the island.

How to use amiibo in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

There you have it. As long as you have either the Animal Crossing amiibo figurines or the amiibo cards, you'll be able to invite characters into your game by merely scanning the NFC chips. Remember that the cards are more useful when it comes to getting the villagers you want to live on your island, although the figurines are just too cute to pass up.

Enjoy your game! I hope you're able to get all of the villagers you want to come to your island.

The Nintendo Switch's Joy-Cons are clever little devices with impressive haptic feedback and sweet motion controls. However, their small size means they can quickly become uncomfortable while playing your favorite Switch games. Sure, you could purchase the Pro Controller, but that's pretty expensive. If you already happen to have a PS4 controller lying around, here's how to use your DualShock PS4 Controller with your Nintendo Switch.

What you'll need

You'll need access to a Nintendo Switch and a PS4 controller as well as a wireless adapter to connect the gamepad to the console. Here are our favorite products to get this job done:

How to use a PS4 Controller with Nintendo Switch consoles

Keep this in mind: Wireless adapters only work in TV mode while the Switch is connected to the Dock. You can also use the adapter while the Switch is in tabletop mode, but you'll need to purchase a separate USB-C to USB cable and use it to connect the adapter right into the Switch's USB-C port.

1. Plug your wireless adapter into one of the USB ports on the side of the Switch dock.

2. On your Switch, go into the System Settings.

3. Scroll down and select Controllers and Sensors from the menu.
   

4. Select Pro Controller Wired Communications to turn it on.

5. With your Switch docked and awake, hold the Pairing button on your wireless adapter.

6. On the PS4 DualShock Controller, hold down the PS button and Share button simultaneously. The indicator light will blink white to show it's in pairing mode.

7. Once the white blinking on the PS4 DualShock controller turns solid blue, it should be paired. If it's not, follow the steps again. 

So, there you have it. Now you know how to use a PS4 controller with Nintendo Switch consoles. Now, it's time to play some of the best Nintendo Switch games. The Joy-Cons are certainly fun, but sometimes you might want a controller with a little more heft to it. This is a great workaround if you don't want to plunk down some cash on a Nintendo Pro Controller.

Our top equipment picks

Other wireless Switch options

If you don't want to go with the 8BitDo wireless adapter, here are some other wireless adapter options to consider.

Comfort from your very own couch

Connecting controllers to your Nintendo Switch is easy — it's remembering where the X button is that's the hard part. Once you've got an adapter of your choosing, connecting is a breeze. For those who need something bigger than the Joy-Con controllers that come with the Nintendo Switch, this may be the key to enjoying the great games that the Switch has to offer.

If you've upgraded to the PS5, check out our guide for connecting your DualShock PS5 Controller to your Switch. If you're more of an Xbox fan, we also have a guide for connecting your Xbox One S/X controller with Nintendo Switch consoles.

Let's be honest, while the Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons are great for quick multiplayer, they aren't the best option for playing Nintendo Switch games for long stretches. My fingers tend to go numb while grasping them for too long. If you don't like the feel of these small gamepads, then there's always the Switch Pro Controller, but that's rather expensive. The good news is if you already have a PS5 lying around, you can use a PS5 DualSense controller on Switch. All you need is a wireless adapter.

Some things to note

• The PS5 DualSense Controller's advanced haptic feedback and microphone will not work on the Nintendo Switch. However, the basic buttons and functions can still be used to play Switch games.
• This adapter works with both the original Switch dock and the Switch OLED dock.
• It does not work with the Nintendo Switch Lite out of the box. You will need to purchase a separate USB-C to USB cable to make it work on the Switch Lite. Plug the adapter into the cable, then plug the other end into the Switch Lite's USB-C port.

What you'll need

You'll need access to a Nintendo Switch and a PS5 controller as well as a wireless adapter to connect the gamepad to the console. Here are our favorite products to get this job done:

How to use a PS5 Controller on Nintendo Switch consoles

Wireless adapters only work while the Switch is connected to the Dock or when plugged directly into the Switch's USB-C port via a USB-C cable, however, if you want to do the latter, you'll need to purchase the cable separately.

1. Plug in the adapter into one of the Switch Dock's USB ports

2. On your Switch's main menu, select System Settings.

3. Scroll down to Controllers and Sensors.

4. Select Pro Controller Wired Communications to turn it on.

5. While your Switch is still docked and awake, push in the Pairing button on the bottom of the wireless adapter. This will make the blinking light flash faster.

6. Now hold down the PS5 DualSense's PS button and Share button simultaneously for five seconds. Blue lights will eventually pulse around the touchpad, letting you know the PS5 controller is in pairing mode.

7. When both the adapter and the PS5 controller stop flashing and hold a steady color, the two will have paired. Now you can start playing the best Switch games with the PS5 controller!

Remember that you won't experience any of the advanced haptic feedback or microphone options you get while playing PS5 games. Additionally, the touchpad functions as the screenshot button, so simply press it to capture gameplay stills.

Other Nintendo Switch controllers

If the PS5 DualSense Controller and the adapter are a bit too expensive, be sure to check out some of the other best Nintendo Switch controllers. Many of these are much less expensive than the PS5 DualSense, but they still feel great in your hands. Of course, if you have an Xbox controller in your home already, you can also use it to play your Switch if you have the proper adapter. If you want more information, check out our guide on how to use an Xbox controller with Nintendo Switch. 

The most popular Nintendo Switch gamepad is the Pro Controller. It is a bit pricey with an MSRP of $70, but you can often find it selling for less on places like Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy. It features amiibo scanning, rumble, motion controls, and it has a great shape and heft to it.

The best thing about the Nintendo Switch is you can have all the same games with you on the go that you do at home. There's no reason to let a lack of Wi-Fi keep you from accessing your games.

Whether you're looking for a change of scenery while playing one of the best Nintendo Switch workout games, tackling one of the best Nintendo Switch racing games on the subway, or just relaxing on your own Animal Crossing tropical island paradise, you can have a good bit of fun while you're on the go.

That's even true of multiplayer games on your Nintendo Switch. Your smartphone has a great data connection it can share with nearby devices, although there may be some caveats. Here's how to connect a Nintendo Switch to your phone's hotspot!

What you'll need

To use a hotspot with your Nintendo Switch you'll need a smartphone and the console itself. From our testing, our favorite Switch is the OLED model and the best iPhone with the longest battery life, the iPhone 15 Plus.

A word on data usage

Mobile plans often have data caps associated with them. Even if it's not a hard data cap, you'll likely have a situation where you get the first 10GB of data at 4G speeds, then anything after that will be at slower 3G speeds until your billing cycle resets. Even if you have an "unlimited" plan, you may be throttled if you connect to a high-congestion tower, or have a cap on how much tethering/mobile hotspot data you can use.

We tested out how much data Fortnite uses on Switch, and it's fortunately not enough to blow through a data cap. An hour's worth of playtime used about 19MB of data. If you have a truly unlimited plan — or you never get on a congested tower — gaming from your phone's hotspot may be great. The biggest issue will be keeping a consistent enough signal, so your gaming experience isn't awful.

We've done more testing if you're curious about how much data online gaming on the Nintendo Switch uses up, on average.

Connecting a Switch to your phone's hotspot: What to do on an iPhone

You have three options for using the hotspot on your iPhone: WiFi, Bluetooth, and USB. For the Switch, your only real option is a Wi-Fi hotspot. Here's how to set that up on your iPhone. 

1. Open Settings. 

2. Select Cellular.

3. Select Personal Hotspot. 

4. Tap the toggle for your Personal Hotspot to ON (green).

The phone will display your hotspot's network name and password. You'll need these when you turn on your Switch. To continue to the next steps, jump down to the What to do on your Nintendo Switch section. 

Connecting a Switch to your phone's hotspot: What to do on an Android phone

Again, the only real option for Android users is to set up a Wi-Fi hotspot from their phone. Here's how to set it up!

1. Open Settings.
2. Select Network & Internet.
3. Select Hotspot & tethering.
4. Select Wi-Fi hotspot.
5. Turn the hotspot on.

The phone will display your hotspot's network name and password. Note that the process for setting up your hotspot might be different from one Android phone to the next. You'll need the hotspot's network name and password for when you turn on your Switch.

Connecting a Switch to your phone's hotspot: What to do on your Switch

The next step is to make sure your Switch actually connects to the hotspot's network. Fortunately, it's no different than connecting to any other wireless network:

1. Select Settings from your Switch's home screen.

2. Select Internet.

3. Select Internet Settings.

3. Let the Switch search for networks. Then select your hotspot from the Networks Found list.

5. Enter your hotspot's password and select OK.

With all of that information selected, your Switch should be able to connect to your phone's hotspot with no problem. 

Online wherever you go

As long as your cellular signal is strong enough for the Switch to maintain a reliable connection, you're good! If not, you'll have to wait until your back on your home Wi-Fi, or in an area with a stronger cell connection. 

What you'll need

To play games on a Nintendo Switch, you'll need one of Nintendo's consoles. Here is the current lineup to choose from:

The digital advantage

The most obvious benefit of downloading a digital copy of a game onto your Nintendo Switch console is that it doesn't take up any physical space. You won't have a shelf full of old Switch games that you never play anymore. You also don't have to worry about losing those tiny thimble-sized cartridges, having your little brother steal them from you, or having your dog chew them up (even if they're designed to taste bad).

Another great reason to go digital is that you'll always have all of your games with you, no matter where you go. That way, you never have to tote all of those cartridges around in a case. Since digital game purchases are tied to your Nintendo Account, you could still access them if you had to replace your Switch or if you upgrade to a new Switch model.

One of the biggest perks of choosing the digital downloads of Nintendo Switch games is that they get pre-loaded onto your device at the time of your order. This means you can then start playing them right after they release. For instance, if a game has a midnight release, you won't have to wait in line at a store, nor do you have to wait for a delivery to start playing. If you stay up late enough, you could have most of the game completed before your friends even get up the next day.

If you're ecologically minded, you will be happy to note that digital downloads also cut down on the amount of waste produced for a game. Instead of dealing with the plastic of the cartridges, case, and sealed packaging, you are dealing with ones and zeroes. It's a much more environmentally friendly way to play Nintendo Switch.

Now, if you're going digital, a microSD card for Nintendo Switch should be high on your list of priorities. The Nintendo Switch and Switch Lite only have a measly 32GB of internal storage (about three large games) while the Switch OLED is only slightly better at 64GB (about six large games), and some of that is eaten up by the system. You'll quickly run out of space if you plan on playing more than a few games regardless of which Switch you have.

We recommend a high-capacity microSD card like the Samsung EVO Plus 256GB, or if you plan on playing several games, the Samsung EVO Plus 512GB to ensure you have enough room to hold all the games you want. We also recommend these specific cards because they can transfer data quickly.

The physical advantage

The most apparent positive about buying a physical copy of a game is sharing it with others. If your sister wants to play a game after you're done with it, she can take the cartridge and put it in her own Switch. If you want to temporarily swap Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild for your friend's copy of Animal Crossing: New Horizons, no problem.

You can also opt for a smaller microSD card, as physical games cartridges hold the bulk of the game data leaving the Switch to only hold save data. Another cool benefit — Physical collector's editions or definitive editions often come with limited-run memorabilia like statues, stickers, art books, and soundtracks. You often can't get this stuff when buying digitally.

You can also buy, sell, or trade in physical games to help support your entertainment hobby; something digital buyers are still dreaming of. Sometimes, used games are more than half-off their full price, so you can get them at a deep bargain. This typically happens when a game has sold really well or isn't particularly popular (strange how that works). Retail stores will frequently put games on sale, so you could potentially buy a brand new game at a discounted price (especially if you're a savvy shopper).

Plus, Limited Run physical copies of Switch games tend to greatly increase in price after a few years making many of them valuable collector's items. For instance, the physical copy of Celeste complete with the box sells for upward of $150 while the boxed version of Fox N Forests can sell for over $200. You could sell these physical games down the line when you're done with them to make a decent profit or simply collect them and show them off.

Digital games do go on sale from time to time in Nintendo's eShop, but they are at the whim of Nintendo instead of your discount-finding prowess. To be honest, the eShop deals usually aren't as good as they would be in physical format unless there's some kind of event going on.

If you determine physical is your style, consider investing in a carrying case for your Nintendo Switch game cartridges. We like the Fintie Nintendo Switch Carrying Case as it offers the best combination of protection, convenience, and portability. Up to 10 games slide into their own little slots in the case to make sure they aren't moving around. Since there are 24 designs to choose from, you can get the look you like best. The only downside is that if you lose the carrying case, all the games go with it, so don't lose the case!

Additionally, if you end up buying a bunch of Switch game cases, you're going to want a way to display them and keep them tidy. That's where you should consider some kind of game case display. Some of these also have the space to show off any other Nintendo collectibles or amiibo you might have.

Both have their perks

Both physical and digital versions of Nintendo Switch games have their perks as well as their shortcomings. To determine which route is right for you, you'll need to weigh the pros and cons of both physical and digital games against each other while considering how you plan on playing your games.

While the Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch OLED, and the Switch Lite are fantastic devices, there are a few small complaints, especially when it comes to the lack of applications. At first look, it might seem like these devices don't have a web browser built-in. But the good news is that you actually can use a web browser on your Switch, and you don't have to do anything as warranty-breaking as hacking your gaming system. 

WARNING: Accessing the hidden web browser on Switch, Switch OLED, or the Switch Lite in this unofficial way runs the risk of having your personal information tracked and stolen. As this is not a secure web browsing method, please don't use it without considering the risks.

What you'll need

To access a web browser on a Nintendo Switch, you'll need one of Nintendo's consoles. Here is the current lineup to choose from:

Change your primary DNS

To access a web browser, you'll first need to change your primary DNS. Here's how to do that.

1. From the dashboard of your Nintendo Switch, scroll over to System Settings.

2. Select Internet.

3. Select Internet Settings.

4. Choose the Wi-Fi connection that you are currently connected to

5. On the settings page for your network, select Change Settings.

6. Scroll down and select DNS Settings.

7. Change the DNS setting from Automatic to Manual.

8. Select your Primary DNS and set it as 045.055.142.122 and save.

9. A screen will pop up, saying, "Settings have been saved." Click OK.
10. You will now see the previous screen. Click on Connect to This Network. Your Switch will now attempt to connect to the network. 

11. You will see a prompt that says "Registration is required to use this network." Select Next.

12. You will now see the SwitchBru DNS page. All you have to do is click the button that reads Continue to Google.

13. The Google search bar will appear. Now you can browse the internet!

You now have access to the hidden web browser on Switch. Once you are done using the browser, all you have to do is go back and set your network DNS from Manual back to Automatic. If you want help with changing back to Automatic, follow the steps below.

Done browsing? Set DNS back to Automatic

Make sure to return your network DNS back to Automatic when you're done using the browser. Here's how to do that.

1. From the Home Menu, click on System Settings.

2. Click on Internet.

3. Click on Internet Settings.

4. Once the page loads, choose the Wi-Fi connection that you are currently connected to.

5. Select Change Settings.

6. Scroll down and select DNS Settings.

7. Change the DNS Setting from Manual to Automatic.

8. To exit back to the main menu, simply press the Home button on your Switch.

I have used this method to get on the hidden web browser on Switch more than a few times. While it's not perfect, it is effective, and I am grateful to have a workaround to Nintendo's oversight. Just remember that this unofficial way of surfing the web can leave you open to several risks.

Additional helpful Switch equipment

These are some of the best Switch accessories, and I've found that they greatly improve my Switch gaming sessions. See if anything catches your eye.

Since Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom arrived at my door on May 12, I’ve not stopped playing it. It’s a rare sequel that not only builds on what came before, but further redefines the open-world genre for this gaming generation.

But when you play a game as good as this, you want to play it in the best way possible. And that may no longer be on a Nintendo Switch.

Yes, I want it to still be a portable adventure. But I also want more control over the type of pad I use, and, for me, for this game in particular, I want higher framerates at a resolution that takes advantage of my LG C2 OLED 4K TV.

But with Nintendo Switch, everything still outputs to a maximum 1080p resolution when docked to a TV — and worse when in portable mode. So when I heard you could not only run Tears of the Kingdom on a Mac, but at a higher resolution, I had to try it out, just to scratch that curious itch I’ve always had. And the results are amazing.

Going to Hyrule in high-res

Emulation is a somewhat murky topic. On one hand, it’s a fantastic way for game preservation for older titles that are impossible to play on modern consoles, unlocking features not possible on original hardware. But on the other hand, it can enable piracy, a method that we strongly disagree with.

Nintendo Switch emulation falls somewhere in the middle. Switch games are not difficult to get hold of — it’s a still-active console generation, and shops everywhere sell its games and hardware. But its hardware pales in comparison to its current-gen competitors, and emulators can unlock far greater performance by virtue of the super-powered hardware they can run on.

When it comes to Switch emulators, you can play a game at a much higher resolution than originally intended, all the while at a smooth framerate, and with some games, with mods that can replace textures that could be a challenge to run at a consistent framerate on original Switch hardware.

The emulator RyuJinx offers exactly this. After some setting up, you can play some of your owned Switch games on a Mac and ramp the resolution from 720p and 1080p to a 1440p 2K, or even a 2160p 4K resolution.

There are ways you can legally dump your game to your Mac or other device, which is what I did for this test.

In under an hour, I went from discovering Ryujinx to going to the Sky Island in 4K on my MacBook Pro, paired with my 8BitDo Pro 2 controller.

Results may vary depending on the Mac you use, but for my experience, I used:

• MacBook Pro 14-inch M1 Pro (2021)
• 1TB SSD
• 16GB Memory
• A 120Hz with ProMotion display at 3024 x 1984 resolution

If you line this up with the Switch, it’s no comparison. Getting 15FPS at a 3840 x 2160 was achievable, but at 2560x1440 it ran fine. But with the Switch, there would be dips of 15 FPS regardless, due to its aging hardware.

In short, it was glorious. This test of mine resulted in playing Tears of the Kingdom in 4K, but I thought I’d go one step further.

Making the most of my 4K TV

For a game like Tears of the Kingdom, it deserves to be played on a big TV rather than in the Switch’s handheld mode. Granted, playing it in bed or on the train is quite different compared to playing Zelda: Links Awakening on my original Game Boy back in 1995 with its dim monochromatic screen, but I really wanted to push my MacBook Pro to see how well this could really run.

I did this in two ways. I first hooked up my Mac to the TV with an HDMI cable, and after some rejigging with the resolution, I had the TV showing macOS in a native 4K resolution. All I had to do was drag over Tears of the Kingdom running in RyuJinx, and there I was, on Sky Island, in full 4K again, but on the LG C2.

However, there was an even simpler way that I use now and again when I’m in the living room, and that’s AirPlay. I can extend my Mac’s display by just going to Control Center > Screen Mirroring, and my desktop and applications are sent to the TV over my Wi-Fi connection.

I was surprised by the low latency here. Playing Zelda in this way felt just the same as connecting the Mac to the TV through HDMI, but it did cause a strain on my internet connection.

Regardless, I was playing Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom in 4K, at a playable speed on my 4K TV, and it was incredible. The world popped out even more with its bright colors and the sprawling landscape of Hyrule. This especially hit me as Link dived through the skies and entered various shrines to collect the Ultrahand and Fuse powerup — with the emulation (or my Mac settings, perhaps) upping the color saturation just a tad.

However, I have to stress that it wasn’t a matter of loading up the game on my Mac and away I went in Hyrule. I had to restart RyuJinx multiple times for it to detect certain files and the game itself to load, and then it was a half hour of going to Settings > Graphics to make sure everything ran smoothly. VSync was a particular bugbear, which lines up the game’s framerate with the monitor you’re using. But as this MacBook Pro runs at 120HZ with ProMotion enabled, the emulator was getting confused as to what framerate to run the game at.

Eventually, I just disabled it - but this was just one example of trial and error of running the game at full speed here.

Alas, after trying this out for an evening, it was time to go back to the Switch to continue my adventure there. But it left me wanting more.

The case for a Switch Pro

Nintendo never follows tradition, and that’s one of the things I’ve always liked about the company. It believes in the fun of the game — that directs their work, not just the technology around them.

It’s mainly why we’ve not seen a new Switch model taking advantage of 4K, 120FPS, HDR and everything else that a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X offers. That and the fact that Nintendo’s transforming hardware remains a unique and popular selling point in and of itself.

I have the book, Iwata Asks, which features plenty of interviews with Nintendo’s ex-CEO, Satoru Iwata, before his untimely passing in 2015. It’s where I noticed a great quote relevant to this. “If you maintain the status quo, you wind up fighting for survival, and gradually your fan base disappears. That's the one direction I'm always trying to avoid.”

But, there comes a time when it gets silly. Being able to justify the lack of these features as they become more common in more devices is increasingly difficult. You begin to wonder if Nintendo is still feeling the effects of COVID-19 and how the industry had to delay hundreds of projects due to illness and working from home, which has resulted in a ‘Switch Pro’ being delayed further.

4K is something that’s now very common in 2023. You can buy a TV that has this resolution for under $500 easily, so for a gaming console to not have that when paired with a TV, feels overdue. It doesn’t hamper the experience of Tears of the Kingdom, but when you have a game as good as this, you want it to run and show at its very best.  The current Switch hardware simply doesn’t do that.

After playing Zelda in 4K in my test, it only made me want a Switch that can do this even more, and once Nintendo eventually does announce this, I’ll gladly go back to Hyrule and play the whole game again in 4K, without having to jump through the emulation hoops.

Hello everyone welcome to the very last Nintendo recap. This week NYXI released a new Switch controller that features a GameCube design and uses Hall Effect joysticks for no drift. But it's so popular that it's been hard to find it in stock. Additionally, some gamers discovered a brand new glitch in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild that makes Link invincible and gives him endless stamina. 

In other news, Ubisoft released a financial report that revealed bad sales in 2022, which has led the company to cancel three unannounced titles and delay Skull and Bones once again. But on the bright side of Nintendo news this week, The Pokémon Company celebrated having over 1,000 Pokémon with a nostalgic video. There's even more to discuss so let's dive in.

Driftless GameCube controller for Switch selling out fast

Ever since the Nintendo Switch first launched in 2017, Joy-Con drift has plagued Nintendo's official Switch controllers. Many third-party Joy-Con controller manufacturers have entered the market in order to combat this problem, but now a beautiful new gamepad known as the NYXI Wizard Wireless Joy-pad has stolen many Switch gamer's hearts.

In addition to the nostalgic GameCube controller design, this gamepad also works as a detachable Joy-Con, whose sides can slide on and off of the Switch display. Plus, it uses Hall Effect joysticks, which in theory should never suffer from drift issues since the components don't actually touch each other. 

It sells for $69 and has been very popular, selling out almost instantly each time that it comes back in stock on NYXI's website. Fortunately,if you're interested, you can sign up to get notified when it comes back in stock, but you'll have to jump on a purchase as soon as possible in order to secure one for yourself. 

Zelda Breath of the Wild glitch gives Link unlimited stamina and invincibility

Last weekend, YouTube channel Gaming Reinvented posted a video explaining a previously unknown glitch in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild that gives Link invincibility and unlimited stamina (thanks, NintendoLife). Getting this glitch to show up requires players to press buttons at very specific times, so it might take a few attempts before it successfully activates. 

If successfully done, Link will still get smacked around when hit, but he won't lose any hearts and his stamina wheel will never deplete. Players can even find themselves in this state after saving the game and reloading it. Additionally, this glitch allows Link to explore the Lost Woods without getting reset, explore the Gerudo Fortress in his usual clothes without getting kicked out, go to Eventide Island without losing his gear, and climb on top of Divine Beasts.

However, there are several things players cannot do while in this state or it will bring the game back to normal play. These things include: Opening treasure chests, talking to NPCs, entering shrines, pausing/unpausing, using runes, or switching items.

Gaming Reinvented explains that players need the following prerequisites to do this glitch:

1. Upgraded Sheikah Sensor
2. A save near a Goddess Statue
3. At least 1 Hyrule Compendium Entry
4. The Camera Rune (which should be active)
5. Access to Hyrule Castle

You can watch the video to get the rest of the steps for unlocking this glitch, but note that it's a long process that can be hard to successfully perform. Still, the thought of being able to go against Guardians, Lynels, and even powerful bosses like Monk Maz Koshia without worrying about taking any damage is a compelling one.

Ubisoft cancels several games after poor 2022 sales

In an official press release,  Ubisoft revealed that it had underwhelming financial results in 2022. The company specifically cited its "disappointment" in the sales of  Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope and Just Dance 2023 even though both games received "excellent ratings" (thanks, NintendoLife).  Due to this poor performance in the marketplace, Ubisoft went on to reveal that it had decided to cancel "three unannounced projects, on top of the four already announced in July 2022." 

That same day, the company also announced that its highly-anticipated open-world pirate game, Skull and Bones, was getting delayed (once again) to the company's next fiscal year, which starts after April 1. 

The bad news doesn't stop there. Shortly after these developments came to light, Ubisoft's U.S. shares price took a 10.6% dive toward a 7-year low for the company. Things really aren't looking good for Ubisoft. However, if the upcoming Assassin's Creed Mirage or Skull and Bones manage to sell well when they release this year, it could drastically change the company's direction. 

It's especially bewildering to see that Just Dance 2023 didn't perform that well considering that this has been a cash cow staple for Ubisoft for several years now. Meanwhile, it's not too surprising that Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope hasn't hit the high numbers Ubisoft was hoping for. While it's a fantastic strategy game that I recommend to anyone, it's also rather niche and doesn't appeal as much to the wider Mario audience. 

The Pokémon Company celebrates over 1,000 Pokémon

With the release of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, the total number of Pokémon in the catch-em-all universe has reached 1,008. In celebration, The Pokémon Company released a video that serves as both a nostalgic look at past Pokémon as well as an official showcase for Gen 9's new creatures and evolutions. Everything was revealed including imagery of starter evolutions, Legendaries, and new Pokémon for Scarlet and Violet. 

It's crazy to think that this simple-yet-beloved series has reached such a high number of creatures since its modest 151 roster of Pokémon from the original Pokémon games 25 years previous. As of right now, Pokémon continues to be a major player across video games, TV shows, merchandise, and more, so this number will undoubtedly climb a lot higher in the following years. 

cheese_string_man_walked_so_gholdengo_could_run from r/MandJTV

The video also paid special attention to the Gimmighoul evolution, Gholdengo, explaining that this golden new Pokémon is officially the 1,000th Pokémon in the series. Undoubtedly, the design for the 1,000th Pokémon was debated and refined for months. So it's interesting that this "string cheese man" design is what was landed on. Some players love it and others really don't like it.

Bayonetta 3 gets huge patch

Many people were upset when Bayonetta 3 launched in October because the game was plagued with performance issues. Well, now it seems that Nintendo has been listening since it released a massive patch on Tuesday that adjusted several aspects and corrected a number of bugs (thanks, NintendoLife). 

It's nice to see Nintendo taking feedback so seriously and patching the game up in so many different ways. If you were initially disappointed by how the game ran, you might want to give it another go. 

These are all of the adjustments in Bayonetta Ver. 1.2.0 as listed by Nintendo:

Combat Adjustments

• Adjusted Viola’s activation window for “Block” and activation conditions for Witch Time.
  • Block activation window added after releasing Block (during the release animation).
  • Added an additional animation when Witch Time takes effect, making its activation easier to realize.
  • The allotted duration of Witch Time, and its activation window have been lengthened.
  • Now, when block is activated when player is attacked, player will receive damage effect, but block will succeed and activate Witch Time.
  • Now, combo can continue (with Dodge Offset) when player uses Block to activate Witch Time.
  • If the Block input is used repeatedly, the granted Witch Time duration will decrease.
• Adjustments made to prevent Viola's evasive input and Cheshire's summoning input from activating Assault Slave while maintaining invincibility if they are used in rapid succession.
• Weapons "Simoon", "Tartarus" and Viola's Charge Attacks can now continue to hold charge, even if dodged or blocked.
• Wink Slave can now be activated from the combos "PKP*" and "PKK*" for the weapons "G-Pillar", "Dead End Express" and "Cassiopeia".
• *P is Punch, and K is Kick
• When equipping the accessories "Infernal Communicator" and "Pulley's Butterfly" to summon Devils and Butterflies, it is now possible to cancel the summoning motion by dodging or blocking.

Niflheim

The following Niflheim stage conditions were changed to lower the difficulty:

Game Modes

• Conditions for obtaining the "Tricolored Keys" needed to unseal the "Old Picture Book" have been made easier.
  • "Tricolored Keys" will be automatically available on the chapter select screen once it becomes possible to access the "Gates of Hell".
• Even if the player already has access to the Gates of Hell, or has already obtained one or two keys, they will automatically obtain the remaining keys when going to the chapter select screen after applying the update.

Other Changes

• Adjustments have been made to the Golem Treasure Chests found in stages.
  • Time limits have been increased, and difficulty has been lowered.
  • Golem Chest fragmenting animation can now be fast-forwarded with the B-button.
• Adjustments have been made to reduce situations with poor camera visibility.
• Adjusted game balance.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a bug in Verse 5 of Chapter 7 that prevented progress when certain actions were performed while controlling Cheshire.
• Fixed a problem with the accessory "Hymn of Durga" in which its effect was not being applied to some attacks.
• Fixed an issue where using Alruna’s “Bondage Whip (P or K* long press)” skill in certain situations would cause the enemies to to die instantly.
• Fixed an issue where the weapons using “Crow Within” (J* long press)” with "Scarborough Fair" and "Love is Blue" would cause player to move forward significantly under certain conditions.
• Fixed an issue where Bayonetta's animations would not play correctly when switching weapons immediately after using the "Crow Within (J* long press)” with the weapons "Scarborough Fair" and "Love is Blue".
• Fixed a bug that caused "Black Pearl Rain (Rotate L stick + S*)” for Infernal Demon "Kraken" to trigger "Wink Slave" with abnormally high attack power.
• Fixed a bug that caused "Devil Rodin" to be stuck for a time when using "After Burner Kick (↑K* in midair)" continuously, immediately after rising up with a prior "After Burner Kick (J・K*)”.
• Fixed a bug in which Viola’s Assault Slave was able to summon Infernal Demons in "Infernal Demon-prohibited areas”.
• Fixed an error in the hand symbol seen in Cutie J’s transformation sequence viewable in Side Chapter.
• Fixed other issues to make the game more enjoyable to play.

*P is Punch, K is Kick, S is Shoot, and J is Jump.

So long, farewell

This is actually my last week writing a Nintendo recap for iMore as I'll be moving over to Windows Central to cover gaming over there. It's been my pleasure to write about Nintendo over the last four years and I'm going to miss the wonderful people I've worked with here. 

So far, 2023 is shaping up to be an incredible year for Nintendo with the upcoming releases of Fire Emblem Engage and The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom already pulling at our interest. Have fun enjoying these awesome games and more. 

Farewell, Nintendo friends. Be excellent to each other.

- Rebecca Spear

It might only be the first week of January, but we've already seen predictions for what to expect from Nintendo in 2023. According to at least one trusted analyst, the next-gen Nintendo console isn't part of the plan. In other news, there were two developments involving The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, including images of a supposedly leaked Zelda-themed Switch OLED. 

Additionally, Game Freak who is best known as the developer behind the Pokémon series is releasing a revamped version of a cult classic game — but oddly enough, this title isn't coming to Nintendo Switch. It also turns out that the Mario Kart 7 patch that Nintendo released a few weeks ago was for a far more serious problem than we knew about. Let's dive in!

Anaylist predicts next-gen Nintendo console won't release until 2024

The start of a new year is always an exciting time for Nintendo fans. It feels like anything is possible and we've got a long list of highly-anticipated Switch games coming out in 2023 to look forward to.

Many tech analysts are looking ahead and making predictions on what they expect to come out in the next 12 months, which is the common practice at the start of a new year. As part of this, Gamesindustry.biz spoke with a panel of trusted analysts including Piers Harding-Rolls who says he doesn't expect a "next-gen Nintendo console in 2023," but rather has "2024 in our forecasts."

While Harding-Rolls isn't the final say on this matter, it does seem likely that Nintendo would wait to release a new console until The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has been out for a while, especially if the leaks are real that Nintendo is producing a Zelda-themed Switch OLED to launch alongside the game (more on that later). 

Now that we're six years into the Nintendo Switch's life it's getting to the point where Nintendo must seriously be considering when to announce its next-gen console. The hybrid system might be selling well still, but the performance issues of many of the Switch's biggest releases in 2022 show that it's time for a new gaming system or Switch 2. Nintendo's philosophy has long centered on using older technology to provide unique experiences, but the components used in the Switch were already outdated at the time of its release and so the system is really starting to show its age these days. At any rate, it's more than likely that we'll at least get the next-gen console announcement by 2024.

We'll get a better idea of what to expect for Nintendo in 2023 sometime in February as this is often when The Pokémon Company has its Pokémon Presents presentation and Nintendo hosts its first Nintendo Direct of the year. Together these shows give a decent roadmap for what's coming in the next few months and can help us determine when or if big changes are incoming. 

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom leaks and rumors

There were two potential leaks recently regarding The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Considering that we've got about five months to go before the sequel releases on May 12 it's not too surprising that leaks and rumors for this highly-anticipated game are already ramping up. 

Zelda Tears of the Kingdom Switch OLED leak

On December 30th, a Famiboards user posted supposedly leaked images of a Tears of the Kingdom Switch OLED they purportedly found on the Chinese forum, Tieba (thanks, My Nintendo News). 

These images show a white Switch OLED dock with the iconic Royal Crest — complete with Triforce and wings — printed in a golden hue in the center of the dock. The Joy-Cons appear to have a similar gold on the front with turquoise designs on the left side akin to the weird look of Link's arm in the Tears of the Kingdom trailers. On the right Joy-Con and back side of the Switch, there are ripple patterns reminiscent of the motif found in shrines. However, the backsides of the Joy-Con halves aren't gold, but white with small golden designs near the bottom.  

It's honestly hard to say if this is a true leak or if it's just someone's way of getting attention. However, considering that Tears of the Kingdom is one of the most anticipated Switch games this year it only makes sense that Nintendo will release a limited edition Switch OLED around the same time as the game like it did with the Splatoon 3 Switch OLED and the Scarlet and Violet Switch OLED. In my own opinion, the boring look of this design is so uninspired that it feels like it could be real. 

Even if it is real, this could simply be a prototype or an early version of a Switch OLED version rather than what actually comes out later this year. With any luck, the Zelda Switch OLED that does come out will look much better than this one. 

Zelda Tears of the Kingdom ad shows Nintendo Switch Online functionality

The day before the purported Zelda-themed Switch OLED leak, the internet grew excited when u/Few_Working3350 on Reddit posted an image of an advertisement for Tears of the Kingdom that showed that the upcoming game will have some kind of Nintendo Switch Online functionality (thanks, GameRant). 

online_functionality_for_tears_of_the_kingdom from r/NintendoSwitch

This of course, got fans talking about possible multiplayer in the sequel, whether that means exploring and fighting together or getting some kind of interactive experience where players can leave messages for each other like they can in Elden Ring. Fans have long hoped for a multiplayer Hyrule experience as we've seen with the many fan-made Breath of the Wild multiplayer mods that have released over the last few years. 

While I would love for multiplayer to be part of this sequel, Nintendo Switch Online is probably simply there for cloud saves and backing up game data. It's clearly visible on the right side of the leaked ad that this is a single-player game in all modes and an online multiplayer option isn't likely. However, it is still possible that Nintendo could surprise us with new features for the game since we don't really know much about it yet. With any luck, we'll learn more about the sequel in February with the year's first Nintendo Direct.

Zelda amiibo reprints appear to be incoming

Anyone who collects amiibo knows that Zelda amiibo are some of the rarest and most expensive Nintendo NFC collectibles out there. This is partially due to their fantastic designs and partially because Breath of the Wild offered some of the best amiibo rewards of any Switch game. For example, the ability to unlock Epona the horse from Ocarina of Time or being able to make Wolf Link fight alongside you. 

Due to this precedent, many fans have wondered if the sequel will also use amiibo. Thanks to some new information, it's looking like this could be the case.

On Tuesday, a French e-commerce site called Fnac had a large list of Zelda amiibo preorders go live on their site (thanks, Nintendo Wire). This included basically all of the Zelda amiibo ever made with only the newest Zelda Loftwing, champions, Shiek, and Ganondorf missing from the list. 

There currently has been no indication that these Zelda amiibo will appear at any other retailers, but chances are high that at least some of them will if they have shown up here.  This also likely means there is amiibo functionality in Tears of the Kingdom if Nintendo is making reprints. With any luck, this means we'll be getting announcements for brand new Zelda amiibo as well. I really want to get one with long-haired Link in his toga. 

Fire Emblem Engage is going back to its combat roots

Fire Emblem Engage is set to release in a couple of weeks on January 20, 2023 and previews for the game have already gone up on various media sites. Previewers had mostly positive things to say with the general consensus being that Engage is going back to focusing more on strategic battles than Fire Emblem : Three Houses did. 

One of the ways it shifts focus militaristically is by going back to the triangle combat system where sword beats axe, axe beats lance, and lance beats sword. Additionally, it seems that several warrior classes that haven't been used in recent FE games are returning. 

If you're the kind of person who like to think strategically with tactical turn-based RPGs then you really ought to consider checking Engage out when it launches. 

Mario Kart 7 patch fixed a major problem

A few weeks ago, I talked about how strange it was that Mario Kart 7 got an update after 10 years without receiving any patches. Well, now some new information has come to light that shows that this update was more important than we initially knew as it fixed a very serious vulnerability. 

According to @Pablomf6 on Twitter who was one of three users who reported the issue to Nintendo's HackerOne program, the patch fixed "a severe vulnerability in many first party 3DS, Wii U and Switch games. [The vulnerability] allows remote code execution in a victim console by just having an online game session with an attacker." They went on to say, "Combined with other OS exploits, this vulnerability could allow an attacker to achieve full console takeover, and steal sentitive [sic] information or take audio/video recordings." The thread goes on to explain that  @Pablomf6 received a "$1,000 bounty" for reporting this issue to Nintendo. 

Considering that Mario Kart 7 offers online and local wireless multiplayer, this exploit could have made it very easy for nefarious persons to steal your information or take recordings simply by playing a round with you. So it's good to see that Nintendo made the game safer for players, even if it is an older title.

Game Freak game heading to Apple Arcade and not Switch

We got some strange news this week when we learned that the primary developers of the Pokémon series are releasing a new version of  the cult classic 3DS game, Pocket Card Jockey — but not on Nintendo Switch (thanks, VGC). According to a trademark filed by Game Freak this new version with revamped visuals is coming strictly to iOS users via Apple Arcade in the form of Pocket Card Jockey: Ride On!

While not the biggest title Game Freak has released, Pocket Card Jockey does have a cult following and is rated highly on Metacritic with an 83 Metascore. The basic idea is horse racing mixed with Solitaire for a very familiar-yet-satisfying experience. The Apple Arcade version has been reworked to function on one screen rather than the dual screen of the 3DS.

It's possible that the game could also come to Nintendo Switch in the future, but as of right now, there is no proof of that being in the works. At any rate, it seems odd that Game Freak chose to release this revamped version as an Apple Arcade game rather than bringing it to Switch, but the reasoning for that is unknown at this time. 

A new year for Nintendo

There are many exciting things in store for Nintendo fans in 2023. Of course, there's the buzz around Tears of the Kingdom which isn't just one of the most highly-anticipated Switch games but is also one of the most highly-anticipated video games of this year regardless of platform. We're bound to get more leaks and rumors as we draw closer to this game's release, which will give us a better idea of what to expect from the sequel. Hopefully, we get more details with the year's first Nintendo Direct, which usually comes in February.

Until next time.

- Rebecca Spear

This year wasn't all that exciting in terms of Nintendo hardware. However, the Switch saw an impressive number of successful exclusives and third-party titles launch this year. Still, the number of limitations and processing issues in these hits show that it's time for Nintendo to release its next-gen console or some sort of Switch 2. 

Now that the year is drawing to a close, let's take some time to reflect on how the Switch did in 2022 and talk about where Nintendo needs to head in 2023.

Little in terms of Nintendo hardware

Technically, there were no new Nintendo Switch models in 2022, which isn't surprising given that new Switch variants have historically released on odd years. So if new Nintendo hardware is incoming it would likely be next year. Even then, I'm not sure we'll be seeing a new Switch variant in 2023, but we'll talk more about that later in this article,

While there wasn't any brand new hardware, Nintendo did release a couple of fun new limited edition Nintendo Switch OLED designs as seen with the Splatoon 3 Switch OLED and the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Switch OLED. These both launched around the time of the games they were themed after and sold out very quickly. Both offered fun visual elements, but the Splatoon 3 Switch OLED gave us our first Joy-Con with a color gradient that went from one hue to the other. It's truly a beautiful collectible if you're able to find one. 

A spectacular year for Switch games

We not only had a packed list of new titles this year, but some of the best Nintendo Switch games of all time released in 2022, despite it being five years into the gaming system's lifecycle. 

It would be impossible to list all of the amazing games that came to Switch this year without writing a novel, (many of these Switch games were winners at The Game Awards 2022) so I'll just highlight some of the very best Switch exclusives from 2022 in the order they released:

Pokémon Legends: Arceus

Game Freak surprised us all with Pokémon Legends: Arceus when it launched last January. It does away with the usual goal of battling gyms in favor of simply having users create the first-ever Pokédex in ancient times. 

While not a polished-looking game by any stretch, the brand-new stealth mechanics that it introduced combined with the new FPS-style catching elements shook up the Pokémon series in an enjoyable way that was sorely needed. It's hard to say if the game's horrible world visuals are more due to the limitations of the Switch or if has more to do with the amount of time Game Freak put into the game. At any rate, you shouldn't let the ugly world design sway you away from playing this amazing game. 

Triangle Strategy

These days, Square Enix is best known for its complex JRPGs and HD-2D art style and that's exactly what Triangle Strategy brought to Switch when it launched as a console exclusive in March. The plot centers around a young man of title named Serenoa Wolffort who finds himself making difficult decisions as the lands around him erupt in war. He must gather allies to his side, influence his followers, and choose how to employ his people in battle. 

Though it has a weird name, the game is incredibly rewarding as it offers strategic battles with characters that each have their own strengths and weaknesses against opponents. The decisions players make affect the course of the plot and some of these decisions are very difficult to make. It's an excellent game that follows in the steps of Final Fantasy Tactics and will make you want to play again and again to see what outcomes you can get. It's no wonder it was able to sell over one million copies this year. 

Kirby and the Forgotten Land

At the beginning of spring, we got Kirby and the Forgotten Land — a platforming adventure that has proved to be one of the very best Kirby games of all time. Kirby gets sucked into another world where things are all in ruins and he must figure out what happened to this strange place. Along the way, he must protect his new blue friend, Elfilin, and save some captured Waddle Dees. As always, he can float temporarily as well as inhale enemies to acquire their powers.

In addition to providing a fun two-player co-op campaign, it introduced the ridiculous-yet-fun Mouthful Mode, which allows the pink puffball to wrap his lips around objects in order to use them. It didn't take long for Kirby's Mouthful Modes to become viral memes. The game is incredibly enjoyable and a great platformer for beginners or those looking for a relaxing adventure. It also walked away with Best Family Game at The Game Awards 2022.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 follows three friends who have been soldiers since as far back as they remember. Shortly into the plot, these three join forces with a threesome of opposing soldiers and realize they unlock special abilities when together. Now it's up to them to put a stop to the war and free other warring colonies in the area — that is, as long as they aren't killed along the way. 

The Xenoblade Chronicles series has long had a dedicated audience, but the JRPG has grown more popular over the last few years. With its latest entry which released in July, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 provided a long adventure filled with a robust combat system and an engaging plot that makes players want to make it to the end. The world is huge and the characters are fascinating. While it does run incredibly smoothly considering how massive the world is, the landscapes aren't very detailed and some visuals really don't look that great. 

It didn't win Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2022, but it's an honor that it was nominated against such tough competition like Elden Ring and God of War Ragnarök. It's still a phenomenal game that all JRPG fans should enjoy. 

Splatoon 3

The Splatoon series has been incredibly popular ever since the first game released on the failed Wii U in 2015 and now Splatoon 3 has added to that amazing legacy. At its core, this is a turf war shooter game, but it changes things up since players shoot paint guns to cover the arena rather than with a focus on targeting opponents. The team that has the most paint on the field by the end of the countdown wins the match. 

Fortunately for former and new fans of the series, Splatoon 3 built upon the foundations already established by previous games and brought us a fully-fleshed-out single-player campaign for the first time ever. Additionally, Splatfest events regularly release allowing players to choose a team and compete against others online, which helps keep the game interesting. However, the game suffers from connection issues that have left many players frustrated. It's clear that Nintendo needs to provide a newer means for online multiplayer to make the game run more smoothly.

Despite this, Splatoon 3 broke records by selling 3.45 million copies in just three days and also won Best Multiplayer Game at The Game Awards 2022 even though it was up against some big competition like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, MultiVersus, Overwatch 2, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge. This just goes to show how compelling the gameplay is.

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope

Although it feels kinda weird seeing Mushroom Kingdom characters and Rabbids from Rayman come together, it somehow works really well in Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope. Mario, Luigi, and Peach once more find themselves working alongside their Rabbid counterparts as they travel from world to world in order to save everyone from a powerful force that threatens everything.

This strategy game sequel released in October and included some new mechanics that refined the original gameplay. Each character has their own attacks, abilities, and skills so players feel like intelligent tacticians when using them. It offers extremely satisfying combat, which is probably why it walked away with the award for Best Sim/Strategy Game at The Game Awards 2022. Not to mention, the way the silly characters react to the plot or interact with eachother makes for an entertaining story. 

Bayonetta 3

Bayonetta 3 blasted onto Nintendo Switch in late October and provided a fast-paced action RPG filled with titanic battles and adult themes. The suggestive leading witch must fight against threatening Homunculi who put the whole multiverse in danger. 

There was some controversy surrounding Bayonetta 3 before it came out since the original Bayonetta voice actor claimed that she had only been offered a small sum for her part, which was why she turned down reprising the role. However, more information soon came to light that made it apparent that this information wasn't correct. On another note, the game suffers from bad performance on Switch with tons of lag and stutter. Despite this, the game sold incredibly well and even walked away from the Game Awards 2022 with the reward for Best Action Game.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Of all of the games on this list, none are as difficult to write about as the Gen 9 Pokémon games. As I said in my Pokémon Scarlet and Violet review, "these would be the best Pokémon games ever if not for the performance issues." The games are laggy and filled with glitches to an unprofessional degree, especially for the largest franchise in the world. It's hard to say if these issues are more due to the limited and old capabilities of the Switch itself or if they are more due to the work Game Freak put into them. Of course, it could also be a mixture of the two. 

Despite this, Scarlet and Violet sold 10 million units in the first three days making them the fastest-selling Switch games, the fastest-selling Nintendo games, and the fastest-selling Pokémon games of all time. Their popularity isn't surprising given that they offer the very first open-world Pokémon adventure and allow far more freedom than any gen has before. 

Players can take on Gym Leaders in whatever order they want, but they also have other goals to achieve like defeating Titan Pokémon and Team Star Bases. It also offers the very best plot of any Pokémon game and includes some interesting new creatures to catch. If Nintendo ever patches it properly, it will be much easier to praise this adventure.

What to expect from Switch in the new year

The parade of new titles hasn't stopped as there are a number of highly-anticipated Switch games coming out in 2023 for fans to look forward to. 

Eagerly awaiting Tears of the Kingdom

At the forefront of most people's minds is The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, which is set to release on May 12, 2023. This adventure builds upon many aspect that were already present in Breath of the Wild and hopefully will be another defining moment in the Zelda series. At the very least, we have to figure out what happened to Zelda and what those floating islands from the trailers are all about.

I'm expecting it to be an amazing game, however, it's good to be tempered in our expectations. Regardless of how good Tears of the Kingdom is, it's likely impossible for it to provide us with the same sense of wonder and curiosity that the first game provided. When we played Breath of the Wild everything was a new change of pace for the franchise: The open-world map, mechanics, Runes, enemy designs, post-apocalyptic world, etc. Meanwhile, Tears of the Kingdom will bring some new features and characters with it, but it will also bring many things that we are already familiar with.

Fortunately, it looks like the new mechanics shown off in trailers like the ability to go through walls, put things in stasis and then fly backward, and glide from floating islands can really do a lot to shake up the gameplay we're already used to. May 12 cannot get here fast enough. We just hope that the game can run smoothly on Switch when it does. 

A Switch 2 really should get announced in 2023

We don't know the exact numbers of Switch unit sales in 2022 yet, but we do know that while the Nintendo Switch and Switch OLED sold well enough that they had significantly declining sales this year over the two previous years. In August, Nintendo attributed this decline to economic issues and chip shortages. However, it's also likely that we've gotten far enough into the Switch's lifecycle that things are slowing down and consumers are ready for the next system to come out.

As we enter 2023, the Switch also approaches its sixth anniversary. Most gaming systems have a lifecycle of five to seven years, depending on how well they perform. Considering the current state of Switch sales and the frequent performance issues that its hit games suffer from, it's really about time that Nintendo seriously considers announcing its next-gen console, which will hopefully be a Switch 2 of sorts that still offers the hybrid TV mode and handheld mode but with increased processing power and resolution abilities. 

Obviously, the next-gen console is already on Nintendo's mind and has been for a while. Recently in a ResetEra forum, orzkare posted a translated Nintendo Q&A session in which Nintendo legend and representative director, Shigeru Miyamoto, was asked about Switch backward compatibility with a next-gen console. Miyamoto reportedly answered by saying, "Nintendo's strength is in creating new games. With new hardware, we would like to propose unique games that cannot be realized on existing hardware." It seems likely that if they're talking about the next console's gimmick already that plans for the system are probably pretty far along. It's just a matter of when the Switch's time is up and that seems to be nearing.

Of course, many people think that instead of launching a next-gen system that Nintendo will just give us another upgraded Switch model that's better than the Switch OLED. But I really doubt Nintendo would produce another Switch with the increased processing power and 4K resolution capabilities that the Switch desperately needs until the next-gen Nintendo gaming console comes out. After all, Nintendo needs to keep a distinct difference between its systems so players have a reason to upgrade and that's one way to do it. I won't be surprised at all if we get news of a new system by E3 2023.

Was this a good year for Nintendo Switch?

In terms of game sales, Nintendo has done very well for itself in 2022. In fact, more than one title broke records this year in terms of units sold and many of Nintendo's exclusive games walked away as winners from The Game Awards this year. However, the current state of the Switch hardware is holding back Nintendo's biggest franchises from stepping into the modern world. 

Many of this year's biggest Switch games also had unacceptable performance issues including problems like really bad lag, stuttering, and connectivity issues. These are all things that are embarrassing to see in modern gaming and taint Nintendo's successes in 2022. 

With Nintendo hardware sales calming down, it really feels (more than ever) that the Switch is getting old. The Japanese gaming company likely won't release a Switch with increased processing power and upgraded graphics capabilities on another Switch variant and so it really feels like the time is drawing near for the next-gen console to come out. Hopefully, we hear about it by E3 2023.

Hello everyone and welcome to this week's Nintendo recap. Despite it being a holiday weekend, there was some interesting developments in the Switch world. First off, it was announced that Fortnite's maker, Epic Games, will pay roughly half a billion dollars to settle legal complaints raised by the FTC around children's privacy and accidental purchases. I'll go into detail on that and explain who is eligible for refunds.

In other news, the highly-anticipated Sports Story shadow-dropped onto the eShop along with several other indie titles. Lastly, we got some exciting news for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom that has us stoked for the game's release. I'll end by discussing the best Switch games that came out this year that you might have missed. Let's get going. 

Fortnite maker Epic Games will pay $520M to settle FTC complaint

We learned this week that Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite, has agreed to pay $520 million to settle complaints brought forward by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). (Thanks VGC). This isn't just one but actually two settlements. One deals with the fact that Epic violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by collecting personal information in Fortnite from minors under the age of 13 without parental or guardian consent. 

The second settlement centers around Epic issuing $245 million in customer refunds for tricking minors into making in-game purchases on unwanted items. The FTC said,"Fortnite's counterintuitive, inconsistent, and confusing buttons configuration led players to incur unwanted charges based on the press of a single button...for example, players could be charged while attempting to wake the game from sleep mode, while the game was in a loading screen, or by pressing an adjacent button while attempting to preview an item." 

For anyone who has played Fortnite over the last few years, it's easy to see where these complaints are coming from. Making accidental in-game purchases was all too easy and the process for undoing these purchases wasn't exactly straightforward. Not to mention, the fact that there wasn't a system in place that required parents or cardholders to consent to purchases was ridiculous. So it's good to see changes coming to the game and refunds coming to players. 

Another part of the lawsuit centers around the fact that minors have been exposed to harassment, bullying, and mature talk through Fortnite's voice chat. As part of the settlement, Fortnite's voice chat will be left off by default going forward. Getting exposed to indecent or mature conversations is bound to happen on any online game with voice chat, so really when a game's target audience is children it is better to either do away with voice chat or require players to turn it on themselves. 

Who is eligible for a Fortnite refund?

According to the official webpage regarding the lawsuit, the FTC plans on making Fortnite refunds available to those in the U.S. who meet these criteria: 

• Parents whose children made an unauthorized credit card purchase in the Epic Games Store between January 2017 and November 2018
• Fortnite players who were charged in-game currency (V-Bucks) for unwanted in-game items (such as cosmetics, llamas, or battle passes) between January 2017 and September 2022
• Fortnite players whose accounts were locked between January 2017 and September 2022 after disputing unauthorized charges with their credit card companies.

How can I get a Fortnite refund?

The refund program has not been set up yet, but the FTC will provide additional information on the refund application process once it has been created. 

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom gets ESRB rating

I've got some good news for anyone eagerly awaiting the release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (commonly referred to as Breath of the Wild 2). The game has now officially been given an ESRB rating! It's rated E10+ (just like Breath of the Wild was) for fantasy violence and mild suggestive themes. 

Before you sarcastically twirl your fingers in the air and say "Yipee," let me explain why this is so important. Typically, when a game is ESRB-rated that means that it's close to completion. In other words, the chances that Tears of the Kingdom will need to get delayed again are much lower at this point. So we'll likely see the game release on its scheduled release date of May 12, 2023.

Of course, there's always the possibility that it could get released early like Xenoblade Chronicles 3 was. However, it's best not to plan on that. I'm fully expecting Nintendo to produce a limited edition Nintendo Switch OLED with a Zelda theme and if that's the case then the Japanese gaming company will need to plan and release the hardware and Tears of the Kingdom around the same time, so pre-determined launch dates might need to be held to for that reason.

Nintendo's Holiday Indie Event

Nintendo's last Indie World Showcase from November revealed that the highly-anticipated Sports Story would be coming to Switch in December. Despite this, there had been no news of the game's exact release as we got near the end of the year. Then this week, Nintendo hosted something called Inside the House of Indies Holiday Event on its website and eShop, which was basically a five-day countdown that shadow-dropped indie games for Switch each day. Everything culminated on Friday with Sports Story being the cherry on top that capped it all off. 

This is the sequel to Sidebar Games' popular Golf Story, which released in 2017. Only now the sequel includes far more sports than the previous one did along with RPG-style dungeons and places to explore. Although it centers on increasing your rank in various sports, this game isn't just for those who like athletics. 

I've already purchased the game and have been playing it for a few hours. It's incredibly fun and there are so many things you can do. Think of it more like an RPG with sports in it rather than a sports game. You really ought to check it out if you haven't already. It was worth the wait. 

All games from Nintendo's Holiday Indie Event

There are some fun new titles here in addition to Sports Story that are worth checking out. 

• Floppy Knights
• Mortal Shell: Complete Edition
• Roman Sands Re:Build
• Pupperazzi
• The Captain
• The Punchuin
• The Gecko Gods
• Risk of Rain Returns
• Sonority
• Sail Forth
• Tin Hearts
• Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator
• Melatonin
• Hyper Gunsport
• Afterimage
• Smile For Me
• Sports Story

Best Switch games from 2022 to play this weekend

Since this is a holiday weekend, I'm highlighting some of the very best Switch games from 2022 that you might have missed out on rather than the latest released games. 

Happy holidays, everyone!

It's one of the last weeks of 2022, which means it's a good time to reflect back on what happened this year. We've had so many awesome Nintendo Switch games release in the past 12 months and many of them walked away as winners in The Game Awards 2022. Whether you're a long-time Switch owner, just got a new Switch, or upgraded to another model then you really ought to check out any of the games you might not have played yet. 

Until next time.

- Rebecca Spear

While there has been no official word on Scarlet and Violet DLC coming out in the near future there are plenty of clues to hint that something is indeed in the works. We'll more than likely be seeing new Pokémon, storylines, and locations to explore in the very near future. 

In this page, we'll go over the mounting evidence that shows that a Scarlet and Violet Expansion Pack is likely in the works as well as go over cost, release date, and everything we expect to see in this additional content. 

Proof that Scarlet and Violet DLC is coming

While there has been no official announcement that extra paid content will be coming to Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, the fact that a long section of the Paldea map is suspiciously still greyed out on the northeast side of the map even after beating the game implies that this is where future DLC will be. 

Additionally, according to PokéXperto on Twitter, dozens of new Pokémon names have been registered in Japan. Don't take a look unless you're willing to see spoilers. Along with that, there are books currently in Scarlet and Violet's Academy libraries that show off illustrations of Paradox Pokémon we haven't seen before, so it's likely they are in the DLC. 

Besides that, dataminers have found additional clues in the code that reference characters and legacy Pokémon that weren't in the base game. It's very possible that this information is in there because it's for future content that hasn't released yet. I won't go into detail on what these datamining ventures have uncovered so as not to spoil anything, but you can learn more from CentroLeaks on Twitter.

Even without these clues, it seems very likely that Nintendo, The Pokémon Company, and Game Freak would have planned for Scarlet and Violet to get their own paid DLC since this is what the Pokémon series is doing now rather than creating a third game that comes out later like it did in the past. (ie Yellow, Crystal, Emerald, etc.)

Even if Game Freak hadn't planned on DLC for the game, it's hard to justify skipping it at this point since Scarlet and Violet broke several records, selling over 10 million copies in their first three days. This has made Gen 9 not only the fastest-selling Switch games and fastest-selling Pokémon games, but also the fastest-selling Nintendo games of all time. If the developers don't follow that up with more content it will be a wasted opportunity.

What to expect in Scarlet and Violet DLC

Our best bet for guessing what any Scarlet and Violet Expansion Pass might entail is by looking to the Sword and Shield Expansion Pass that released in early 2020. Gen 8's extra content released in two parts at two different times of the year: One in winter and the second in summer. Based on that, here's what we expect to see in Scarlet and Violet DLC:

Additional Pokémon (new and old): Both sections of Sword and Shield's Expansion Pass brought familiar Pokémon as well as brand-new Pokémon we hadn't seen before, which added 200 Pokémon total to the existing Galarian Pokédex. It's very likely something similar will happen Scarlet and Violet. As part of this, we expect to see more Paradox Pokémon since this is what the main plot centered around. 

New storylines and characters: Sword and Shield's DLC provided two new plotlines to complete. In Isle or Armor, players were given a new Pokémon and were asked to train it up while competing against a new rival. Then in The Crown Tundra, players needed to assist a new Legendary Pokémon and explore the origins of Gigantamaxing. We expect there to be additional quests and NPCs for characters to interact with in any Gen 9 DLC. We'll likely be looking further into Paradox Pokémon  and the Tera Phenomenon.

New Tera mechanics: Sword and Shield had the Gigantamax phenomenon, which in many ways is similar to Tera Phenomenon. But in the first half of the DLC, players got to learn a soup that allowed certain compatible Pokémon to become special Gigantamax Pokémon when fed. Who knows, maybe we'll unlock something that allows us to change Pokémon Tera types in Scarlet and Violet DLC.

New clothes, customizations, and accessories: One of the biggest disappointments for many Scarlet and Violet players were the limited clothing and accessory options available in the game. Sword and Shield's DLC brought additional hairstyles and clothing options, so it's very possible the same could happen for Gen 9.

How much will Scarlet and Violet Expansion Pass cost?

Sword and Shield's Expansion Pass cost $30, which is what we can expect for any potential Scarlet and Violet DLC (if Game Freak did the same amount of extra content work). Of course, if more work was done or The Pokémon Company decided they wanted to charge more they very likely could. 

This might seem steep, but consider that $30 is less expensive than purchasing a whole other follow-up game as we did in the past. 

When will Scarlet and Violet's Expansion Pass DLC release?

Once more, we look to Sword and Shield DLC's time window to get an idea for Scarlet and Violet DLC's potential release date. Gen 8's extra content was announced early after the game's release on January 9, 2020 following the base game's launch on November 15, 2019. So, if Gen 9 follows this same pattern, then we can expect to hear about any potential Scarlet and Violet Expansion Pass in January 2023, or at least in the first half of the year.

More to come

While there's currently no official word on Pokémon Scarlet and Violet DLC, it seems very likely that something is in the pipeline. The biggest in-game clue is the fact that section of the map is still greyed out even after players see the credits roll. It's very likely that we'll get an official announcement for a Scarlet and Violet Expansion Pack within the first half of the new year. 

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are the first truly open-world games in the franchise. Players can choose any path they want, travel across the world, and fight Pokémon across the region, no matter how strong.

At the beginning of the game, players are trusted with a legendary Pokémon. Those who choose Pokémon Scarlet will be given Koraidon, while Pokémon Violet players are given Miraidon. After befriending these lizard-like legendary Pokémon, players are able to use their respective legendary as a means for traveling across the region.

Running isn't all Koraidon and Miraidon can do, though — as you progress on the Path of Legends, you can make your funky lizard strong enough to glide, swim, climb, and dash across Paldea. Here's how to upgrade your legendary lizard and make the most of your travels.

How to unlock Dash

Taking the Path of Legends in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet means traversing across the map to defeat five Titans. These Titans guard the rare Herba Mystica, an ingredient that your schoolmate Arden uses to make sandwiches.

To unlock Koraidon/Miraidon's Dash ability, you'll have to defeat Klawf, also known as the Stony Cliff Titan. After unlocking Dash, you can press down on the L Stick while walking to dash across the world. 

Klawf is a Rock-type Pokémon and can be encountered in Area Three of the South Province at level 16, making it a good first choice of titan if you're looking for the best order to play Pokémon Scarlet and Violet in. Bring along Water, Grass, Fighting, Ground, and Steel-type Pokémon, and you'll be sure to succeed in battle.

How to unlock Surf

This stork-like bird is known as the Open Sky Titan, and is found in Area One of the West Province. Defeating this level 19 Flying and Dark-type Pokémon unlocks the surf ability, allowing Koraidon/Miraidon to traverse water. To defeat it, curate your team with Electric, Ice, Fairy, and Rock-type Pokémon.

How to jump higher

The Lurking Steel Titan, Orthworm, resides in Area One of the East Province. It's a level 28 Steel-type Pokémon that, upon being defeated, lets the player use their legendary dragon to jump higher, allowing them to reach new heights. This Titan can be conquered by using Fire and Fighting-type Pokémon in battle.

How to unlock glide

The Quaking Earth Titan will be different depending on which game you play, but no matter which game you purchased, you'll be able to find this level 44 Titan in the Asado Desert. Defeating this Pokémon makes Koraidon/Miraidon strong enough to glide across large areas, so long as it has a ledge to jump off of.

If you chose Pokémon Scarlet, you'll get to challenge Great Tusk, a Ground and Fighting-type Pokémon who can be countered with Water, Grass, Ice, Flying, Psychic, and Fairy-type Pokémon.

Pokémon Violet players will face off against Iron Treads, a Ground and Steel-type Pokémon that is weak to Fire, Water, Fighting, and Ground-type Pokémon.

How to unlock climbing

The highest level Titan challenge features not one, but two Pokémon — Dondozo, a Water-type Pokémon, and Tatsugiri, a Water and Dragon-type Pokémon. Prepare a team of Electric and Grass-type Pokémon for Dondozo and Dragon and Fairy-type Pokémon for Tatsugiri in order to succeed.

They can be found in Casseroya Lake to the north, both at level 55. Defeating this challenging duo allows your legendary lizard to scale walls and cliffs with ease.

Lemme upgrade ya

Exploring the Paldea region is quite the rewarding experience, as your exploration is rewarded with new means of exploring the world around you. While you can conquer the Titans in any order you'd like, this helpful guide can steer you in the direction of what upgrade you wish to unlock first. Take your time as you explore one of the most innovative Pokémon games yet, and see what wonders await you.

Hello and welcome to this week's Nintendo recap! There were plenty of interesting things in the world of Nintendo this week. 

For starters, The Pokémon Company revealed that Ash and Pikachu's story is coming to an end with new protagonists taking center stage in the new animated series — a somber reveal for many. Nintendo also officially revealed the look and release dates for a few more Super Smash Bros. Ultimate amiibo. 

In other news, the upcoming Switch version of Hogwarts Legacy finally got a release date, Mario Strikers received its final update with new playable characters, and Mario Kart 7 on 3DS unexpectedly received a patch that might do more than Nintendo officially revealed. There's, even more to discuss so let's get started. 

New Pokémon show will feature Scarlet and Violet starters

On Friday, The Pokémon Company announced that the upcoming Pokémon Animated Series will be "coming in 2023 and beyond." We've been expecting the announcement of a new show ever since Pokémon Scarlet and Violet released since the usual trend is for a new show to come out shortly after the launch of a new game. However, it looks like this new series is going to change things up quite a bit by not having Ash and Pikachu as the main characters.

In a trailer, we learned that the current show, Pokémon Ultimate Journeys: The Series, is "the final chapter of Ash and Pikachu's story," with the final episode launching in early 2023. The new show will focus on two brand-new characters (a boy and a girl) along with the Gen 9 starters: Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly. 

This is an emotional revelation for many long-time Pokémon fans as Ash has been a staple of the series for 25 years. But it seems that after finally becoming a Pokémon world champion that his journey to be the very best like no one ever was has concluded. 

Sarah Natochenny who has been the voice actor of Ash Ketchum for the last 17 years released an emotional video talking about her time as the iconic trainer. She ends by saying, "Thank you all for being on this incredible journey. I'll cherish it for the rest of my life and I hope to meet you all in person someday."

It's truly the end of an era. While sad for many, this change in dynamic opens up the Pokémon series to potentially explore new characters and new focuses like never before. There currently is no exact release date for the new show's first episode. However, The Pokémon Company has stated that "more details regarding the new Pokémon animated series will be revealed in the future." It wouldn't be surprising to see another trailer for the show sometime in February when the first Pokémon Presents showcase typically kicks the year off. 

Upcoming Super Smash Bros. amiibo get 2023 release dates

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate received its very last DLC fighter over a year ago when Sora from Kingdom Hearts was revealed as the newest addition to the roster on October 5, 2021. Nintendo is still making good on its plan to release an amiibo figure for every fighter in the game, but amiibo for five characters still haven't released. 

Thankfully for amiibo collectors, this week Nintendo announced the release dates for some of these upcoming amiibo and showed off official high-resolution images of what they will look like. 

Collectors won't have to wait long since both of the amiibo for Kazuya (Tekken) and Sephiroth (Final Fantasy) will come to store shelves on January 13, 2023 and they're both currently available for preorder. There's no indication on when exactly the Pyra and Mythra (Xenoblade Chronicles 2) figures will hit retailers or when preorders for them will go up, but it will likely be within a few months into the new year.

From the images, it looks like these are all very good-looking amiibo with plenty of attention to detail. The clothing folds and facial characteristics of each figure look really nice and Sephiroth's wing, in particular, looks awesome. I'm excited to add each of these to my collection. 

Of course, with the release of these Super Smash Bros. Ultimate figures we only have the Sora amiibo (Kingdom Hearts) to wait for after that. These NFC figurines usually have the same stance as the official Super Smash Bros. Ultimate artwork. As such, the upcoming Sora amiibo will likely depict Sora standing in his iconic pose from the first Kingdom Hearts game with the Keyblade dipping down over his shoulder. It's hard to know for sure, but it's likely that this final Smash amiibo will get released by the end of 2023. 

Super Nintendo World opening date revealed

On Wednesday, Universal Studios Hollywood and Nintendo of America announced that the brand-new Super Nintendo World will be opening Feb 17, 2023 in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California. 

Lots of changes have been coming to Universal Studios Hollywood over the last several months, which will soon allow visitors to experience the Mario Kart ride, dine at Toadstool Cafe, purchase items at the 1-UP Factory, or even meet characters from the Mushroom Kingdom. 

What's more, patrons can purchase Power-Up Bands, which are like Mario-themed bracelets with NFC chips inside. Putting this accessory near certain things in the park makes interactive objects respond and earn virtual rewards. For instance, you could punch a ? Block and collect virtual coins. You can then view any virtual goods you've collected via special checkpoints within the area. 

It's looking like this will be a fun new destination for many people and I personally cannot wait to grab a few of those awesome shirts, cups, and other collectibles at the merch stores. 

Sonic Frontiers sales

Sonic Frontiers has been out for over a month now and has been received well by fans. This is reflected in the fact that the game has already sold over 2.5 million copies worldwide since launch as reported by the official Sega account on Twitter.   

While nothing truly groundbreaking, Sonic Frontiers is considered by many fans to be the best Sonic game that's come out in a very long time. With the game's new "open-zone" direction that feels like open-world spaces divided into a handful or really large islands, there is plenty to explore and new mechanics to interact with. It's no wonder the game has been selling so well.

Mario Strikers Battle League update

Mario Strikers Battle League released in 2021 and has received free updates periodically over the last few months. But as of this week, the silly soccer game has received its very last free update, which included the addition of Birdo and Bowser. Jr. This brings the total number of playable characters to 18. 

It's unclear if any paid content is on the horizon or if this is the last of the major updates for Mario Strikers. Considering that the game wasn't received very well due to its clunky online offerings and limited modes, it wouldn't be surprising if this is the end. 

Hogwarts Legacy on Switch gets release date

A few months back, we learned that the Xbox, PlayStation, and PC versions of the upcoming Hogwarts Legacy game would be coming out before the Nintendo Switch version. However, it wasn't until this week that the exact release dates for all platforms were revealed. 

• PC — Feb 12, 2023
• PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S  — April 4, 2023
• Nintendo Switch — July 25, 2023

It's kind of odd to see a new game launch on different platforms in such a staggered schedule. Switch owners wanting to play will have to wait the longest as the Nintendo release is five and a half months after the PC version, which launches first. This later Switch launch possibly has to do with the fact that the game will run locally on Switch rather than being a Cloud streamed game, so it might be taking the developers or those working on the port a longer time to make the game playable on the Nintendo hybrid's lower processing and graphical capabilities. 

As of yet, no screenshots or videos of the Switch version of Hogwarts Legacy have been shared. It will be interesting to see just how different the Switch version looks compared to other platforms. More than likely, these images won't be shown until closer to the Switch version's launch. 

Mario Kart 7 on 3DS receives update that potentially fixes security bugs

With the 3DS eShop closing in March 2023 and many games on the older handheld no longer receiving support, it was a little confusing when Mario Kart 7 on 3DS received a Version 1.2 update this last Tuesday. To give some context, the last time the game received an update before that was 10 years ago in 2012, so that's a huge jump between version adjustments. 

According to Nintendo's official update history for the game, "Several issues have been addressed to improve the gameplay experience." But this is all rather vague and doesn't really explain why the game was patched. It could just be that this update was in preparation for the 3DS eShop getting shut down soon, but there also might be more to it. 

Renowned dataminer, @OatmealDome on Twitter, was able to offer an intelligent conjecture on the situation that could make sense. "This patch might fix a severe security exploit," OatmealDome's post reads. The post goes on to reference the fact that other older Nintendo games such as Splatoon 2, Animal Crossing, and others received updates a while back as well.  

OatmealDome went on to say, "there is even a possibility that this patch fixes the same security bugs as the other games, since Mario Kart 7 is a first-party Nintendo game and could use a lot of the same common netcode that was found to be vulnerable." Nintendo is fiercely protective of its property, so it's easy to see the company taking time to improve security measures on its games even if they are older ones. 

Best Switch games to play this weekend

Several new games came out this week, but these are the best Switch games that we really recommend checking out. 

Almost at the end of the year

That's all the Nintendo news for this week. It's crazy to think that we only have a couple weeks left in 2022. Nintendo has had an amazing year when it comes to game releases as some of the very best titles for the hybrid gaming system came out within the last 12 months. There's bound to be some interesting developments within the next few weeks and I'll report on them as they come. 

Until next time. 

- Rebecca Spear

Strange ways of evolving are just par the course for the Pokémon franchise at this point, but one particular newcomer really takes the cake. 

In Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, players can catch a new Pokémon called Gimmighoul. This unusual Pokémon doesn't evolve through the usual ways but instead, requires players to go on a treasure hunt. A very, very, very long treasure hunt. If you're lost about what's going on, just follow our guide and you can evolve Gimmighoul into Gholdengo in no time.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: How to catch Gimmighoul

Gimmighoul is not a version exclusive for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, and can be found in both versions of the game. With that said, you'll find two different versions of Gimmighoul out in the wild, and you can only catch one. One version is the "Roaming Form" that can be found in numerous locations. You won't actually catch this Gimmighoul, but you will get Gimmighoul Coins by interacting with them, which is important. 

The version of Gimmighoul that you can catch in the latest Pokémon games is the "Chest Form" that, appropriately enough, is in a chest. As opposed to having distinct regions and areas where it spawns, this Gimmighoul has set locations. You can find this catchable Gimmighoul in towers and a few other locations which are static, not free-roaming. We've marked these specific locations on the map above. After being defeated or caught, these Gimmighouls will eventually respawn.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: How to evolve Gimmighoul into Gholdengo

As opposed to the traditional method of simply leveling up whenever enough EXP is gained, Gimmighoul has one of the more interesting evolutions in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. You'll need to collect Gimmighoul Coins, in fact you'll need to max out your inventory space for them and acquire 999 Gimmighoul Coins, which is the limit of how many coins you can hold. Once you have 999 Gimmighoul Coins, your Ghimmighoul will evolve the next time it levels up and then the Gimmighoul Coins will vanish from your inventory. To evolve another one, you'll need to once more collect this large number of coins. 

As you explore the island and find the innumerable Roaming Form Gimmighouls, you'll get anywhere from one Gimmighoul Coin to six coins from each one you find and interact with. They can be found in out-of-the-way locations such as behind rocks or signs, and you can also hear them, as they make a distinct noise. This process would be excruciatingly slow if that's all you do, but there's another way to make coin collecting go faster.

POKÉMON SCARLET AND VIOLET: Fastest way to collect Gimmighoul Coins

Every time you beat or capture a Chest Form Gimmighoul (which again, you can see marked on the map above), you'll get a random amount of Gimmighoul Coins. This number can vary, but in our experience is usually around 50 to 70 coins. This will greatly speed up the process of gaining 999 coins to evolve your Gimmighoul, so go hunting for these Chest Form versions.

Because 999 coins is the limit, any coins you earn after having your inventory maxed out will be sent to a man in Medali, which is located in West Province, Area 3. You can speak to him when your inventory is empty of coins, and he'll give you whatever excess coins you've collected that were sent to him.

An open world with treasure

Evolving your Gimmighoul is lengthy process even when you know what you're doing, but just pace it while you're doing other things, and it'll make the process far more enjoyable. There's a lot to do in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, from the Tera Raid Battles to becoming the Champion and filling out your Pokédex. 

Take care to save your game and completely exit on a regular basis, which will help to improve your Nintendo Switch performance with Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.

Victory Road consists of eight Pokémon gyms, the Path of Legends features five Titan Pokémon, and Starfall Street has you face off against five Team Star bases. Each of these challenges is strewn about the map, with no clear indicators telling you where to go next. It’s completely up to the player to explore and go where they want, but it’s entirely possible that you’ll bump into an enemy that’s completely out of your league if your Pokémon aren’t at a high enough level.

But where to go? We’ve formed a list of all the Challenges you can face in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, from the lowest to the highest level of Pokémon you encounter as this will be the easiest way to go through the adventure.

Want to break it down instead and take on each challenge individually? Here’s how you can: 

Victory Road — All Gyms

In classic Pokémon fashion, Victory Road is the journey you take to become the Pokémon Champion of the Paldea region. In Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, you complete a gym trial for eight gyms, followed by a battle against each gym leader. 

Gym leaders specialize in a specific type of Pokémon, meaning you’ll need to raise a wide variety of Pokémon if you’re going to rely on type advantages in battle. Each gym is located in one of the many cities scattered across the Paldea region. After beating a gym, you ensure that Pokémon up to a certain level are easier to catch and command during battles.

Here is the best order in which to take on gym challenges if you want them to gradually increase in difficulty:

 1. Cortondo Gym — Bug type 

Cortondo can be found in southwest Paldea and is home to the Bug-type gym, led by Katy. Be sure to bring along Fire, Flying, or Rock-type Pokémon to use type advantages! Katy’s Pokémon are at levels 14 to 15. 

 2. Artazon Gym — Grass type 

The Artazon Gym in southeast Paldea is not only a good second gym because of the gradual level increase, but because the Pokémon you use against the Bug-type gym can help you here as well. The Grass-type gym leader Brassius sports Pokémon ranging from levels 16 to 17, and are weak to Fire, Ice, Poison, Flying, and Bug-type Pokémon. 

 3. Levincia Gym — Electric type 

The quirky Electric-type gym leader Iono can be found in Levincia to the east. Her Pokémon range from level 23 to 24 and are weak to Ground-type Pokémon. Be sure to stay grounded when challenging this gym! 

 4. Cascarrafa Gym — Water type 

The Water-type gym in midwestern Paldea is led by the cheerful chef Kofu, whose Pokémon stand strong at levels 29 to 30. To ensure your victory, you’ll want to bring along Electric and Grass-type Pokémon. 

 5. Medali Gym — Normal type 

Don’t be fooled by the Normal-typing of gym leader Larry’s Pokémon — you’ll need Pokémon at around levels 35 to 36 to defeat him. You’ll want to leave your Ghost-type Pokémon at home, as they have no effect on the Medali gym Pokémon. Instead, bring your best Fighting-type Pokémon! 

 6. Montenevera Gym — Ghost type 

You can bring your favorite Ghost-type Pokémon to the northern Montenevera gym, however, as Ghost- and Dark-type Pokémon will surely secure your victory. The gym leader Ryme will be bringing along Pokémon that are levels 41 to 42, so make sure your Pokémon are trained. 

 7. Alfornada Gym — Psychic type 

Challenges in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet tend to increase in difficulty the further north you go, but this is not the case for this southern gym. Led by Tulip, you’ll be in for a challenge as she brings level 44 to 45 Pokémon. You can use type advantages against her by preparing and bringing Pokémon that are Bug, Ghost, and Dark-type. 

 8. Glaseado Gym — Ice type 

Put on your warmest clothes for the final northern Ice-type gym, where you’ll face against Grusha. Grusha doesn’t hold back, bringing along Pokémon that are levels 47 to 48. Bring along some Fighting, Rock, Steel, and Fire-type Pokémon to turn up the heat.

Path of Legends — All Titans

The Path of Legends, otherwise known as the sandwich story arc, sees trainers face off against larger-than-life Titans. Defeating these Titans will upgrade your Legendary Pokémon Koraidon (for Pokémon Scarlet players) or Miraidon (for Pokémon Violet players), making it stronger and able to traverse the Paldea region more efficiently.

Here’s the best order to tackle these Titans:

 1. Stony Cliff Titan — Rock type 

The big crab Pokémon Klawf can be found in Area Three of the South Province. It’s a Rock type, so Water, Grass, Fighting, Ground, and Steel-type Pokémon are your best bet. This Titan is found at level 16 and is great for beginners. 

 2. Open Sky Titan — Flying/Dark type 

Bombirdier is a Flying and Dark-type Titan that can be challenged at level 19. Bring your best Electric, Ice, Fairy, and Rock-type Pokémon over to Area One of the West Province to defeat it.

 3. Lurking Steel Titan — Steel type

The Lurking Steel Titan Orthworm can be found in Area One of the East Province. It’s a level 28 Steel-type Pokémon, which is countered easily by Fire and Fighting-type Pokémon.

 4. Quaking Earth Titan — Ground/Fighting or Ground/Steel type

You’ll encounter a different Pokémon at this location depending on which game you purchase. Pokémon Scarlet players will face Great Tusk, a Ground/Fighting-type, while Pokémon Violet players can challenge Iron Treads, a Ground/Steel-type Pokémon. Both of these Pokémon are encountered at level 44, and are quite the challenge.

For Pokémon Scarlet players, you'll want to bring Water, Grass, Ice, Flying, Psychic, and Fairy-type Pokémon. Pokémon Violet players would do well to bring along their Fire, Water, Fighting, and Ground-type Pokémon.

 5. False Dragon Titan — Dragon/Water type 

Don’t be fooled by these false “Dragons” Dondozo and Tatsugiri — they’re actually both Water-type Pokémon! Well, Dondozo is, while Tatsugiri is a Water/Dragon-type. Both are level 55 and they aren’t messing around. Be sure to bring Electric and Grass-type Pokémon for Dondozo and Dragon and Fairy-type Pokémon for Tatsugiri.

Operation Starfall — All Team Star bases

Team Star is a band of delinquent students who spend their free time in their own self-made bases than actually going to school. After receiving a mysterious call shortly after your enrollment at the Academy, you’re tasked with thwarting their plans to recruit more students. 

Their bases are scattered across the Paldea region, headed by a strong leader who isn’t afraid to hit hard. Make it through the base by sending three Pokémon of your choice out in Let’s Go mode before facing the head honcho. Defeating these bases nabs you some League Points and the ability to craft more TMs at the Pokémon Centers across the region.

Here is the most efficient order in which to take down Team Star:

 1. Team Star Leader Giacomo — Dark type

You can find Giacomo, the leader of Team Star’s Dark-type crew, in Area one of the West Province. He sports Dark-type Pokémon that range from level 20 to 21. Bring along your best Fighting, Bug, and Fairy-type Pokémon to take down this dark foe. 

 2. Team Star Leader Mela — Fire type 

Previously seen in promotional trailers for the game, the Fire crew from Team Star is located in Area One of the East Province. Their leader Mela’s Pokémon are level 26 to level 27, and can be easily extinguished with Water, Ground, and Rock-type Pokémon.

 3. Team Star Leader Atticus — Poison type 

Atticus may be strong and silent, but his poison is deadly. Found in Tagtree Thicket, you’ll need to bring Antidotes along with you on this journey. Don’t get too discouraged, though, as Ground or Psychic-type Pokémon around level 32 will get the job done.

 4. Team Star Leader Ortega — Fairy type 

Don’t let Ortega’s cute appearance fool you — fairies can hit hard, too. Take your best Poison and Steel-type Pokémon along for the ride to defeat Ortega’s level 50 to level 51 Pokémon. The base is located in the Northern Province of Paldea, specifically in Area Three. 

 5. Team Star Leader Eri — Fighting type 

After completing all those challenges, you’ll have Eri to deal with in Area One of North Province, and these Fighting-type Pokémon are no joke. They pack a punch at levels 55 and 56, but with some strong Flying, Psychic, and Fairy-type Pokémon, you should clear them out in no time. 

The most open journey yet!

Of course, you could also just not take any of this advice, and go wherever you please! But if you’re the type of person who appreciates guidance and direction, or who often gets overwhelmed by open-world games, you’ll be sure to build your experience slowly without the frustration of wiping out.

The best part of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is the freedom of choosing your own path and finding your own treasure. Its defining feature, namely the sheer freedom granted to players, is what makes it one of the best Pokémon games the Nintendo Switch has to offer. Even if you gun for the most difficult challenges at the very beginning, you’ll be sure to learn some valuable lessons along the way.

One of the more unique critters in the latest Pokémon titles is actually different depending on which game you are playing.

Charcadet is a newcomer to the series, having been added with Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Not only does this Pokémon have an item evolution, but it's also completely different based on which version of the game you're playing, making it one of the stranger Pokémon Scarlet and Violet version exclusives that we've seen. 

Whichever copy of the the game you have, it's easy to catch and evolve this Fire-type, once you know what you need to do. We'll help you out.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: How to catch Charcadet

Charcadet can be caught fairly early on in your adventure, regardless of which game you've chosen. While this Pokémon can technically be found across a very wide range, in our testing, the best place to look will be in South Province, Area 3, which is just to the east of Mesagoza.

In order to catch Charcadet, we highly recommend holding a picnic and eating a pickle sandwich. Charcadet naturally has a very low spawn rate in the wild, but with your Encounter Power: Fire boosted, the area will become crawling with Charcadets in no time.

Characadet spawns at a low level in South Province, Area 3, but just in case, it's a good idea to visit a nearby PokéStop and stock up on Poké Balls.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: How to evolve Charcadet into Armarouge

Now that you've got Charcadet, how do you evolve it? Charcadet only evolves once, into Armarouge or Ceruledge. Charcadet uses an item evolution, meaning that it won't evolve naturally but instead, the Trainer has to use a specific item to induce the evolution. Compounding the difficulty, you can only get one evolution in each game. In Pokémon Scarlet, Charcadet can be evolved into Armarouge. In Pokémon Violet, it'll evolve into Ceruledge.

So, if you're playing Pokémon Scarlet, follow these steps to get an item for evolving Charcadet into Armarouge:

1. Defeat several Bronzor to get Bronzor fragments. Bronzor spawns around ruins such as the ones north of Cortondo.
2. Have at least 10 Bronzor fragments in your inventory. 
3. Head to Zapapico, which is at the western edge of East Province, Area 2, marked on the map above.
4. You'll find a man standing near a fountain asking to trade.
5. Trade the man 10 Bronzor fragments for a set of Auspicious Armor.
6. Go into your inventory and use the Auspicious Armor on Charcadet. 

There are no level restrictions. Once you use the Auspicious Armor on Charcadet, it will immediately evolve into Armarouge. It's worth noting that you can repeat this process and trade for more sets of Auspicious Armor as long as you have enough Bronzor Fragments.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: How to evolve Charcadet into Ceruledge

If you're playing Pokémon Violet, the process for evolving Charcadet into Ceruledge is very similar to what you'll do in the other game, with some small but key differences:

1. Defeat several Sinistea to earn Sinistea Chips. These Pokémon can be found hovering over the grass at Alfornada during the night.
2. You'll need to gather 10 Sinistea Chips in your inventory. 
3. Make your way to Zapapico at the western edge of East Province, Area 2.
4. Find a woman near a fountain offering to trade something with a dark past.
5. She'll give you Malicious Armor in exchange for the 10 Sinistea Chips.
6. Go to your inventory, and use the Malicious Armor on Charcadet to get Ceruledge.

You'll be able to keep on trading for more Malicious Armor so long as you have additional Sinistea Chips. If you want to get Armarouge or Ceruledge but you don't have access to that game, there's a couple of options. You can simply trade Pokémon with a friend and directly gain the one you are missing. Alternatively, you can exchange for the armor by having a friend give that armor to a Pokémon to hold, then trading said Pokémon, allowing you to gain the version-exclusive armor.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: How to get both Ceruledge and Armarouge

If you want to have both an Armarouge and a Ceruledge, you'll need to trade with someone who has a different version than you. If you need assistance with this, check out our guide on how to trade in Scarlet and Violet. 

Gotta catch them all

Version exclusives have been a part of Pokémon games for a long time and outside of rare exceptions like with Pokémon Legends: Arceus, it doesn't look like that will be changing anytime soon. Charcadet is pretty unique in that it's able to be caught in both games, but with different version exclusive evolutions. If you've got friends to trade with, though, that won't stop you from finishing the Paldea Pokédex.

A few years ago, the popular Dragon Quest XI released on various platforms but didn't come to Nintendo Switch until a few years later with the release of the Definitive Edition. Now things have turned around a bit with Dragon Quest Treasures releasing exclusively on Switch and no indication on whether it will come to other platforms in the future. 

The story follows two children, Erik and Mia — siblings that were introduced in Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age. After freeing a mysterious flying pig and flying cat from the Viking ship they live on, the kids flee their Viking shipmates and soon discover a pair of magical Dragon Daggers that give them treasure hunting powers. Shortly thereafter they are tasked with finding the fabled Dragonstones that have some kind of connection with their mysterious cat and pig friends. To find these stones, they must explore five floating islands, acquire riches, recruit monsters to their gang, and contend with pirate rivals. 

After roughly 30 hours, I was able to beat this spinoff and I can say that it is fun, but not necessarily what many Dragon Quest fans would expect since it's very different from previous Dragon Quest games. 

Disclaimer: This review was made possible by a review code provided by Square Enix. The company did not see the contents of the review before publishing.

Dragon Quest Treasures: What's Good

Dragon Quest XI S is one of the very best JRPGs on Switch, but you shouldn't expect the same exact experience with Treasures. This prequel spinoff feels both familiar and foreign since it seems to use many of the same character models from Echoes of an Elusive Age but also employs some very different mechanics. For instance, unlike mainline Dragon Quest games which employ turn-based combat, Dragon Quest Treasures uses real-time battles and requires a different type of strategizing as the main characters lead their recruited monster friends into battle. 

Gameplay, and combat, and monster recruitment — Oh my!

Despite being a game about siblings, the two child protagonists don't often go adventuring at the same time unless it's part of story development. Initially, the game forces players to take turns playing solely as Erik or solely as Mia while setting up the plot. However, once a certain tutorial point is passed, players choose which character they want to use and usually go off exploring without the other sibling.

Erik and Mia offer the same skills and abilities so there is no advantage that one child has over the other. Think of it more like providing players with the choice to play as either a boy or a girl character that they can swap when they feel like it. It would have been interesting to see the siblings offer unique abilities, but having the choice of who to play as is a good aspect to the game regardless.

Mia and Erik can have up to three monsters in their party as they explore. There are a few commands that the siblings can give to their monster friends, but for the most part, these creatures fight alongside the protagonist on their own accord. If the team is high enough level over an enemy, Mia or Erik can stay back and don't have to participate at all. However, most battles will go much quicker if the chosen protagonist leads the charge. 

There are some very high-level enemies on every map. If you and your team manage to take them down, you'll earn a lot of experience points. However, if you are defeated then any treasure you found between save points will be lost. This provides enough risk that you want to play carefully and not get too ahead of yourself. Then again, rushing into high-level areas could provide a bit of a challenge for those that want one. 

After being defeated, some monsters might show up at Erik and Mia's base hoping to be recruited. However, players can only add monsters to their team if they can afford to purchase them. Fortunately, there are items you can use to increase the chances of specific monsters wanting to get recruited. The monster battling and recruiting can take some time, but is enjoyable overall. 

Rewards and exploration to get lost in

This adventure is very satisfying and lends itself to those who like to casually explore and loot. The more items players pick up while looking around, the more characters they can recruit and the more sidequests they can complete, so players can easily get lost running around and grabbing things rather than just fighting. 

Additionally, each monster has an ability or "Forte" that they can use in the field to help Mia or Erik get around more easily. For instance, having a bat-like Dracky on the team allows Erik and Mia to glide while a Slime helps the siblings jump up to reach high cliffs. So having the right monsters on your team when exploring makes it possible for players to reach more areas.

Team members cannot be changed on the field as this is a function that can only be done back at the base. Sometimes you won't have a suitable monster that you can use until much later. As you can imagine, this means that there are several secrets to uncover and places to revisit as time goes on and you acquire new monsters. 

The Dragon Daggers allow Mia and Erik to locate buried treasure with the help of their monsters. These riches are worth different amounts and must be appraised back at the base to know their worth. The more treasure you have at your base, the more improvements it receives. For instance, you might be able to send more monsters out on missions to look for items or you might be able to open an item shop, which can help make your outings more successful. It's rewarding seeing the base level up and makes the treasure-hunting part of the game worth it. 

Additionally, the number of treasures you can carry at a time is determined by the kind of monsters in your party. If your party members faint on the field, you risk losing any treasure they were holding to an enemy monster. Not to mention that if you have several treasures on you, rival gangs will show up and try to take them from you. Players can regain dropped riches by defeating the offending opponent(s), reviving fallen teammates, and picking up the fallen goods. 

However, taking the time to revive or pick up treasure leaves Mia or Erik exposed, so players need to make the area safe first or must take a calculated risk of exposing themselves in the hopes that they can grab the loot and get out of there unharmed. This setup provides just enough complexity to make treasure hunting a little more interesting without being too challenging or too dull.

Dragon Quest Treasures: What's Bad?

Overall, I wasn't very impressed with the plot. There are pirate rivals to contend with that have some unique designs, but their connection to the protagonists is weak and so they aren't very interesting. Then there's the mystery behind the twin daggers and the flying cat and pig that accompany Erik and Mia. All the elements of a fascinating fantasy story are there, however, the story doesn't progress in such a way to really make you care about things as they develop. 

Of course, this might be by design since this is supposed to be a more casual game. However, plot is usually very centric in JRPGs, so not having anything interesting to really pull you into the story gives players less of a reason to keep coming back. 

Irritating use of text

While not necessarily a huge part of gameplay, there were multiple times that I found myself getting irritated by the text formatting in the game as it was often clunky and amateurishly employed. For example, on the settings page the "Display and Camera" section cuts off the last "a" in "Camera" and only scrolls to reveal the rest of the word when you hover over it. This is mildly annoying since viewing these words without scrolling could be an easy fix if the developers used a different font size or a slightly different layout. 

This scrolling text isn't just used in the menu pages, but also with character dialogue options and makes it hard to tell exactly what it is you're clicking on when interacting with certain NPCs. It really pulled me out of the game each time I came across a situation like this and mostly felt like an unnecessary irritant. 

Dragon Quest Treasures: Should you buy it?

While not a challenging turn-based JRPG like we're used to seeing from the Dragon Quest series, Treasures provides a more laid-back adventure for players to enjoy. It doesn't take a lot of focus, so it's a fun game to play while binge-watching your favorite shows. Additionally, the real-time battles help it stick out from the turn-based combat of the core series. While not the most complex game out there, it does provide some different strategizing methods as you fight alongside the monsters in your party. 

There are goals and main quests for players to follow, but you can easily just get lost in exploration, recruiting new monsters, and treasure hunting rather than progressing the story along. Considering that the story is pretty weak, it's good that the gameplay is so fun. 

EV Training is a compelling part of the Pokémon franchise, but if you're not familiar with it, it's pretty easy to be confused about what to do. 

In fact, it's very possible to play through Pokémon games without ever knowing what it means to EV Train your squad! Even if you are familiar and you've gone through this process in the past, some things have changed with Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, and not all of the old methods will work anymore. 

If you're confused, don't worry, we're here to help. Here's the best way to EV train in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. 

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: What are EVs?

While all Pokémon have different visible stats, there's also a set of somewhat-hidden numbers called Effort Values, or EVs. Each EV point your Pokémon earns boosts one of its six stats (through some complicated math): HP, Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense, or Speed. No Pokémon can have more than 510 EVs, and no stat can have more than 252 EVs. 

EV training refers to making an effort to improve your Pokémon's EV stats. Doing this can make your Pokémon even stronger than before in a particular area or can help cover up weaknesses that would otherwise be present. It opens up new strategies and is a fun way for veterans of the Pokémon to get more out of the games. It is not recommended for beginners unless they are extremely passionate about min-maxing their Pokémon team's potential.

How to check a Pokémon's EV stats

While you can't see the exact numbers, it is possible to see a basic idea of how these points are distributed in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Follow these easy steps:

• Press the X button to open the menu. 
• Select Boxes. 
• Click on a Pokémon whose stats you want to see. 
• Select Check Summary.
• Go over to the Moves and Stats tab by pressing the right button on the D-pad once. 
• Press L.
• Check the yellow chart that replaces the blue one.

Just check this chart like in the image above, and you can see the current rough distribution of EVs for the chosen Pokémon. If a stat gets maxed out, you'll see a small sparkle, indicating you've hit the cap of 252 values. When your Pokémon has reached 510 EVs, the chart will change from yellow to light blue, informing you that EV training is no longer possible and the Pokémon is maxed out. 

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: How to EV train

There are a few different things you can do to gain EVs or change your Pokémon's current EVs. Here are the best ways to EV train in Scarlet and Violet. 

1. Battle or catch tons of Pokémon

Your Pokémon will earn EV points by beating other Pokémon. Simply defeat a Pokémon in battle (or catch them) and your entire current team will get anywhere from 1 to 3 EV stats as a reward. Since you can catch wild Pokémon, this means you don't need to stress if you end up facing a Shiny Pokémon. It's important to note that Pokémon Scarlet and Violet's brand-new Auto Battles, allow you to earn EXP, but do not reward EVs. So make sure you battle the old-fashioned way with turn-based battles in order to EV train.

The bad news is that each Pokémon gives different EVs when beaten and none of this information is actually recorded anywhere in-game. As such, it's highly recommended you go in on a fresh save following this guide, knowing what you intend to do from the start. 

2. Alter EV stats using berries

You can remove EVs using berries on your established Pokémon to hopefully allow them to gain EVs on other stats when they battle again. Here's the list of berries you can use:

• Pomeg Berry reduces HP EVs
• Kelpsy Berry reduces Attack EVs
• Qualot Berry reduces Defense EVs
• Hondew Berry reduces Sepecial Attack EVs
• Grepa Berry reduces Special Defense EVs
• Tamato Berry reduces Speed EVs.

3. Increase your odds with picnics and sandwiches

Certain Pokémon do increase specific EV values when battled or caught, so it's helpful to go after these specific creatures if they have the stat you want to improve upon. To make this easier, hold a picnic and eat sandwiches to increase the encounter rate of a particular Pokémon or a particular type of Pokémon in an area. We've gathered a quick list of the Pokémon you'll want to fight to earn specific EVs. 

• HP: Chancey and Marill
• Attack: Shinx and Flamigo
• Defense: Scatterbug and Orthworm
• Special Attack: Psyduck and Mareep
• Special Defense: Floette and Gothorita
• Speed: Rookidee and Cyclizar

While there are of course others, these Pokémon are mostly easy to find in the early stages of the game. It will take time, but if you dedicate yourself to going after the right Pokémon you can do a lot towards improving upon its EVs. 

4. Buy items that increase EV gain and stats

There's a variety of items you can buy that'll help your Pokémon grow their EVs more rapidly. Simply head to Delibird Presents in Mesagoza, and go to the "General Goods" area where these items are ₽10,000 each. Each item increases EV gain by +8, so if defeating a Pokémon would normally give 2 EVs, it'll give 10 EVs while your Pokémon are under the influence of the item in question. For extremely obvious reasons, this is highly recommended for quickly EV training your team, and can speed the process up by several hours.

You can also change your Pokémon's stats using mints. Mints can be purchased from Chansey Supply stores and cost ₽20,000 each. 

What about Pokérus?

Another way in which Pokémon Scarlet and Violet shake up the traditional formula is through the removal of Pokérus. This virus used to be a mainstay of the series. Pokérus was even in Sword and Shield. It allowed players to infect their Pokémon and improve the rate at which EVs were earned, speeding up the entire process. Unfortunately, it's not available in Scarlet and Violet.

Check your Pokémon's stats with the IV Checker

Once you make it to a certain point in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, it will become possible to check your Pokémon's IV stats, or Individual Values. IVs are essentially a Pokémon's stat genetics, and can be passed on through breeding. IVs determine the range of a Pokémon's strength in a particular stat and the IV Checker can tell you how good your Pokémon's stats are overall. 

Each individual IV stat is somewhere between 0 and 31 points, with higher numbers being better. Here's what the words for each range mean:

• Best — 31
• Fantastic — 30
• Very good — 26 - 29
• Pretty Good — 16 - 25
• Decent — 1 - 15
• No good — 0

If you're curious about what the word summarizing the range of stat points mean, we've got the range of values explained below:

• Amazing stats! — 151 - 186
• Great stats — 121 - 150
• Good stats — 91 - 120
• OK stats — 0 - 90

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet EV training: How to unlock the IV checker

To unlock the IV Checker in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, you'll need to follow a few basic steps.

1. Defeat all Titans, Gym Leaders, Elite Four, and Team Star Bases to become Champion.
2. Finish the main story.
3. After watching the credits roll, head to a Pokémon center. 
4. Speak with the receptionist, who will grant you the Judge Feature.
5. To use it, press the X button to bring up your menu. 
6. Select Boxes. 
7. Hover over a Pokémon to examine it. The IV Checker will tell you how good your Pokémon's overall stats are. 
8. For detailed numbers, press the + button twice while hovering over a Pokémon. 

You can also get a closer look at these numbers by clicking on a Pokémon, selecting Check Summary, and then tapping the right D-pad button once. Just like that, you can see the IV values for your Pokémon listed on the right side of the screen underneath your Pokémon's stat chart. 

An open world packed with activities

Using EV training, you'll be able to build a powerful team of Pokémon, but it can be difficult. Plan everything out and you'll have a lot more fun, but it's a good idea to take breaks and have fun with any Pokémon that you aren't as concerned with EV training as much as possible. Don't forget to do other things in the game as well, such as partaking in Tera Raid Battles or just exploring. 

EV training can take a long while, so make sure to save often and exit from time to time, which will help improve your Nintendo Switch performance playing Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.

Having some technical issues in the latest entries for the Pokémon franchise? You're not alone.

While Pokémon Scarlet and Violet can provide hundreds of hours of fun, with new gameplay mechanics and a true open-world Pokémon experience, these games aren't polished. More specifically, they launched in arguably the worst condition of any Pokémon game ever. Players and reviewers dealt with framerate problems, stuttering, textures failing to load, and more.

Fortunately, this doesn't have to be how you play through the games. There are some steps you can take to increase Nintendo Switch performance with Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. We'll walk you through what you need to do.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet performance: What causes the problems?

Many of the problems found in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet at launch are suspected to be due to a memory leak. Essentially, this means that the longer the game is running, the more problems can happen, as the memory (RAM) running the game runs into errors. This would explain many of the glitches seen, as players have run into problems with textures not loading properly or popping in randomly, as well as the framerate getting worse the longer you play, which fits with RAM errors. 

The other unfortunate possibility is that the games might have needed more optimization before launch. Many of the best Nintendo Switch games got at least one delay (sometimes more) and this allowed the developers to have extra time to fix problems. 

Finally, there's the fact that the Nintendo Switch is technologically behind other gaming consoles. It's not as powerful as the Xbox One or PlayStation 4, to say nothing of more recent hardware like the Xbox Series X|S or PS5. This does limit how ambitious the developers can be when pushing for an open world and dozens of roaming Pokémon. It's by far the least important issue, however, as plenty of games do run well on the Nintendo Switch, even if they aren't visually spectacular.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet performance fix: Update the game

Shortly after the launch of these games, Nintendo released an update designed to improve performance. There weren't any detailed specifics, but in general, players have noticed that Pokémon Scarlet and Violet seem more stable ever since the patch arrived. Framerate problems aren't quite as bad and texture pop-in seems to be reduced.

Whether or not you've started playing, you need to make sure you download and install this update. In order to get the update, simply make sure that your Nintendo Switch is connected to the internet. The next time you load up the games, you'll get a prompt to download the update. Download it and let it install, and you'll be good to go. If for some reason your Switch doesn't download the update on its own, you can do a manual update

How to manually update Scarlet or Violet

• From the Nintendo Switch Home menu, hover over Pokémon Scarlet or Pokémon Violet. 
• Press the + (Plus) Button on the right Joy-Con. 
• Select Software Update.
• Choose Via the Internet. 
• Select OK. 

If your game needed an update, it will get installed. If your game is updated to the latest version, a pop up will tell you so. Remember that you need to have access to the internet to get this update, so if there are issues, try to find a better Wi-Fi connection. If you have the Switch OLED and have connected an ethernet cable to the dock then you can have the Switch update while docked. 

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet performance fix: Save and exit

Even with the update, the best way to prevent issues is going to be saving and closing the game on a regular basis. There's no exact timeframe for how long you'll play before issues start cropping up, but in our experience testing so far, saving and closing the game around every hour of gameplay will seriously cut down on potential problems.

To be clear, just saving the game isn't enough. You need to also completely close the game, as just exiting out to the menu won't be enough. Closing the game entirely then restarting it will prevent any kind of memory leak problems from worsening over a longer period of time. 

Have fun and keep exploring

While these games may have not launched in a polished state, there are still things to enjoy, and with more support coming in the next several months, it's likely that things will continue to get better through new updates.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet include a wide variety of improvements to the overall Pokémon formula, with new game mechanics and ideas like the Tera Raid Battles, which help to push the series forward. If you're careful to minimize tech problems, you'll enjoy them even more.

Hello everyone, and welcome to this week's Nintendo recap. It's been a busy week, from Nintendo Switch games walking away as Game Awards 2022 winners in several categories to brand new game announcements at the show. In other news, we learned that Call of Duty would be coming to Nintendo in the future if the FTC doesn't stop the Activision merger, and there was also some dramatic controversy surrounding the canceled Super Smash Tour that was supposed to happen this week. There's plenty to discuss, so let's dive in. 

Nintendo winners at The Game Awards 2022

The Game Awards 2022, hosted by Geoff Keighley, took place on Thursday in Los Angeles. Several Nintendo Switch games were nominated for various categories, including Xenoblade Chronicles 3, which was one of the choices for Game of the Year. Unsurprisingly, Monolith Soft's JRPG lost to Elden Ring, one of the most favored nominees next to God of War Ragnarök. Still, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is a fantastic game that deserved the nomination. However, it wasn't a total bust for  Nintendo, as a few Switch games walked away from the show with awards in other categories. 

Nintendo winners at The Game Awards 2022

Five games on Switch walked away from The Game Awards as winners. Here are all of the ones that won. 

Best Action Game

• Bayonetta 3 – PlatinumGames / Nintendo - Winner
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II – Infinity Ward / Activision
• Neon White – Angel Matrix / Annapurna Interactive
• Sifu – Sloclap
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge – Tribute Games / Dotemu

Bayonetta 3 was up against some tough competition in the Best Action Game category, so seeing the Umbra Witch walk away with this award when up against Call of Duty, Neon White, Sifu, and the latest TMNT fighting game is genuinely a feat. However, it's also not surprising given that Bayonetta's latest adventure is action-packed with robust combat and epic boss fights. Congratulations to the PlatinumGames team!

Best Family Game

• Kirby and the Forgotten Land – HAL Laboratory / Nintendo - Winner
• Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga – Traveller's Tales / Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
• Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope – Ubisoft
• Nintendo Switch Sports – Nintendo
• Splatoon 3 – Nintendo

It's a joke that the Best Family Game category was made specifically for Nintendo, but last year the Japanese gaming company lost this category to It Takes Two, which also took home Game of the Year in 2021. However, this year Kirby and the Forgotten Land deserved this win as it's a kid-friendly game with fun co-op gameplay for up to two players to enjoy together. Plus, Kirby can float temporarily if he makes a mistake instead of plummeting to his death, making this a forgiving platformer that young children and newcomers can appreciate. 

Best Sim/Strategy Game

• Dune: Spice Wars – Shiro Games / Funcom
• Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope – Ubisoft - Winner
• Total War: Warhammer III – Creative Assembly / Sega
• Two Point Campus – Two Point Studios / Sega
• Victoria 3 – Paradox Development Studio / Paradox Interactive

Of all of the categories Switch games won this year, Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope taking Best Sim/Strategy Game was one I wasn't sure would come about, but it is well deserved. This tactical adventure provides satisfying combat that rewards players for taking advantage of enemy weaknesses. Not to mention, the interactions between the silly characters make it a fun experience. Ubisoft did a fantastic job and should feel proud of this win. 

Best Multiplayer Game

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 – Infinity Ward / Activision
• MultiVersus – Player First Games / Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
• Overwatch 2 – Blizzard Entertainment
• Splatoon 3 – Nintendo - Winner
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge – Tribute Games / Dotemu

Seeing Splatoon 3 win the Best Multiplayer Game award is astounding, given that it was competing against the extremely popular Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, MultiVersus, Overwatch 2, and TMNT: Shredder's Revenge. Of course, the Splatoon series has always stood out against other multiplayers since it focuses more on painting the arena than taking out opponents. Nevertheless, the third installment has been a great addition to the series, so seeing it get the recognition it deserves is excellent. 

Most Anticipated Game

• Final Fantasy XVI – Square Enix
• Hogwarts Legacy – Avalanche Software / Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
• Resident Evil 4 – Capcom
• Starfield – Bethesda Game Studios / Bethesda Softworks
• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Nintendo - Winner

Of course, it feels like the entire world eagerly awaits The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (commonly referred to as Breath of the Wild 2), coming to Switch on May 12, 2023. As such, it was no surprise to see that Nintendo's action RPG won the award for Most Anticipated Game in 2022. Given that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was the Game of Year winner in 2017 and introduced so many mechanics and elements that have become the standard in modern gaming, it's no wonder everyone is looking forward to the sequel. Hopefully, time flies fast, and we'll play in no time. 

Nintendo Switch announcements at The Game Awards 2022

Nintendo had eight reveals at The Game Awards this year, including a new look at The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Here's everything new that was shown. 

Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon

Bayonetta has been known as one of Nintendo Switch's best adult games series for a while now, with a lead character who is as suggestive as she is violent. So, it was a bit of a surprise to see that PlatinumGames is toning things down with a brand new game about the witch in her adolescence. This game has an ESRB rating of T for Teen rather than M for Mature, as all previous Bayonetta games have been rated before it. 

I'm not sure who this game is intended for, but it doesn't seem like it's aiming at the usual Bayonetta crowd. Instead, the art style is reminiscent of a children's storybook and follows Bayonetta and her demon-possessed stuffed toy as they search for her mother. As more information comes out, we'll have to see precisely what this game entails. 

Hades 2

Given the overwhelmingly positive response to Supergiant Games' roguelike, Hades, it's a welcome sight to see that a sequel is in the works. Instead of playing as Zagreus and attempting to escape from under the thumb of the God of the Underworld, the sequel has players taking on the role of his sister, Melinoë, the immortal Princess of the Underworld. 

Her goal is to take out the Titan of Time in this replayable roguelike. We expect great things from this sequel, given how the original Hades made replaying the same levels interesting each time. We can't wait for it to come out sometime in 2023.

Earthblade

From the developer of the critically and user-acclaimed platformer Celeste comes a new adventure starring the horned-protagonist, Nevoa, as they travel around the remains of a fantasy world. Celeste offered challenging gameplay but rewarded players with an emotional and impactful story. We hope to see the same from Earthblade when it releases in 2024.

Hellboy Web of Wyrd

A brand new Hellboy game is in the works and will come to Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. The red demon will be voiced by Lance Reddick, known for his work in John Wick and Destiny. Not much is known about the story yet, and no release date has been announced. However, it looks like this game could be exciting and features a cell-shading art style that puts me in mind of The Wolf Among Us. At any rate, it's the perfect look for these hellish comic book characters. 

Fire Emblem Engage - Expansion Pass

Fire Emblem Engage is set to release on February 20, 2023, but now thanks to a reveal during The Game Awards, we know that an Expansion Pass is also incoming with at least four waves of content. The first wave will include Three Houses characters Edelgard, Dimitri, and Claude, along with Tiki, in-game support items, and accessories. 

Considering how popular Three Houses was, it's good to see these characters brought back in a game about calling on past heroes. The three following waves will launch sometime in 2023, but we don't know what they entail. 

New trailer for The Super Mario Bros. Movie

Keegan-Michael Key, who plays Toad in the upcoming Super Mario Bros. Movie, came to The Game Awards stage to introduce a new trailer for the film. The trailer finally gives us a glimpse at Chris Pratt's Mario accent, which still fails to impress. However, the rest of the preview looked charming and was packed with Easter eggs and references to classic Mario games. I'm not entirely sure how to feel about this movie, but I'm more intrigued to watch it than I thought I would be. 

Among Us - Hide and Seek Mode

Innersloth's popular murder party game akin to Werewolf or Mafia got a brand new mode to help switch up gameplay: Hide and Seek. This new mode was released on Friday and had the killer run around searching for the crewmates while all the other players try to hide. In addition to this new gameplay, cosmetics and pets have also been added. Best of all, you can now pet your pets. There are a lot of fun new elements for an already fantastic game. 

Microsoft announces 10-year Call of Duty deal with Nintendo

On Tuesday, Microsoft made a surprising announcement that it "has entered into a 10-year commitment to bring Call of Duty to Nintendo following the merger of Microsoft and Activision Blizzard King." What this means is that Microsoft will commit to allowing people to access Call of Duty on Nintendo gaming systems for a minimum of 10 years at some point after the acquisition has been finalized. Unfortunately, there is currently no date for when Call of Duty will arrive on a Nintendo console. Due to some developments, it's not even a guarantee that the merger will go through at this point. 

A couple of days after Microsoft's announcement, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it is suing to block Microsoft's purchase of Activision Blizzard. This isn't surprising given that Sony has been very vocal about urging regulators in the U.S., U.K., and E.U. to block the merger because this acquisition would constitute a monopoly or anti-competitive situation. Sony's argument has a lot of weak points, but it could cause enough of a problem for the merger. 

More regarding this story is bound to unfold in the coming months and will affect gamers everywhere regardless of what consoles or platforms they prefer to play on. So we'll have to see how this situation progresses as time goes on. 

Super Smash Tour 2022 cancelation and controversy

Super Smash Bros. eSports players from around the world were shocked this week when the Super Smash Tour Championship 2022 was canceled, even though it was supposed to run from Dec 9 - 11. The winnings for this competitive event were in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, which brought the serious Smash community together. So why was it canceled? That seems to be somewhat unclear at this point depending on who you ask, but it seems to have stemmed from licensing issues. 

Things reportedly went down strangely following some communications between Dr. Alan (Panda Global's CEO), Nintendo, and Panda Global. In an official statement released by The Panda Cup team, it seems that many people in the organization weren't aware that the event was going to be canceled and sighted "an interaction between Dr. Alan and Beyond the Summit" as the reason for the sudden scrapping of the event. 

Many eSports players were understandably upset by this decision and made their discontent known online. In response, The Panda Cup team came out with another statement explaining that Dr. Alan "is no longer CEO, effective immediately" and that Panda employees would work to manage things until things get sorted. 

Dr. Alan released a lengthy statement explaining his side of things. In it, he states that Nintendo learned about the Smash World Tour before it was announced and told Panda Global not to make it public until the Japanese gaming company had approved things. Dr. Alan alleges that despite this, tournament organizer Justin Wykowski and VGBC "knew this and launched anyway."

The former Panda Global CEO states that he's experienced "extreme harassment, death threats, and fleeing [his] own home due to doxing." He says this has also lead him to experience "panic attacks for the first time in [his] life." He states that he plans on selling his shares of Panda Global and no longer wants to engage with the Smash community. 

It's hard to say how this will impact the Super Smash Tour in the future or if it will even be able to come back at some future point. With how disgruntled many participants and fans are, it could be hard to recover. More information regarding this situation will likely come to light and give more insight into how things will move forward.

Best Switch games to play this weekend

In addition to The Game Awards announcements we had a few exciting games release for Nintendo Switch this week. Here are the best Switch games that you don't want to miss out on this week. 

So much Switch news

There was a lot of exciting news this week relating to Nintendo Switch. It was good to see so many Switch games walk away as winners at The Game Awards this year, even if Xenoblade Chronicles 3 didn't win Game of the Year. Some of the best Switch games of all time came out this year, and we're on the edge of our seats waiting for more Tears of the Kingdom news to come out soon. 

Until next time. 

- Rebecca Spear

One of the best parts of modern Pokémon games is the ability to interact with other players around the world. In Pokémon Scarlet and Violet there's a Battle Stadium feature with casual battles, ranked battles, and soon there will also be online competitions. Here's what you need to know to start battling! 

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: How to unlock the Battle Stadium

You will need to complete the opening tutorial before the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Battle Stadium becomes available. You must also have a Nintendo Switch Online Membership to access this online feature. 

Once you've gotten through the opening tutorial, you can open up your menu by pressing the X button and select the Poké Portal. Next, select the Battle Stadium option toward the bottom.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: Casual Battles

These battles are the perfect place to test out a team or strategy before you go into the ranked battles. When you do a casual battle in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet it doesn't effect your ranking and there are no limits on which Pokémon you're allowed to use. Each Pokémon on your team must be a different species and no two team members can hold the same held item.

You can choose between doing single or double battles in Casual Battles mode. Pokémon on either side will cap out at Level 50 so if your team members are higher than that in your game they will only be Level 50 during battles. You could get paired with someone who has maxed out their fighters' stats so come prepared with your best EV-trained Pokémon. 

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: Ranked battles

This is where heavy competitors will come to play. You are connected with an online player and your results affect your rank. If you win, you go up in rank for that season. The highest rank you can get is called Max Rank, where you'll go up against similarly challenging opponents. Once a new season starts, every starts back at the beginning and must work their way up the ranks again. 

You will choose either a single battle where one Pokémon of yours battles one of your opponents at a time or a double where you each have two. From your saved team, current team, or rented team you choose to battle with, pick three Pokémon in single and four in double. Once you've completed your match, a prompt will appear asking if you'd like to continue battling or quit. Results will soon be visible on Pokémon HOME when compatibility with Pokémon Scarlet and Violet becomes available. 

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: Online competitions

This feature is not yet available to select in the Battle Stadium menu but is listed as an option. According to the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet website you will be able to either have official competitions with various rules to compete for rankings or friendly competitions where you can set up your own competition rules or join someone else's session.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: Best Rental teams

If your Pokémon aren't at the level you want them to be or if you don't have the Pokémon you'd like out of your dream team, you can always try to rent a team from another player who has made their team available! For instance, if your friend or someone you follow online has entered their team into Rental Teams and has made the code to access them known. Here are some of the best Rental teams to use. 

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: How to use Rental Teams

Here are the steps you'll need to take to use Rental Teams.

1. From the Battle Stadium menu, select Rental Teams at the bottom. 

2. Select Borrow Battle Teams from the menu 

3. Choose a spot for your rental team to save, then a keyboard will pop up for you to enter your Rental Team ID.

4. Now any time you do a battle, the rental team you've entered will be saved and available for selection.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: Link Battles

Battling with friends is actually part of Link Battle instead of Battle Stadium. To access it, you open the Poké Portal as if you're going to the Battle Stadium but select Link Battle instead. Once you do, there will be the option to do a single or double battle just like in ranked or casual battles. There is also the Multi Battle option, where you team up with your friend to battle another pair of trainers. 

What makes Link Battle fun is that you get to choose from a variety of rule sets to customize your challenge. To make sure that you're paired with your friend, enter a link code by pressing + before you select your battle format and have your friend enter the same code.

Find your teams and battle!

We love that Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is another Pokémon game that gives players a great way to connect around the world and battle together. The options available make it so players at any level of experience can try out their skills, items, and Pokémon. Now that you know how these battles work, you'll be able to get out there and start testing your teams! 

As with most Pokémon games, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet came as two separate games. While the adventure is mostly the same in either version, there are some significant changes. Whether you already have one of the two new titles or you're trying to decide which you'd like, these differences will show what unique features each title has.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet differences: Pokémon

All Pokémon games that come as two games have creatures exclusive to each title that can be traded online or among friends. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet continued this and made the legendary Pokémon that are unique to each a bigger part of the game as players buddy up with them and can ride them to more quickly explore the area. 

Scarlet players will have access to the red dragon Koraidon, a symbol of the past. Violet players, however, will have the purple dragon Miraidon, a representation of the future. But there are more than just these giant beasts that are Pokémon specific to Scarlet or Violet. There are 24 found only in Scarlet and 23 found only in Violet with 400 total Pokémon across both games. Many of the exclusives are meant to represent past vs future versions of Pokémon.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet differences: Academy

Some of the biggest differences to the games are found in the academy. In Scarlet players attend Naranja Academy while Violet players attend Uva Academy. Fittingly, the Naranja Academy has an orange theme while the Uva Acaemy features a purple theme. 

To match these themes, your uniform reflects these same colors: Orange shorts and an orange tie in Scarlet while Violet students wear purple shorts and a purple tie. Additionally, the school crests have an orange on them in Scarlet while Violet's school crest features grapes. Within the Academy, there are books and magazines available to read that will have different lore depending on which Academy you're at. 

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet differences: Professors

During your time at your allotted academy, you will team up with a research professor who is looking into the Legendary Pokémon of the region. The Professors' appearances also represent the past and future theme. In Scarlet players have female Professor Sada who wears a necklace with animal teeth as well as a fur coat. Meanwhile, male Professor Turo in Violet dresses in a tight-fitting jumpsuit with purple lines running through it. This is the first time players have worked with different professors based on game versions. 

Looking forward or back?

The past versus future settings are well depicted in the game and make for fun design choices that match the themes and can be one easy preference to base your decision on. Both games have vibrant colors heavily represented in the game from uniform, to Academy, and even the Legendary Pokémon that may sway your choice one way or another. Or maybe just knowing which Pokémon you're most interested in will guide you. 

However you make your choice, look forward to playing the game on your Nintendo Switch and building a team you can look back on proudly when you've completed it.

Anyone playing Pokémon Scarlet and Violet can get free things for their game simply by entering some codes. This is a perk that Game Freak has included in many of its past Pokémon games. The thing to remember though is that most of these free gifts have an expiration date, so you need to make sure you claim yours before time runs out. 

Here are all of the current free rewards you can claim in Scarlet and Violet right now along with a step-by-step explanation on how to redeem them. 

All current Mystery Gift Codes

As with previous Pokémon games, there will likely be additional freebie codes added to this Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Mystery Gift list as time goes on. So check back frequently to know what the latest rewards and codes are.

The codes listed here simply need to be redeemed in order for you to get them. If you need help with that, continue reading. 

How to redeem Mystery Gifts

NOTE: You must be able to connect to the internet in order to claim these free rewards. 

1. While in Scarlet or Violet press the X button to bring up the menu then select Poké Portal. 

2. Scroll down and select Mystery Gift.

3. To enter a code select Get with Code/Password. If you're getting the Flying Tera Type Pikachu you'll select Get via Internet instead. 

4. Press A a couple of times to get passed the notices that pop up. 

5. Enter the code. 

6. Select the reward you are redeeming. 

A small cutscene will follow showing a present falling from the sky and then opening. Once it's over, you'll have received whatever reward you claimed. 

Free Pokémon stuff

We'll keep adding to this list and making updates as time goes on. When Pokémon Sword and Shield released new free rewards codes continued to release for several months. So there will likely be additional gifts for Scarlet and Violet as well. 

Remember that these gifts usually have an expiration date. So, make sure to check back here often and redeem any rewards you haven't yet before time runs out. 

The 7 Star Charizard Raid in Scarlet and Violet finally fixes a strange situation that Pokémon players have long felt weird about. Charizard is finally a Dragon thanks to its Dragon Tera Typing. However, in order to capture this fiery creature, you're going to need to prepare yourself. It's extremely powerful and will be difficult for many players to defeat. Plus, Charizard is only available in Scarlet and Violet for a very short amount of time, so if you want it you have to get it now. 

Don't worry. We'll go over how to unlock the Charizard Tera Raid, the best Pokémon to use against it, and the best moves and held item to give to your team member. 

When is the Charizard Tera Raid available?

Fortunately for everyone, the Charizard Tera Raid Battle event in Scarlet and Violet is running for two separate stretches in December. If you miss the first one or aren't strong enough to take on the first one from Dec 1 through Dec 4 then you can have another chance to face one between Dec 15 and Dec 18.

You definitely want to get this Dragon Tera Type Charizard in your Pokémon game if you can since it's the only way to bring this Gen 1 starter into Scarlet and Violet. 

How to unlock 7 Star Charizard Raids

You can only find and join 7 Star Charizard Raids if you have done the following:

1. Defeat all Gym Leaders, Elite Four, Champion, Team Star Bases, and Titans.
2. Beat the game and watch the credits roll. 
3. Rematch and beat all Gym Leaders again. 
4. Go to the Academy at Mesagoza and defeat the four opponents in the Academy Ace Tournament. (Talk to the boy at the front counter). 
5. Defeat 15 of the 5 Star Raids that now appear.

Now you will have unlocked 7 Star Charizard Raids. These are incredibly difficult battles so make sure you come prepared with a high-level Pokémon that is strong against Charizard. We have tips further on this page. 

How to find a Charizard Tera Raid

Charizard Tera Raids appear as Dragon den symbols on the map that is darker than usual Dragon dens. When you go up to one you'll see that the crystals are black with a glowing funnel of sparkles and swirls around them. 

You can also join other players who are hosting a 7 Star Charizard Raid (as long as you have unlocked access to them). If you need help with joining a Tera Raid, check out our Pokémon Scarlet and Violet multiplayer guide.

Dragon Tera Type Charizard weaknesses

Being a Fire/Flying-type usually, Charizard will have some strong Fire and Flying moves. Plus, with the Dragon Tera Type, it will be strong against Dragon attacks. So you don't want to bring Bug, Steel, Grass, Ice, or Fighting-type Pokémon to this battle as they will quickly get KO'd. Dragon-type Pokémon are also a no-go since they are equally weak against Charizard as Charizard is to them and using their alternate Tera Type will take a few moves to unlock. 

Your best bet is to bring a Fairy-type Pokémon with powerful Fairy attacks as Fairy is immune to Dragon attacks while Dragon is very weak to Fairy. Additionally, Fairy-types only take a normal amount of damage from Charizard's Fire and Flying attacks. We highly recommend using Azumarill since its dual typing of Water/Fairy makes it last longer against Charizard's Fire attacks. Now sure where to get one? Continue reading and we'll help with that. 

Additional good Pokémon to use against Charizard are Flutter Mane (Scarlet exclusive), Sylveon, Dachsbun, or Grommsnarl. However, Azumarill's dual typing makes it by far the best choice overall. 

Where to get Azumarill

Azumarill with a Fairy Tera Type is the strongest Pokémon to use against Dragon Tera Type Charizard. Fortunately, Fairy Tera Type Azumarill is one of the wild Tera Pokémon that spawn on the map. You can grab one at Casseroya Lake and it will be Level 55. 

Bring it up to Level 100 by battling with it or giving it Rare Candies and Exp. Candies. These easy leveling-up items are won in raids. So engage in raids, get the Exp-increasing items, and apply them to Azumarill until the creature is ready. If you want to be extra ready, keep catching the wild Tera Azumarill at Casseroya Lake until you get one with Amazing or Perfect Stats. However, only one will appear each day, so you'll either need to come back multiple days in a row or change the time and date on your Switch and catch again. 

Once you've got a prepared Azumarill, you will be a serious force against Charizard. 

Charizard weaknesses and best way do defeat

Make sure your Azumarill is at Level 100, is holding a Shell Bell, and also knows Belly Drum and Play Rough before going against Charizard. That's because Belly Drum halves Azumarill's max HP in order to raise its attack by 6, making its Fairy attacks very powerful. Meanwhile, Play Rough is a powerful Fairy attack that has a 10% chance of lowering Charizard's Attack stat. So you have a good chance of weakening Charizard and making it easier to defeat. Then each time Azumarill successfully lands an attack, the Shell Bell restores some of its health.

Now catch it!

When you've knocked its crown off and it's dazed, send out one of your best Poké Balls to catch it. You'll also get a long list of reward for defeating it. 

Solo Raid vs Group Raid: Can I take Charizard on alone?

While it is possible to take 7 Star Charizard on solo, you'll have a much easier time if you face it with other players who know what they are doing rather than the practically useless AI that assist you when you go alone. 

Of course, if you have a Perfect Stat, Level 100 Azumarill who uses all of the moves and the held item we laid out previously, you can take Charizard out really fast on your own. 

Can Tera Raid Charizard be Shiny?

It's unclear if Tera Raid Charizard is Shiny locked or not. However, we do know that there are no increased odds of finding a Shiny Pokémon in a Tera Raid Battle. Of course, if you do catch the Tera Raid Charizard, you can always breed it and hope that one of its Eggs turns out to be Shiny. If you need help with that, check out our Pokémon Scarlet and Violet breeding guide.

Charizard is finally a Dragon 

The fact that Charizard isn't a Dragon-type has long been something that hasn't sat well with Pokémon fans. Thankfully, nabbing yourself a Dragon Tera Type Charizard in these special Scarlet and Violet Tera Raids kind of helps fix that. Since this is the only way to get this Pokémon, you'll need to act fast and jump into these raids as soon as you can. 

Charizard is a very powerful opponent so you'll need to come prepared with a high-level team member that is strong against our orange friend. Things will go easier if you use a Shell Bell as your Pokémon's held item and make sure your team member knows Fairy, Dragon, or Ice-type moves without being weak to Charizard's attacks. You've got this!

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet have been out for a while now and we're sure you're building up your collection of creatures. You may be wondering if you'll get to put your Gen 9 Pokémon with the rest of your Pokémon HOME characters. It is not available right now, but trainers shouldn't have to wait for Pokémon HOME compatibility with Scarlet and Violet much longer! 

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: Pokémon HOME capability

Hopefully, the wait for transferring Pokémon to and from Pokémon HOME and Pokémon Scarlet and Violet won't be too long. Although there isn't a specific date set yet, the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet website has an update on Pokémon HOME compatibility stating that it will be coming to the new games in spring 2023. However, this update is more than just being able to transfer your Pokémon. 

Pokémon HOME launched in February 2020 and is a service that's available through Nintendo Switch as well as iOS and Android. It has provided a great way to store and transfer Pokémon to and from games like Sword and Shield, Pokémon Go, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, and more. The mobile version even lets you Friend Trade or trade with random players online to help you collect any Pokémon you're missing. There's a free Basic Plan or a paid Premium Plan with some additional benefits like more boxes for storage. 

Once the Scarlet and Violet update comes, players who are connected with Pokémon HOME will be able to see their Scarlet and Violet Battle Stadium stats alongside the information available from other Pokémon games on the mobile app. This also gives information on which Pokémon are most used, the most used abilities and moves, online competition information, and trainer rankings.

Looking forward to Spring!

By Spring you could have a great set of new Pokémon to bring into your Pokémon HOME! We look forward to seeing all the stats and Pokémon from the new games. It is worth noting that you won't be able to transfer any Pokémon into Scarlet and Violet from HOME that are not listed as ones that can appear in these games, so you won't be able to bring in just anyone. 

One of the most tedious evolution processes ever conceived was introduced with Scarlet and Violet. Unlike other Pokémon, Pawmo, Rellor, and Bramblin can only evolve after they've taken 1,000 steps while in Let's Go mode. This is a boring process that has made many Gen 9 players frustrated. 

However, we're here to help make the process go faster by explaining some tips and tricks that will save you some time and will even allow a Pokémon to walk itself. 

How to evolve Pawmo, Rellor, and Bramblin fast!

• Pawmo + Walk 1,000 steps + level up → Pawmot
• Rellor + Walk 1,000 steps + level up → Rabsca
• Bramblin + Walk 1,000 steps + level up → Brambleghast

As previously stated, Pawmo, Rellor, and Bramblin each need to take 1,000 steps in Scarlet and Violet's overworld and then level up in order to evolve. To do this, you need to use Let's Go mode, which is when you press the ZR button and you throw the first Pokémon in your party out to wander the world next to you. So if you're working on evolving one of these three, make sure they are the first team member in your party and let them out of their Poké Balls. 

Here's where things get frustrating. A creature that you send out in Let's Go Mode like this will follow you around, but if you get too far away they will dive back into their Poké Balls. So it's better to be on your feet rather than on Miraidon or Koraidon while doing this. Some people have found it easier to duck down (press the B button) and then slowly walk beside your Pokémon for 10 minutes or so until the 1,000-step mark has passed. 

Of course, if you want to pass all this tediousness, you could try and find another player to trade Pokémon with and get the Pawmot, Rabsca, and Brambleghast evolutions that way. 

Note: It's unclear if the Pokémon needs to take the steps or if the trainer does. Additionally, it's not clear if it needs to be 1,000 steps total or if it needs to be 1,000 steps before the Pokémon levels up again. Due to this, it's best to only let the Pokémon level up once you're certain it passed the 1,000-step mark. 

How to make your Pokémon walk itself

Of course, if you'd rather have your Pawmo, Rellor, or Bramblin walk themselves while you're AFK doing something else, that's possible too. 

As discovered by @soltawashi on Twitter, all you have to do is throw out one of these three Pokémon near a Pokémon Center, jump on top of the Pokémon Center, and then stand on one of the far sides. 

The Pokémon will wander around trying to get next to you but will be unable to do so. So just leave the game sitting for roughly 10 minutes and then level up your Pokémon with a rare candy, Exp. Candy, or by battling and it should be good to evolve. 

I'm sure I did 1,000 steps, why won't my Pokémon evolve?

Several players have stated that they are certain they walked 1,000 steps with their Pokémon and it still didn't evolve. Unfortunately, many players have also reported a glitch where a Pokémon won't evolve when it's supposed to. The way to fix this has been to make sure the Pokémon is used in a traditional battle at least once (not just in auto-battles) before it levels up and then it often evolves.

Is there a step counter?

If there is a step counter in the game that tells you how long a specific Pokémon has walked then it hasn't been discovered yet. This is rather annoying considering that previous Pokémon games such as Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl had the Pokétech, which would count steps the player had taken. So for now you'll either have to count steps yourself or take a guess and hope your Pokémon has walked enough. 

Count steps or let them walk themselves

The idea of letting a Pokémon out onto the overworld to walk around with as your little buddy is really cute. But it can be very tedious taking 1,000 steps with Rellor, Pawmo, or Bramblin just to make them evolve. If you're willing to put the time in yourself, go to a place where Pokémon don't spawn much and walk back and forth for about 10 minutes and that should do the trick. 

Of course, if that sounds too tedious and you'd rather the Pokémon just walked itself, you can do the Pokémon Center method while you go and do something else for awhile. Either way, you'll get each respective Pokémon evolved into Rabsca, Pawmot, or Brambleghast this way. 

As is often the case when a new Pokémon game comes out, Scarlet and Violet introduce new evolutions that we haven't seen before. One of the most unintuitive new evolutions revolves around getting Bisharp to evolve into Kingambit. The process is easy enough once you know what to do, but if you're just out there leveling Bisharp up, you won't get anywhere. 

We'll explain where to find Bisharp and what you specifically need to do to get it to evolve into this brand-new evolution. 

How to evolve Bisharp into Kingambit

• Pawniard (Level 52) → Bisharp (Defeat 3 Bisharp with a Pawniard posse) → Kingambit

Kingambit is a brand new evolution that we've never seen before in a Pokémon game. There's a bit more to the process of evolving Bisharp in Scarlet and Violet, so we'll go into detail here. 

You specifically need to have a Bisharp that has the Leader's Crest as a held item. To get one, you'll need to capture a Bisharp that is surrounded by Pawniards, as only these have this special item. 

Next, you need to make this Leader's Crest-holding Bisharp battle three other Bisharps surrounded by Pawniards. 

Once you've battled three of these Bisharps, you just need to level up your Bisharp. This can be done the old-fashioned way by battling or by giving it a rare candy or other Exp. Candies from your Bag. Your Bisharp will automatically evolve into Kingambit at this point.  

Bisharp with Pawniards Location

Bisharp and Pawniard spawn individually in a few places, but the best place to get a Bisharp that is surrounded by Pawniards is by flying to the North Province (Area Two) Pokémon Center on the far east side of the map.

In my own experience, these Leader's Crest Bisharp tended to spawn right next to the Pokémon Center. Though you can also travel southeast in this wooded area to find more. If you don't see any when you first arrive, you can get them to spawn by defeating the Pokémon that you see or driving around until new Pokémon show up. 

Like playing Pokémon chess

Pawniard, Bisharp, and Kingambit all have names that refer to one of the oldest strategy games still in existence. So it makes sense that in order to evolve to its final form, players need to defeat three opponents. This process shouldn't take very long, but if you're having trouble finding a Bisharp with Pawniards simply auto-battle the Pokémon around you or wander around until some spawn. 

With Kingambit added to your Dex, you'll be one step closer to capturing all 400 Pokémon that are in Scarlet and Violet. 

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet really mix battle strategy up quite a bit by introducing the Tera Phenomenon to the series. This ability makes it so that some creatures can change their typing when Terastallizing.  While you can run around catching these creatures in Tera Raid battles, there are also Wild Tera Pokémon in fixed locations all over the Paldea map. 

There are 68 Wild Tera Pokémon total and this is where you'll find them along with the Tera type and level they will have. 

All wild Tera Pokémon in Scarlet and Violet

There are a grand total of 68 wild Tera Pokémon in Scarlet and Violet. This chart is listed in alphabetical order by Pokémon name.

NOTE: Some of these Pokémon are in caves or are in places that you'll have to climb to. So, you might need to unlock more Travel Abilities for Koraidon or Miraidon before you can get to them all. 

Why you want Tera Pokémon

Tera types have never existed in previous Pokémon games, but their existence can help players strategize even more in battle. That's because many of the Wild Tera Pokémon on this list have a different typing than they usually do, which means that when Terastallizing they don't have the same weaknesses as before. This can throw your opponents off or make a Pokémon strong against a Pokémon they are usually weak to. If you strategize correctly, you can use these Wild Tera Pokémon to really gain an advantage in battle. 

Now, not all of these Wild Tera Pokémon have a different Tera Type than normal. For instance, all of the Eevee evolutions (or Eeveelutions) are strictly the same Tera type as usual. To get special versions of those Pokémon with different Tera types than you'd expect, you'll want to participate in Tera Raid Battles. 

How to spot Wild Tera Pokémon

These creatures glow from a distance are at a fixed point until you get close enough and then they start moving around a bit. It should be noted that while they sparkle these are not what are considered Shiny Pokémon.

 If you're looking for a specific wild Tera Pokémon, go to the spot where they are located on the map above and you'll find them soon enough. Since they are very bright, they can be a lot easier to spot when it's nighttime in the game. 

How to battle Wild Tera Pokémon

These creatures cannot be killed with a one-hit KO because they always have some health left after you break their Tera typing. So attack them with the strongest move you have and then when their Tera crowns have been knocked off, work on throwing the best Poké Balls you have at them until they are caught. 

Wild Tera Pokémon are our friends

Some of these creatures will be really high level when you get to them, so make sure you bring plenty of Poké Balls and a strong team of Pokémon to take them on. Remember that you cannot one-hit KO them, so feel free to hit them with the strongest move you have. This will knock their crown off (so to speak) and then you'll be able to catch them right after they are no longer Terastallized. 

Having creatures with different typing than usual can give you an edge in battle and make an opponent come to a fight unprepared. So it's fun to collect as many Pokémon with a Tera type that isn't usual to their own typing when you can. Good luck catching all of the ones you're after. 

Unlike previous Pokémon games, Scarlet and Violet gives players a Legendary friend at the start of the story. However, since this creature acts as a bike as well as a fighting Pokémon, you're unable to trade it since it's necessary to have to get around. Fortunately, you can catch another Koraidon or Miraidon that can be traded for the other Legendary that isn't in your game. We'll go over what you need to do to be able to catch this second Pokémon and best practices for trading it. 

SPOILER WARNING: This process deals with post-game content and as such we will discuss some spoilers.  

How to catch a tradeable Koraidon or Miraidon

Just to clarify, you cannot catch both of these Legendaries in one copy of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Scarlet players will be able to catch a second Koraidon while Violet player will be able to catch a second Miraidon. If you want to get both Legendaries and complete the Pokédex, you'll need to trade with someone who has the other version. 

Here's how to catch a tradeable Koraidon or Miraidon:

1. Collect all Gym Badges, defeat all Team Star Bases, and beat all Titans. 
2. Complete the main storyline by going into the crater in the center of the map. 
3. After credits roll, return to the bottom of the crater where the large crystals are. 
4. A Koraidon or Miraidon is waiting for you to battle it on an incline down here. Go up to it and initiate the battle. 
5. You want to use its weaknesses to bring its health down but not defeat it entirely.
   • It will be Level 72. Koraidon is a Fighting / Dragon-type so it's weak to Ice, Flying, Psychic, Dragon, and Fairy (x4). Meanwhile, Miraidon is an Electric/Dragon-type and is weak to Ice, Ground, Dragon, and Fairy. 
6.  When its health is low, throw Ultra Balls or your Master Ball to catch it. 

Legendaries are intended to be special, rare creatures. If they were breedable then they wouldn't be as valuable. Which is most likely the reason Pokémon games don't allow them to be bred. 

How to trade Koraidon for Miraidon or vice versa

If you want to get the other Legendary that isn't in your game then you'll need to trade your Koraidon or Miraidon. We recommend trading with a trusted friend as this better ensures that you'll actually get what you want. 

However, if your only option is to trade with someone online then we recommend finding someone in a trusted group, like the Discord group: Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. Just make sure you feel safe with the trade before making it as there are still people out there who might not be genuine. If someone tries to convince you to trade for something other than Koraidon and Miraidon then you can always back out of the trade. 

Complete that Pokédex

If you're out to collect all 400 Pokémon in Scarlet and Violet then it helps to catch a tradeable Koraidon or Miraidon so you can swap with a player who has a different version than you. This is a powerful creature, so you'll want to make sure your team is capable of taking it down before you head off to face it. 

Since Koraidon and Miraidon are such valuable Pokémon, you want to make sure that you trade them for something of equal value, which basically means trading one for the other. You can find trade groups online on Discord. on Facebook, or other online places. Good luck catching this Legendary and swapping it for the other one!

I've been covering all things Nintendo Switch for four years now including reviews for Switch games. This year, there's been an abundance of amazing Switch titles that are all worth looking at. Since many of the best Switch games are steeply discounted right now for Cyber Monday it's the perfect time to pick some up. I made sure to post the best discounts for each game I found as well. 

I've personally reviewed or at least played all of the games on this list and can vouge for them being amazing. Some aren't perfect, but I'll go into that in their descriptions. If you need help figuring you whether to buy from the eShop or from a physical store, we can help in our physical vs digital Switch games guide. 

Awesome Nintendo Switch Cyber Monday deals for holiday shopping

So many games released this year for Nintendo Switch and it can be hard to wade through which ones are actually worth your time. In my opinion, these are the very best Switch games to have launched in 2022. Some of them certainly have flaws, but they are still really fun to play and are the hottest titles that gamers will want this year. 

If you're not sure what to get then I recommend grabbing Pokémon Scarlet or Violet. These just released on November 18 and they've been so popular that they already broke records by selling an insane 10 million copies in just the first three days. I won't lie to you, they perform horribly with lag and choppy frame rate. However, they offer the best plot of any Pokémon games, provide the first open-world Pokémon adventure, and of course have that super fun catching and collecting mechanic at their center. 

As you're out and about looking for the best Nintendo Switch Cyber Monday deals you really shouldn't pass up this 512GB microSD card. It's officially licensed for Nintendo Switch, offers tons of space for Switch games, features an Animal Crossing theme, and is currently at a steal of a price this Cyber Monday. 

Whether you've grabbed your first Nintendo Switch system this holiday season, upgraded to a new one, or are still using one you've had for a while getting one of the best MicroSD cards for Nintendo Switch is crucial. That's because the Switch and Switch Lite only have 32GB of internal storage, which is only about enough room for three large games while the Switch OLED only has 64GB of internal storage, which is only good for about six large games. You're bound to run out of room or will need to archive and shift your data around a lot unless you get a decent microSD card to expand that storage space. 

•  Gaming headsets: Best Buy | Walmart | Amazon | Razer | Dell 

Regardless of what Switch you have, I always recommend people purchase a microSD card of 128GB or higher. With 512GB of additional storage, you'll be playing tons of games without even needing to think about deleting, archiving, or reinstalling games on Switch, which can be a tedious process. Plus, for half off, this is an amazing deal for that much storage. SanDisk is a trusted microSD card brand that will help your system read and write data smoothly and at a fast speed. So you won't have to worry about performance issues.  

If you're an Animal Crossing fan or are purchasing gifts for an Animal Crossing fan then this will be a great fit as well since it features that sea green color from New Horizons as well as a cute little leaf icon. 

Update: Cyber Monday has ended now which means many deals have expired. So we have good news and bad news about the Zelda deal. The bad news is that Walmart has put the price up from $29 to $39, which is still cheaper than we're used to seeing it. So not the lowest-ever price anymore, but a deal we would have still snapped up last week as that's a very good price for the best game on the Switch that rarely drops in price all these years later. It's that damn good.  

Original story follows:

While shopping around for the best Cyber Monday deals this weekend, I found one of the best games of all time selling at its all-time low. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild usually sells for $60, but it's currently on sale for just $29. That's more than half off its usual price. If you haven't played this award-winning Nintendo Switch adventure there is no better time to pick it up. After all, the sequel releases next year and you should play through the original before that happens. 

•  Gaming headsets: Best Buy | Walmart | Amazon | Razer | Dell 

There are several Zelda games on Switch, however, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is by far the best one. It may have come out back in 2017, but it's left a lasting impression on developers and gamers alike. It won Game of the Year at the 2017 Game Awards and has received several other awards besides. What makes it so awesome is that it's an open-world adventure that allows players to go anywhere they want. Players can even head straight to the final boss shortly after starting the game if they want to, but there are so many exciting things to discover that you gladly go exploring instead. You can easily get lost for 60+ hours in this fantasy world.

Right now, Switch fans are patiently awaiting the release of the sequel, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, which is set to launch on May 12, 2023. So if you haven't played through what is arguably the best game of this generation now is your chance to pick it up at a steeply discounted price before the direct sequel releases. 

Whether you've just gotten a Nintendo Switch, Switch Lite, or Switch OLED you want to make sure that you grab a few accessories to go with it. Fortunately, many of these Switch peripherals are on sale for Cyber Monday. Among the most important are protective items that can prevent the gaming system from getting scratched up or damaged. 

We'll start off with the accessories that are important for all three gaming systems before diving into accessories you're going to want to get specifically of Switch, then Switch OLED, and finally Switch Lite. Here are all of the most important and most essential Switch accessories to get. 

Nintendo Switch accessories to consider

These accessories are very important regardless of which Switch gaming system you have. 

Nintendo Switch Accessories

Nintendo Switch has been one of the most popular gaming systems for the last five years with a large library of the best Nintendo Switch games that just continues to grow. Here are the most important accessories for anyone that has just acquired one. 

Nintendo Switch OLED accessories

The Switch OLED is the largest Switch system yet and features a bigger OLED display that makes game visuals come through a whole lot better. Plus, it offers double the internal storage space of a Switch or Switch Lite, but it's still only enough hold about six games-worth of data. 

Nintendo Switch Lite accessories

The Switch Lite is a handheld-only gaming system and the smallest Switch that Nintendo has released. Since it doesn't have the ability to connect to a TV nor rumble and motion controls, it's also the least expensive one. Here are the most important accessories for Switch Lite. 

Necessary Switch gear

Regardless of which Nintendo Switch you purchase, you're going to want to make sure that you grab a few accessories as well. Since each of these systems is relatively costly, you at least want to protect them with a screen protector and carrying case. There are plenty of screen protectors on the market, but our top pick is the iVoler Tempered Glass screen protector as it works well for each Switch model and comes in multi-packs in case you need extras. 

As far as carrying cases go, you always want ones that have a convenient handle for toting around on the go. Plus, having some storage room inside for extra accessories like earbuds, extra Joy-Cons, and game cartridges is important. You can't go wrong when choosing a Switch carrying case from PowerA, Fintie, or ButterFox. 

Of course, if you specifically envision the Switch or Switch OLED getting used as a multiplayer gaming station for split-screen or couch co-op then you'll want to get additional controllers to go around. Remember that many Switch multiplayer games can support up to four players from one device and some can go as high as eight from one Switch. So in addition to having controllers, you'll want a way to charge them as well. 

This shopping season, the best Nintendo Switch Black Friday deal is definitely the Nintendo Switch bundle, which gives buyers Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and a Nintendo Switch Online membership for free. Altogether, that's about $80 of free stuff included in this purchase. 

As we said in our Mario Kart 8 Deluxe review, "Nintendo did a good job of keeping the things fans love while also bringing in enough new to make it worth the buy, again." Players can choose from a large roster of Nintendo characters like Link from The Legend of Zelda, Isabelle from Animal Crossing, or Inklings from Splatoon and then race against each other. Having a Nintendo Switch Online membership also allows players to race against others online. 

• Gaming headsets: Best Buy | Walmart | Amazon | Razer | Dell 

Once again, Nintendo is offering the same Nintendo Switch bundle this Black Friday, which gives Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and a three-month Individual membership for Nintendo Switch Online (NSO) for free. The game has an MSRP of $60 while the NSO membership is worth $20, so that gives you $80 of free stuff.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is the best-selling Nintendo Switch game of all time by a wide margin and continues to sell incredibly well each year even though it's five years old. What helps make it a great game is that it's fun for people of all ages. There's a competitive edge for players who like a challenge, but there are also kiddie controls that make it approachable for newcomers or young children. For instance, one of the controls makes it so players cannot fall off the track and ensures they always go forward. That way, even a young child who doesn't have the best motor skills can still join in the fun. It can also host up to four players from one console in split-screen multiplayer as long as there are enough Joy-Con controllers to go around. It makes for the ultimate family fun time or game night activity. 

Now, you might be wondering why the NSO membership is worth having. In addition to allowing people to participate in the online aspects of various Switch games, NSO gives players access to several retro NES and SNES games such as Donkey Kong Country, Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Metroid, Star Fox, F-Zero, Dr. Mario, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, and much more. You'll already have a huge library to keep yourself entertained and can check out Mario Kart 8's online races with this service. 

If you haven't gotten a Switch yet or haven't bought Mario Kart 8 Deluxe yet and want a second Switch in your home then this is an amazing bundle this Black Friday. 

Eevee is a unique staple of the Pokémon franchise, with numerous possible evolutions depending on the exact circumstances the evolution happens under.

That hasn't changed in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, where Eevee can again be caught and then evolved into a variety of different Pokémon. Unlike some past Pokémon games, Eevee won't be so easy to find this time. Fortunately, we're here to help. 

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: Where to catch Eevee

As opposed to past Pokémon games, where Eevee was sometimes easy to find or even the main star of the title, Eevee isn't very easy to get in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. There are only three small locations where you can find Eevee spawning in the wild, and the rate at which Eevee spawns in these three areas appears to be very low. 

The first place is in Area 3 of the West Province, the second location is Area 2 of the South Province, and the final area is the path that leads to the Pokémon League.

In addition to these tiny spawn locations, you can also sometimes find Eevee in Tera Raid Battles. If you happen to find one of these, beating the Terastallized Eevee provides an excellent opportunity for you to throw a Poké Ball and add the critter to your collection.

If you're playing online with friends, you can also always ask someone who already has Eevee if they'd be willing to trade. If they have a spare Eevee (or don't mind breeding one) this may be faster than waiting to try and catch one in the limited locations available in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Trading in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is easy, so consider this option if you're not having any luck with the other two methods.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: List of Eevee evolutions

While most Pokémon evolve simply by leveling up, that's not always the case, and nowhere is this more true than with Eevee. This cute creature has a mind-boggling eight possible evolutions, which all depend on a variety of factors. Fortunately, most of them are pretty simple, but there's a couple of exceptions you should carefully note. We break down what they are and what's required below:

Espeon: In order to evolve Eevee into Espeon, you need to have it evolve with a high friendship level during the day and not knowing a Fairy-type move. Friendship is easy to raise, as you mainly need to level up your Pokémon without letting them faint too often. You can also interact with them at Picnics or have them walk around with you to raise Friendship. 

Flareon: Evolving Eevee into Flareon just involves exposing it to a Fire Stone.

Glaceon: Another simple evolution, turn Eevee into Glaceon with an Ice Stone. 

Jolteon: Again a simple thing to do, you can evolve Eevee into Jolteon with a Thunder Stone.

Leafeon: Just expose Eevee to a Leaf Stone in order to evolve it into a Leafeon.

Sylveon: To get Sylveon, you need to evolve Eevee with a high Friendship level while also having Eevee know a Fairy-type move. Eevee will get opportunities to learn Fairy-type moves as it levels up, and just needs to know one to evolve into Sylveon.

Umbreon: You'll get Umbreon by evolving Eevee with high Friendship, making sure it's nighttime, and not knowing a Fairy-type move.

Vaporeon: In order to evolve Eevee into Vaporeon, you just need to expose it to a Water Stone.

You can find Stones all over Paldea by interacting with sparkling points on the ground or you can purchase them at Delibird Presents shops at Mesagoza or Casscarafa. 

Evolve and explore!

No matter how you choose to evolve your Eevee, you'll have plenty of opportunities for battles across the open world of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Between the new types of battles and the content that becomes available once you finish the campaign means you're not running out of things to do for a long time. Continue hunting down legendaries and have fun!

People breed Pokémon for different reasons — whether it's for competitive play, as a means of getting shiny Pokémon, or to complete the Pokédex. In Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, a lot of conventional mechanics like traversal and progression have been fundamentally redesigned. Chief among them is breeding, which is much more easily accessible this time around. Here's how to get the Pokémon Egg train rolling!

How to breed Pokémon

The steps you take to breeding are pretty easy. So easy, in fact, that you don't have to do anything at all. Simply having two Pokémon in your party who can breed and going on a picnic gives you a chance of having an Egg show up.

Two Pokémon are eligible to breed if:

• The pair has one female and one male Pokémon
• The pair are in the same Egg Group

OR

• The pair consists of one Pokémon of any gender and a Ditto

Please note that the Egg created by the pair will always be same as either the female Pokémon in a male-female pair, or whichever Pokémon is not Ditto in a Pokémon-Ditto pair.

The Egg will appear in the basket at the foot of the table, opposite to where the player stands when starting up a picnic. How much time needs to pass before an Egg is placed in there is not yet known, so we recommend checking in every so often. It should also be noted that it can take longer for some species to produce Eggs than others. 

If multiple Pokémon in your party are in the same Egg Group, and more than one is a female Pokémon, the Egg that appears in the basket will be random. If you are looking to breed a specific Pokémon, make sure only the ones you're interested in are in your party. The hatched Pokémon even have a chance of being a Shiny!

What are Egg Groups?

Egg Groups are the Pokémon world's way of classifying Pokémon into different groups. Pokémon that are similar to each other biolgically are often in the same Egg Group, like Pokémon that resemble birds will often be in the "Flying" group.

Here are the Egg Groups that Pokémon are placed in:

• Amorphous
• Bug
• Dragon
• Fairy
• Field
• Flying
• Grass
• Human-Like
• Mineral
• Monster
• Undiscovered
• Water 1
• Water 2
• Water 3

Only Pokémon that share an Egg Group are compatible enough to breed, with the exception of Ditto, which can clone any Pokémon it comes into contact with, regardless of gender.

How to find Ditto

Ditto can be found in Areas Two and Three in the West Province, but can be tricky to find. True to its nature, Ditto will disguise itself as other Pokémon out in the wild. Check out our How to catch Ditto guide to learn how to obtain the lovable purple blob.

How to hatch Eggs

Once an Egg appears in the basket, players can take it with them once there's less than six Pokémon in their party. Just move the Egg to an open team slot and then traverse the world to make it hatch. 

In Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, players gain access to Koraidon and Miraidon early on in the game, which serve as a means of more efficient transportation. If you've got a few Eggs that need hatching, hop on your legendary lizard and ride around Paldea to take in the scenes.

Eggs will hatch when they're ready, stopping you in your tracks when they're all finished. Different Pokémon take a different number of steps for their Eggs to hatch, so don't be surprised if some take longer than others. After a short cutscene, you'll meet your brand-new baby!

How can I shorten my Egg hatching time?

If you're in a rush to get your Eggs hatched, why not try eating a meal?

That's right — eating specific sandwiches and other meals can grant you specific meal powers, including Egg Power. Having Egg Power active simply means that everything surrounding Eggs now happens more quickly: you'll find Eggs in the basket faster, and fewer steps need to be taken to hatch an Egg. 

It should be noted that the Egg Powers received from meals only boost the Egg Power for Eggs containing Pokémon of a specific type, so be sure to check the description before eating a meal! For more information on which Sandwiches grant Egg Powers, check out our sandwich guide.

How to pass on Egg Moves

Another reason to breed Pokémon is to build a competitive team. However, not all Pokémon can learn competitively viable moves by leveling up or through TMs.

That's where breeding comes in! Parents can pass down Egg Moves to their offspring that they normally couldn't learn on their own. Each Pokémon that can be obtained by breeding has a specific list of Egg Moves that they can learn from their parents.

Starting in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, Egg Pokémon can learn Egg Moves from any Pokémon who are also on the picnic with them, so long as they hold a Mirror Herb. The Mirror Herb can be purchased from the Delibird Presents store in norther Cascarrafa. With enough trial and error, you could set up a team of Pokémon with moves that are bound to throw your opponents off-guard in battles.

Having a baby picnic

There are many uses for breeding mechanics in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, which had the biggest overhaul ever seen in a Pokémon game. Thankfully, it's super accessible in generation nine, and you can grind your Eggs from anywhere in the Paldean region, so it's easier than ever to create your perfect team!

Every Pokémon region has its own specialty food, and the Paldea region featured in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is no different. In generation nine, players participate in the Paldean ritual of sandwich making, which is sure to keep you sated after a long day of Pokémon hunting. Here's everything you need to know about sandwiches and their mysterious powers!

Where to get sandwiches

Sandwiches can be obtained in one of two ways: by purchasing them or making them yourself. Sandwiches can be purchased at the chain sandwich store called Every Wich Way, which offers a wide variety of sandwiches for players to dine on.

Just like with most things you buy in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, sandwiches can be purchased with either cash or LP. If you're short on either, interact with Tera Raid dens to get some free LP!

How to make a sandwich

Making a sandwich in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is as simple as starting a picnic. After enrolling in your game's respective academy, you gain access to a picnic table. 

Here's how to make a sandwich during a picnic:

• Press X to open up the Menu.
• Select "Picnic" in the Main Menu on the right.
• Interact with the picnic table by pressing A.
• Select "Make a sandwich".
• Choose a sandwich recipe and confirm with A.
• Choose a sandwich pick and confirm with A
• Pick up your ingredients by pressing and holding A to grab them. Any condiments will be smeared on the bread automatically.
• To place your ingredients on your sandwich bread, move them with the Left stick and release A to drop them. Do not let your ingredients go before you're ready to place them!
• After all the ingredients have been placed, press and hold A to grab your bread, move it with the Left stick and place it with A.
• Press and hold A to grab your sandwich pick, move it with the Left stick and place it with A. The placement of your pick does not matter, so long as it's on the bread.
• Behold your creation and enjoy!

Note that picnics can only be set up out in the wild! You can't set up a table in the middle of a city or near too many people, as that would be quite rude. Steep inclines are also an inopportune place to set up picnics, as the game warns that all your food could roll off the table.

How to get sandwich recipes

Your journey as a sandwich artist is directly tied to the Path of Legends, where the player has to fight and defeat different Titans scattered across Paldea. There are five Titans in all, each with different types.

Not only does the Path of Legends help you upgrade your legendary Pokémon's travel abilities, but it helps unlock sandwich recipes as well! Head to Every Wich Way and talk to the man to the right of the store clerk whenever you've defeated a Titan, and you may just get some hot new recipes.

How to obtain sandwich ingredients

Buying food is great and all, but if you're short on cash, nothing beats a homemade sandwich. You'll receive ingredients from time to time from traveling picnickers, but there are several stores where you can purchase ingredients for sandwiches as well. 

Players can go to either an Artisan Bakery for standard ingredients or, if they're willing to splurge on some ingredients, to Deli Cioso. Each of these establishments offers a different selection of ingredients for all your sandwich needs.

Here's a list of all sandwich ingredients you can buy at Artisan Bakeries:

• Ham
• Lettuce
• Onion
• Mayonnaise
• Ketchup
• Mustard
• Salt
• Pepper
• Butter
• Cream Cheese
• Jam
• Olive Oil
• Cheese
• Yogurt
• Whipped Cream

Here's a list of all sandwich ingredients you can buy at Deli Cioso:

• Egg
• Potato Salad
• Chorizo
• Bacon
• Potato Tortilla
• Prosciutto
• Cucumber
• Avocado
• Red Onion
• Hamburger
• Smoked Filet
• Watercress
• Vinegar
• Chili Sauce
• Basil
• Green Bell Pepper
• Red Bell Pepper
• Yellow Bell Pepper

What are Meal Powers?

Sandwiches aren't just for show, either — they also grant you some pretty sweet buffs! These are called Meal Powers and can do anything from helping you find items to increasing your odds of finding Shiny Pokémon. The Meal Powers are specific to certain types of Pokémon and items, which makes it much easier to locate specific types of Pokémon that you need for your team. 

Here is a list of all the Meal Powers:

How to boost shiny odds with sandwiches

After beating the game, players get access to five-star Tera Raids. One perk of five-star raids is that players can earn Herba Mystica, the same kind of herb eaten by Titans in the Path of Legends.

Different kinds of Herba Mystica, when combined with a certain ingredient, can grant players increased odds of finding a shiny Pokémon of a specific type.

Here is a list of the Pokémon types boosted by specific Herba Mystica:

Lettuce make food!

From curry in Pokémon Sword and Shield to masalas in Pokémon Sun and Moon, every Pokémon game has its culinary specialty. The buffs players can get from making sandwiches are incredibly helpful, and increasing your Shiny odds is a pretty sweet bonus. Experiment and see what kind of wacky sandwiches you can create!