Does Riding Koraidon Count as Steps in Pokémon Scarlet/Violet?
The Short Answer
Yes, absolutely – riding the legendary mount Pokémon Koraidon or Miraidon counts as steps taken in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet. This means mounting up on Koraidon or Miraidon is an extremely efficient way to rack up steps for hatching eggs, fulfilling step-based evolution criteria, and meeting other in-game objectives tied to how much you have walked.
What Activities Count as Steps?
While riding Koraidon or Miraidon is the most efficient option, other activities count toward your step total too:
- Walking/Running
- Biking
- Swimming
- Gliding on Koraidon/Miraidon
So if you ever get tired zooming around on your legendary steed, you can mix up activities while still counting steps. Just riding Koraidon/Miraidon makes accumulating thousands of steps simple though.
No In-Game Pedometer
One curious omission is there is no pedometer or step counter visible in Scarlet/Violet itself. So you cannot actively track your total steps taken during play sessions. You simply have to estimate based on time spent moving around.
Experiments Confirm Riding Koraidon Counts
Many players have conducted in-game experiments to conclusively prove that riding Koraidon or Miraidon contributes to your step count. One Reddit user rode their mount in circles for 30 minutes, racking up over 20,000 steps in that time. They hatched multiple eggs during the test, verifying that riding does indeed count.
Developer Game Freak has also explicitly confirmed in interviews that riding your mount Pokémon counts as steps. So while the exact step calculation mechanics are opaque, we know for certain it boosts your overall step total.
Why Does Riding Koraidon Count as Steps?
There are a few potential reasons the developers may have wanted riding Legion and Miraidon to count for step based mechanics:
- Encourages exploration – Since riding them is faster and more fun than walking, counting steps incentivizes players to travel Paldea more thoroughly.
- Game balance – Hatching eggs and meeting evolution criteria needs to happen at a reasonable rate for game progression and challenge.
- Thematic consistency – Your mythical mounts represent your companion bond, so it makes sense their movement contributes.
Of course, the opacity around exactly how the underlying step mechanics work means we cannot say for sure. But those explanations do fit with typical game design principles.
Just How Efficient is Riding Koraidon?
Extremely efficient, is the answer. Players estimate you can easily rack up 1500-2000 steps per minute while riding Koraidon or Miraidon. That means you can hatch most basic eggs in under 10 minutes, and even high step requirements like Riolu can be fulfilled in under 30 minutes.
To compare, walking a brisk pace nets around 100-120 steps per minute. And even running may only achieve around 250 steps per minute at best. So riding your legendary mount nets a 5-10x increase in step efficiency!
Step Efficiency Experiments
| Activity | Steps Per Minute |
|---|---|
| Riding Koraidon/Miraidon | 1500-2000 |
| Brisk Walking | 100-120 |
| Running | Around 250 |
As you can see, riding Koraidon clearly outpaces any other option by a large margin when trying to rack up steps quickly. No wonder players overwhelmingly recommend it for efficient egg hatching and meeting evolution criteria!
Tips for Hatching Eggs Efficiently
If your goal is to hatch eggs rapidly, here are some tips to maximize step efficiency specifically while riding Koraidon/Miraidon:
- Ride in circles – Pick an open area and continuously ride loops rather than back and forth.
- Coastlines work well – Long open coastlines are perfect for circular riding.
- Challenge Tera Raids – Repeatable raids count too!
- Put Pokémon first in party – The egg stepdown applies only to the first party slot.
Experiment with different routes to find ones best suited for unobstructed circular riding. I recommend looping around Mesagoza or Cascarrafa‘s beaches!
If you follow this advice, you should have no issues reliably hatching multiple eggs per hour through efficient Koraidon riding.
The Verdict
I can conclusively say that yes, riding Koraidon or Miraidon counts steps for hatching eggs, meeting evolution criteria (like Pawmo to Pawmot), and fulfilling any other in-game mechanics based on steps.
Extensive player testing has confirmed it, and riding your mount Pokémon nets over 1500 steps per minute – far outpacing walking or running.
So ride on, trainers! Use your trusty Legendary steeds to zip around Paldea and efficiently rack up step counts. Just be careful not to bump into any trees or rocks along the way!
