Pokemon Scarlet & Violet connection issues disrupt VGC Regional Championship
The Pokemon CompanyPokemon fans are concerned about the performance of Scarlet & Violet following connection issues for the VGC matches during the 2023 San Diego Regionals.
Competitive Pokemon fans worldwide are starting to transition into Gen 9 Rule Sets following the 2022 release of Pokemon Scarlet & Violet, and many are excited to see how new mechanics will affect the TCG and VGC matches.
To kick off the year, the Pokemon VGC battles for the 2023 San Diego regionals are taking place on Scarlet & Violet, but there have been some substantial bumps. During the first round of matches on Saturday, January 7th, competitors struggled with connection issues that required full resets.
Unfortunately, many Pokemon fans were already unsure about switching Sword & Shield to Scarlet & Violet, as the Gen 9 games have had numerous performance and gameplay issues since their initial release. This has included lag, broken moves, and visual glitches that have been prominent problems for standard play. Because of this, the connection problems weren’t entirely unexpected.
Scarlet & Violet players roast Pokemon VGC performance
In a Twitter post by DaWoblefet, players can see a video of the interrupted match from Saturday’s stream. The poster states, “FRAME 1 DISCONNECTS ON THE FIRST SCARLET/VIOLET REGIONAL STREAM Please bring back Live Competition”.
Pokemon VGC players in the comments share their thoughts, with one saying, “Ah I said once already. ‘This game is held together by weak paper clips and dollar tree, outdated glue.'” and another adding, “This is as bad as the smash bros tournaments held online and announcers having to sit through the painful slowdowns from the game running shitty there all over again. Instead of criticizing, it’s just a lot of ‘uhhh’ and ‘oops.'”
Other players call on Game Freak to do something about the unstable performance and mention missing features like Spectator Mode, which make the matches more visually approachable for both players and the audience.
With no word from Nintendo or Game Freak on when patches are expected for Scarlet & Violet, it is likely the Pokemon VGC matches could encounter similar issues for weeks or months to come. Hopefully, more information about plans for improved performance will become available soon.
