How do picnics work in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet?

Recent Pokémon titles’ side activities have placed an emphasis on getting to know your Pokémon one-on-one rather than seeing them as a collection of stats or tools to be used in battle. Pokémon Sword and Shield had Pokémon Camp, where players could interact with their team and cook curry, and Pokémon Sun and Moon had Pokémon Refresh, a similar activity that allowed players to get up close and personal with their Pokémon while improving their condition after battle.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are introducing a new iteration of this mechanic. Known as picnics, they allow players to once again make food for their Pokémon, interact with them outside of battle, and even attract other Pokémon that can be caught. For the first time, other players can join in with their own Pokémon for one big picnic party. We’ve compiled a list of essential information about picnics, from making sandwiches to using them to obtain Pokémon eggs and more.

Here’s everything you need to know about picnics in Scarlet and Violet.

Starting a picnic

Initiating a picnic is fairly easy. They can be created in a wide variety of locations throughout Paldea’s wilderness. Once you start one, you can customize it to your liking by adjusting the tablecloth pattern and type of items on the picnic table. If you’re big into taking photos, you’ll definitely want to make sure your picnic setup is picture-perfect.

As soon as you establish your picnic, all of your party Pokémon will exit their Poké Balls and crowd around the table. Miraidon or Koraidon will also join the festivities alongside your other Pokémon. From here, picnics work a lot like Pokémon Camp: you can watch your Pokémon run around and interact with each other, take photos of them, and pull out toys to play with them.

Making sandwiches

The biggest part of picnics is sandwich-making. To create a sandwich, you’ll first need to choose what you want to put on it. Sandwiches are composed of ingredients you come across on your journey, including lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onions, and more. Each ingredient has a particular taste and pairs well or poorly with other ingredients. You’ll also need to choose a sandwich pick, which will put the finishing touch on your creation.

The hardest part of making a sandwich is actually putting it together. You’ll need to carefully stack each ingredient on top of one another to be successful. Ingredients can and will fall off, which will affect the sandwich’s overall quality, just like curry quality in Sword and Shield. Part of the fun of making sandwiches is seeing just how high you can stack ingredients, which can raise their quality—if done successfully.

Feeding your Pokémon a sandwich you made will restore their HP and may grant other beneficial effects depending on the ingredients you use and the quality of the sandwich. Different combinations will create different effects, so it’s worth experimenting to see what you can get.

Washing Pokémon

Another big part of picnics is the ability to wash your Pokémon. During the course of your journey, the Pokémon on your team will become dirty. While cleaning them isn’t required, doing so restores their HP and increases their friendship level. High friendship levels cause some Pokémon to evolve, so you’ll want to make sure you do everything you can to become close to your teammates.

Washing Pokémon is as simple as using your controller’s joystick to scrub them with soap, then using the same joystick to apply water to rinse them off. If you encounter bad weather or a tough battle where your Pokémon take damage, you’ll want to check them for dirt and grime. Keeping them clean is part of being a responsible trainer.

Finding eggs

Picnics are the only way to routinely find and obtain Pokémon eggs in Scarlet and Violet; there is no Pokémon daycare or breeder. While your Pokémon are out of their Poké Balls and playing around your picnic site, you may occasionally find an egg. The Pokémon the egg hatches into is dependent upon the Pokémon you had in your party when you found the egg. Eggs can be found inside the picnic basket next to your table.

Eggs can also be found when you host a picnic with your friends, as detailed below. When your Pokémon interact with another player’s Pokémon, they may produce an egg, which will also be found in the basket next to your table. This allows for a wider variety of potential results from the egg, particularly if you and your friends own different versions of the game.

Playing with friends

Picnics can also be enjoyed with friends. As long as you have a Nintendo Switch Online membership, you can adventure with up to three friends and start a picnic while you’re going about your travels. During these large picnics, your Pokémon will interact with your friends’, which may result in an egg. You can also take on the challenge of making sandwiches together.