Pokemon trainers these days seem to have it easier, right down to experiencing the once near hilariously slight chance of encountering a coveted shiny in Pokemon Sword and Shield. Though for one Juviatail, Pokemon Sword and Shield enthusiast and Redditor, the luck had run out courtesy of the infamous Nintendo Switch's Joy-Con drift.
Long-time fans may remember the introduction of shiny Pokemon as early as generation two and more so the approximately one in 8192 encounters that would produce one. Even if the odds are better than ever at twice the encounter rate, one in 4096 since generation six before any specific shiny hunting methods, most players can expect to sink several hours into their search.
Juviatail had spent around 50 hours in search of a shiny variant of the legendary Pokemon Regieleki before the destined encounter. Instead of capturing the Pokemon, the Joy-Con's faulty hardware had drug the onboard motion sensors towards the run action, resulting in Juviatail fleeing from the encounter. The thought of spending another potential 50 hours to try again drifted the Redditor's enthusiasm for the hunt well away from another attempt.
A devastating end to an otherwise spirited attempt, the Joy-Con drift has resulted in enough annoyances at best and lawsuit-inducing frustrations at worst that until only recently has Nintendo gone on the defensive in denying the issue even exists. As the Nintendo Switch released as far back as 2017, several controllers have been put through their paces as the Switch's library has grown. With Pokemon Sword and Shield having been released in 2019 and now riding a new surge of enthusiasm with its 2020 DLCs The Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra, the wear on original Joy-Con controllers are more apparent than ever.
As the drift is capable of sliding the cursor from the top of a list of options to the bottom in one ill-timed swoop, this can result in an unexpected retreat as evidenced with Juviatail, or the selection of the wrong move within the fight menu. In a game as precise as Pokemon Sword and Shield, especially in high-level competitive play, the wrong input could spell disaster. The outside variable of the fatigued hardware skewing inputs is one most players shouldn't have to afford risking, sometimes literally when replacement controllers can range between $35 and $40.
Though initially crestfallen at the weight of time felt wasted, Juviatail continues the hunt rationalizing that those 50 hours and thousands of encounters would only truly be wasted if the search is abandoned now. Steeling their resolve and relying now on a d-pad shortcut to throw pokeballs, Juviatail is eliminating the chance for the Joy-Con drift to spoil the next shiny encounter going forward.
Pokemon Sword and Shield are out now, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.
Source: TheGamer