Yes, You Can Have Multiple Save Files on Pokémon Scarlet
I‘ve seen a lot of Pokémon fans complaining online about Scarlet & Violet only allowing one save file per game. As a longtime player myself, I totally get the frustration. So I wanted to share a workaround I‘ve been using to have multiple journey saves by creating extra user profiles on my Nintendo Switch.
The Problem: Only 1 Save File Per Scarlet/Violet Game
Ever since transitioning to the Switch, the mainline Pokémon games have shockingly only let you have a single save file per game cartridge. This is despite older titles like Pokémon Diamond/Pearl allowing up to 999 save slots per cart!
So while I can restart Pokémon Legends: Arceus as many times as I want, I‘d lose my 80+ hours of progress on that 1 Scarlet file. And with these gen 9 titles selling over 10 million copies in the first week, it‘s clear I‘m not alone in wanting the flexibility to replay the story.
The Workaround: Creating Multiple User Profiles
Thankfully, by making additional user profiles on your Switch you can work around the 1-save limitation in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet (and all Switch games).
Here‘s how it works:
- Go to System Settings > Users > Add User
- Make a new user profile
- Launch Pokémon Scarlet under new profile
This essentially tricks the game into thinking it‘s a brand new player, letting you start a fresh journey in Paldea from the beginning!
The save data is connected to that user profile rather than shared across the entire console. So you can have as many journey saves as you have profiles.
| Profile | Playtime | Badges | Pokedex |
|---|---|---|---|
| User 1 | 55 hours | 5 | 150 |
| User 2 | 35 hours | 3 | 80 |
The Pros and Cons of Multiple Profiles
While it takes a bit more setup, there are good reasons you may want multiple save files:
Pros
- Play through the story again with different starter Pokemon
- Retry gyms with completely different teams
- Shiny hunt across various profiles
- Have save files for multiple players on a shared Switch
Cons
- Only 1 save file permitted per user profile
- Need a paid Nintendo Switch Online membership for cloud backup of save data
- If you delete the user profile, any local save data is erased
So it‘s a bit more manual, but ultimately works great if you want to re-experience Scarlet with a different path or rules.
Comparison to Multiple Saves In Older Games
As a longtime Pokémon player since the original Red & Blue, the limit of 1-save file still feels restrictive considering the past flexibility…
For example, Pokémon Diamond & Pearl on Nintendo DS let you create up to 999 save files per physical game card! So you could replay those Gen 4 games endlessly with different team combinations.
Having just 1 save slot in Scarlet & Violet may be due to technical limitations on Switch cartridges, or an intentional design choice by Game Freak. But it‘s a big departure from the freedom of past titles.
Speculation on Save Files In Future Pokémon Games
Will the next main series Pokémon games stick with 1 save per game? There‘s hope the inevitable Gen 10 titles build upon the plentiful postgame content that Scarlet/Violet introduced.
Perhaps after refining the open world mechanics in Paldea, the developers can allocate resources towards implementing multiple journey saves once again. I‘m keeping fingers crossed!
At minimum, holding out hope for a return to 999 slots in the next remakes (Gen 5 maybe?). But the user profile trick will work for now to experience Kalos or Paldea all over again!
What do you think? Should Pokémon revert back to multiple save files down the road?
