Scarlet and Violet The Indigo Disk’s new Paradox Pokémon have a very strange item glitch

The Indigo Disk DLC saw the debut of four new Paradox Pokémon in Scarlet and Violet, and players have already discovered a bug that makes them interact differently with an item often used by other past and future ‘mons.

The bug makes Booster Energy transferable to and from Raging Bolt, Gouging Fire, Iron Boulder, and Iron Crown with moves like Trick or Knock Off, as pointed out in a tweet posted by VGC player Leonard Craft III. The item cannot be moved to or from any of the other Paradox Pokémon. This may not sound like a huge deal, but Booster Energy is one of the most important items for Paradox Pokémon, considering it was created and tailored just for them.

Booster Energy is a held item that automatically activates the Paradox Pokémon’s signature Abilities, Protosynthesis and Quark Drive, when they’re sent into battle. Protosynthesis normally activates in sun, and Quark Drive usually activates in Electric Terrain, but the item makes it so the user doesn’t have to set up those conditions to get their boosts.

If Raging Bolt, Gouging Fire, Iron Boulder, and Iron Crown can have the Booster Energy transferred to them, this could impact how players use these four Paradox Pokémon in battle. Until the bug is fixed, players will have to navigate each battle knowing Booster Energy works a little differently with the new Paradox ‘mons. 

For example, you could have an ally hold onto the Booster Energy until the time is right, and then use Trick to give Raging Bolt the item to activate Protosynthesis and boost its highest stat. Usually, Booster Energy is consumed immediately when the Paradox Pokémon is sent onto the field, and the player is forced to commit to the stat boost right then and there—if the Pokémon is swapped out, they lose the boost and won’t get it back. That’s why it can be advantageous to sneak a Booster Energy onto one of the four new Paradox Pokémon right when it feels like they can make the most out of the boost and not let it go to waste.

Coincidentally, the Paradox crew was part of another bug that was fixed in the recent Patch 3.0.0. That bug had accidentally made Protosynthesis and Quark Drive immune to Weezing’s Neutralizing Gas. Competitive players had been using that interaction to form a strong duo between Weezing and Booster Energy Roaring Moon. That’s right, this is the second time Booster Energy has been impacted by a bug.

The next patch, 3.0.1, is scheduled for late January 2024, to fix issues surrounding Inkay and TM223 Metal Sound, but there has been no mention yet of the weird Booster Energy interaction with the new Paradox Pokémon.