Shiny Pokemon hunters terrified as dangerous Scarlet & Violet feature revealed

More Shiny hunting news has come out of the first wave of Pokemon Scarlet & Violet previews, and this time a dangerous new mechanic is striking fear into the hearts of Shiny hunters.

On October 21, select media outlets were given hand-picked footage of GameFreak’s upcoming title Pokemon Scarlet & Violet. And these snippets – alongside an hour of hands-on gameplay – provided insight into some of the game’s new mechanics.

These playtest sessions revealed a lot more about Shiny hunting than players expected. Firstly, Joe Merrick from Serebii found the world’s first Shiny Pokemon confirming that Pokemon will appear Shiny in the overworld. And second, players can increase their Shiny odds by making sandwiches during picnics.

However, a bit of alarming Shiny news has come to light involving Scarlet & Violet’s auto-battle mechanic.

Pokemon Scarlet & Violet auto-battles are dangerous

It was later reported by CentroLeaks that the new auto-battle mechanic can’t differentiate the difference between normal and Shiny Pokemon. They will try to take on and defeat Shiny Pokemon without warning the trainer ahead of time.

This is incredibly dangerous as Pokemon that are defeated in auto-battles poof out of existence only leaving behind an item or two. Not only this, but every auto-battle shown so far has taken one or two hits to defeat the Pokemon making the encounters very quick.

Luckily, players can press ZR to quickly recall Pokemon that are sent out to auto-battle. However, it isn’t yet known whether or not there are any visual or audio cues alerting players that a Shiny Pokemon has spawned.

It's been confirmed that Pokémon in auto-battles won't differentiate shiny Pokémon. They will still try to defeat them without a warning to you. pic.twitter.com/CW7c8HZMrK

— Centro LEAKS (@CentroLeaks) October 21, 2022

Replies to Centro’s were filled with players lamenting the news that auto-battles are actually dangerous. “Alright, never using auto battles then. This is my worst nightmare,” one user commented. Another stated, “And like that, never gonna use that feature.”

Hopefully, Pokemon Scarlet & Violet takes a page out of Legends Arceus’ handbook and uses loud audio cues to inform players a Shiny is nearby. With SV boasting a large open world and fast modes of transportation, it could be easy for players to miss Shinies otherwise.

Or worse, a trainer allowing their Pokemon to freely gain XP via auto-battles could regret not keeping their Pokemon on a short leash if one goes rogue and kills a rare Shiny.