Pokémon Scarlet And Violet: Meal Powers Explained

Of all the new features and small details that GameFreak has added in "Pokémon Scarlet" and "Violet," one of the most unexpected additions is sandwich making. It becomes apparent early on in the games that picnicking and making sandwiches is intended to be a major mechanic in trainers' travels across the Iberian-based Paldea Region. Players first learn about them as soon as they reach the school in Masagoza. They will find shops that sell ingredients for them in nearly every town they visit, picnickers on the side of the paths will hand them out, and collecting the Herba Mystica in order to help Arven create curative sandwiches is the main mission objective in the Path of Legends questline. But for how important these sandwiches seem to be in the game, it doesn't do a very good job explaining what they actually do.

The sandwiches in "Pokémon Scarlet" and "Violet" aren't just tasty snacks for the character and their Pokémon. They actually give players certain meal-power bonuses that help them in their Pokémon journey. There are various levels of power and types of bonuses that players can get depending on the ingredients they use to make these tasty entrées. Here's what they are, and how they work.

According to the official "Pokémon Scarlet" and "Violet" website, there are eight kinds of meal powers in total, and each of them grants the player unique benefits.

• Catching Power makes it easier to catch Pokémon.

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• Egg Power makes it more likely that players will discover eggs in their picnic baskets.

• Encounter Power makes it more likely that they will find a Pokémon in the wild.

• Exp. Point Power boosts the number of experience points gained.

• Item Drop Power makes it easier to get items from Pokémon.

• Raid Power nets players better rewards from Tera Raid Pokémon.

• Humungo Power makes it easier to encounter large Pokémon.

• Teensy Power makes it easier to find small Pokémon.

Each sandwich grants three of these bonuses. Most of the meal powers granted by sandwiches will only affect a specific elemental type, however. A Pickle Sandwich, for instance, grants the Encounter Power ability for Fire-Type Pokémon. That means that it will be more likely that the trainer will encounter Pokémon like Charcadet (so they can evolve it into Ceruledge or Armarouge), Flareon, or Growlithe. Other sandwiches may grant the same ability but to a different Pokémon-type.

Discovering the recipes to make sandwiches that help you catch or power up your favorite Pokémon is all well and good, but it doesn't end with getting the right Meal Power for the right Pokémon-Type. There is also the matter of the Meal Power's level. Sandwiches made using higher-quality ingredients will produce stronger versions of the same meal effects. These will do the same thing as lower-level sandwiches, but even better. So, a level 2 Ghost-Type Exp. Point Booster will cause a Ghastly or a Greavard to level up faster than a level 1 version of the same Meal Power.

Then there are the super high-level sandwiches that can be made using the Herba Mystica, which players can gather from 5- and 6-star Tera Raid battles. These Sparkling Power Sandwiches have the added bonus of making it easier for trainers to hunt shiny Pokémon in their travels (per Game8).

It might seem like a lot to take in, but sandwich materials are littered throughout the game, and players are encouraged to experiment and see what kinds of new recipes and abilities they can unlock. There are also several recipe lists online for those who wish to get a certain effect combo without having to go through the trial and error of uncovering the recipes themselves.