Pokemon SwordandShieldhas been out for some time now, giving players plenty of time to fine-tune their Pokemon teams to take to ranked battles. But unfortunately, some players aren’t playing fair, and The Pokemon Company has now officially taken notice.
Pokemon SwordandShieldlaunched back in November of 2019 to critical acclaim as the first main series entry to the franchise to appear on a home console system, the Nintendo Switch. The game built up enough hype to have thelargest launch in Pokemon history, which is no small feat given the series' long lasting, massive popularity.
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The Pokemon Company has been made aware of the fact that some members of its gigantic playerbase have been cheating to keep their records intact inPokemon SwordandShield. Specifically, players have beenutilizing a glitchthat, when timed properly, allows them to disconnect from a match they’ve just lost which prevents it from negatively impacting their rank. In other words, a well-timed ragequit. If that weren’t bad enough, the winning player gets cheated too, gaining no points for their win.
Players who have considered utilizing this glitch might want to think twice, as The Pokemon Company is promising rigorous punishments for those who continue to employ it. Specifically, according to a translation from Kotaku,The Pokemon Companyis already investigating those who have been shutting off their Nintendo Switch consoles in order to preserve their records. It had this to say:
“If in future investigations we discover that this sort of cheating and annoying behaviour is being repeated, such players will be excluded from future ranking battles and will not be able to participate in live battles or internet competitions. We may also decide to temporarily or permanently suspend their use of all online Pokemon Sword and Shield content.”
While players have been shutting off their gaming systems for ages to preserve their records, doing so online puts honest players at a disadvantage and sours the entire competitive scene. For now, it sounds as though those who have already used the cheat might not bebanned from online playright off the bat, but if they continue to do so, they can expect to be. Accepting the loss of some rank points is certainly a better option than losing the ability to play with others entirely, or the ability to enjoy other online content, though it remains to be seen if the majority of the cheaters agree with that.
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