Does time of day affect Pokemon spawns in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet? Answered

With how much Pokémon are fashioned after real-world animals, it isn’t surprising that some prefer to come out at night rather than day. There have been nocturnal Pokémon since the second generation of games on the Game Boy Color. All of these years later, and that has remained true to this point, but what about in 2022? Does the day and night cycle affect Pokémon spawns in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet?

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Are Pokémon spawns affected by day or night in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet?

Yes, there are some Pokémon that will spawn during nighttime, but not during the day. Most Ghost Pokémon are like this, but there are others that do as well. That is only connected to the in-game’s day cycle, though. What about the real-time decided by your Switch’s internal clock?

The clock inside your Switch will not affect spawns in the open world portions of Paldea, but it will affect the Raids and Mass Outbreaks available; they refresh each day at midnight. Other than that, the in-game time and real-time are separate and do not affect each other. It can be 2 PM for you in the real world but it can be dark in your game. Time passes on its own in Scarlet and Violet.

If you are looking for some Pokémon that prefer the dark, waiting for them to come out can feel like it takes a little bit. There’s no real good way to get the cycle to move on its own, so we recommend keeping yourself busy until then. As for the Raids and Mass Outbreaks available, there is nothing to do if you don’t want the rotation offered to you that day besides waiting for tomorrow.