Though they’re only out for less than a day, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet have been divisive in how they’re trying to move the franchise forward. For some, the games are a big leap from what’s come before, with their open worlds and Let’s Go mechanics making life a little easier, but for others the games don’t go far enough to push the boat out – they also stay close to what preceded them.
However, one thing that has certainly changed for Generation IX, not that many will notice, is the rare Pokémon disease Pokérus (or rather, the absence of it).
The much-requested disease, which has appeared in every Pokémon entry since Gen II, could be found on wild ‘mon (if you were very, very lucky) and would then spread to your team, reducing the beneficial effect of doubling the exercise values (EVs) of all infected after combat. This time, however, the disease is nowhere to be found (thanks, Gamesradar+).
Pokérus’ disappearance was discovered by Pokémon dataminer @mattyoukhana_who released the following tweet when searching the game code:
It seems that even the Pokémon that were forcibly given the virus code in Scarlet and Violet are no longer showing any of the symptoms (no duplicate EVs here), nor are they able to pass it on to their teammates. Sorry guys, looks like sick days are off the menu.
Could it be that Paldea is leading the way in Pokémon regions, limiting the number of infections by coming up with a rapid vaccine? Perhaps. Some users on Twitter including @gandalfsoda and @twistaspin have suggested the virus wasn’t included because we’re still a little too close to the last global pandemic, though it could also be that the good folks at Game Freak just forgot to add it in this round of time (we’ll admit, it wasn’t the first mechanic that came to mind)!
Whatever the reason behind the removal, it looks like our teams will be Pokérus-free at least for now.
