All instances of Pokémon are eradicated from the game in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet has only been out for a little over a day, but already it has divided fans with its attempts to advance the series. With their wide worlds and Let’s Go mechanic, the games seem like a huge step forward from what has come before to some people, but for others, they don’t go far enough to push the boat out—they stay too close to what has been before.

The uncommon Pokémon sickness Pokérus has undoubtedly altered for Generation IX, but few people will notice it (or rather, the absence of it).

Since Gen II, every Pokémon game has had the coveted disease, which could be found on wild Pokémon (if you were extremely lucky) and then spread to your team, giving all those who contracted it a boost to their effort values (EVs) following bouts. However, this time around the disease is not present (thanks to Gamesradar+).

Pokémon dataminer @mattyoukhana_ discovered Pokérus’ absence while looking through the game’s source code and tweeted the following:

Pokérus is no longer present in Scarlet & Violet! No assets for the Pokérus status icons exist in the game, and it can not be found on wild Pokémon.

After testing with a Pokémon forcibly given Pokérus, they still gain the usual EV yield (not x2), and Pokérus does not spread. pic.twitter.com/DIklfjbQHS

— Matt (@mattyoukhana_) November 18, 2022

Even those Pokémon who are forcibly given the virus code in Scarlet and Violet don’t seem to exhibit any symptoms (no double EVs here), and they also don’t appear to be able to transmit it to their teammates. Sorry guys, it appears that sick days are out of the question.

Could it be that Paldea has developed a quick vaccine to lock down the infection rate before other Pokémon regions? Okay, possibly. It has been suggested by some Twitter users, such as @gandalfsoda and @twistaspin, that the virus wasn’t included because we are still somewhat close to the last global pandemic, but it’s also possible that Game Freak simply forgot to include it this time around (we’ll admit, it wasn’t the first mechanic that came to mind)!

Whatever the motivation for the removal, it appears that our teams will remain Pokérus-free for the time being.