With all the different summer updates to catch up on, Animal Crossing: New Horizons players have had quite the adventurous month. Now that Animal Crossing: New Horizons islanders are taking to the ocean to try and meet the recently re-introduced Pascal, some players are noticing, well, a lack of the Scallop-loving red otter.
If players are finding themselves alone at sea, even after finding a Scallop, they should not be alarmed - this is not a new July bug, or an error. Although initial reports claimed that Pascal appears after players find their first Scallop, this is partially untrue.
In Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Pascal actually appears when a player with open inventory space finds their first Scallop of the day. Which is to say, if a player with full pockets finds a Scallop, they will not meet Pascal (even if they swap something out of their inventory for the Scallop). This is most probably due to the fact that Pascal always gifts the player an item, like a rare pearl, in return. If a player's inventory becomes full while diving, they should simply empty their pockets on land, then return to sea. Pascal will proceed to appear once the islander has found another tasty Scallop.
Why should island residents care about Pascal? Well, the pensive otter will gift players new DIY recipes, rare pearls, and lovely mermaid-themed attire, in exchange for Scallops. And whereas many of the island visitors, like Flick and C.J., are restricted to one random potential visit per week, Pascal is available every day. Provided they've been able to buy and equip a wetsuit, Pascal allows players the opportunity to work towards the new collection of DIYs and items much more efficiently. Not to mention, it gives players a bit of an incentive to hunt for all these new sea creatures, outside of simply completing their museum exhibit.
Eager islanders have much more to explore thanks to the influx of summer activities that arrived with the July 3 update. Once players have met Pascal, they can start collecting the coveted Mermaid Series furniture set, along with other unique nautical items. And if the ocean's feeling a bit rough, then perhaps it's the time to discover neat easter eggs, like the museum beetle "Fight Club."
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is available now on Switch.