Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: Player discovers a technique for running faster by using 2 Joy-Con

A technique has been discovered in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet to make the player character run faster. The surprisingly simple method involves using the joysticks of two controllers at the same time.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet provide players with an open world to explore. Set in the Paldea region, towns and fields are seamlessly connected, and players are given a lot of freedom in how they can tackle their journey. The main character has a pretty quick movement speed that gets the job done when covering short distances and they are given either Koraidon or Miraidon to ride around on for faster movement. Additionally, the game’s map provides a fast travel option, allowing players to fly to specific locations.

The aforementioned method for faster movement speed was spotted by Reddit user hamsterhead64. They made a post explaining that “you can greatly increase your running speed by connecting a second controller and using both left joysticks at an angle.” The post also includes a video showing how it works.

When looking at the video, we can clearly see the character moving faster than usual. The second half of the video also shows their hands performing the technique. We first see a Nintendo Switch being held before another left hand appears. When both left joysticks are used together, the character’s speed increases.

I (the original author of this article) also tried to verify this by using two sets of Joy-Con and was able to confirm that my character’s footspeed did increase. As the original post explains, you don’t tilt the joystick straight ahead, but at an angle. When using the smaller staircase in front of the school to measure, going straight up the stairs normally took around 5 seconds. By zigzagging back and forth using two joysticks at an angle, that was cut down to around 3 seconds.

Furthermore, this technique didn’t do anything when riding on Koraidon. Even still, Koraidon was able to go up and down the stairs in around 2 seconds. While the technique doesn’t quite match the speed of a genuine riding Pokémon, it still makes for a close race. It felt strange using two left Joy-Con, and I couldn’t help but laugh when it was so simple to speed up my character. Now I only have one left hand, so I did my testing with a left Joy-Con in each hand.

Why this occurs is currently unknown. However, one Reddit user has posted a plausible theory. This user proposes that it could be the difference between the range the joystick can actually move versus the range the game accepts.

Firstly, joystick inputs are generally read as values on a X (horizontal) and Y (vertical) axis. When the stick is moved, the controller measures that value, which is interpreted by the game, resulting in character movement or whatever the joystick is being used to control.

If the joystick’s neutral position is 0, let’s say the maximum value on both ends of the X and Y axis are -1 and 1. For example, moving the joystick all the way to the left would be “X:-1” and all the way to the right would be “X:1,” with the neutral position being “X:0.” The same applies to the Y axis only with vertical joystick movements.

With this, if both values are -1, the joystick is in the upper left position. If they’re both 1, the joystick is in the lower right position. If they’re both 0, the joystick is in the neutral position. The square in the image below may make it easier to visualize the input range.

However, even if you push really hard, the Joy-Con won’t actually reach the maximum limits such as “X:-1, Y:-1.” This is because the movement range of the stick on the Joy-Con is round. Since it can physically only be moved in a circular motion, it can’t physically reach the corners of the square input range.

This is where the second Joy-Con comes in. Let’s say one joystick can only input a value up to 0.59 when moving diagonally. Using a second stick at the same time can cause that value to reach up to 1 or -1. By exceeding the limit of the input range, the character speeds up… At least that’s the theory. Furthermore, something like double inputs going straight forward don’t result in the character speeding up, further supporting the theory. It sounds plausible, but the technical specifications of the Joy-Con and Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are unclear to us so we can’t say for sure.

At any rate, Koraidon and Miraidon are still faster, and their mobility increases as players progress. That means there likely isn’t much merit in using this double Joy-Con technique. On the other hand, it could have some use in speedrunning for the early portion of the game. We’ll be interested in seeing how this will factor into speedrunning regulations or if the technique gets patched out altogether.

Written by. Nick Mosier based on the original Japanese article (original article’s publication date: 2022-11-21 20:08 JST)