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It's going to be harder than ever to get Shinkey Pokémon in Pokémon Legends Z-A, thanks to one pesky change from previous games like Scarlet and Violet

Early reports that you can't disable auto-save in the new Pokémon game are popping up and filling shiny hunters with new levels of anxiety.

News by Trent Cannon, Senior Contributing writer

Published on Wed Oct 15 2025

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Every time a new entry in the Pokémon series comes out, it sparks new debate among fans about the new features. Sometimes those features expand on the Pokémon world in new ways, like mega evolutions, but early reports that Game Freak has removed the ability to turn off the auto-save in Pokémon Legends Z-A have fans thinking that Shiny hunting is going to be that much more difficult in this version.

For those new to the concept, Shiny Pokémon are unique variants that show up in the wild. They have a unique look and, more importantly, usually have higher stats than their baseline counterparts. As a result, they are highly coveted by fans, who get very excited when one shows up in a game and try to catch it at all costs.

Typically, players will immediately save as soon as a Shiny Pokémon shows up in case it escapes or they accidentally knock it out before they can capture it. Is this technically save-scumming? Absolutely, but it is the best way to ensure that you don’t miss these rare opportunities. In Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, the odds of a Shiny Pokémon spawning are around 1 in 4096, so the advice is always to save before you attempt to catch them.

That is what makes the inability to turn off autosaving in Pokémon Legends Z-A so frustrating to fans. It is going to make every Shiny that much more precious because if you accidentally hit them with a powerful attack or they manage to run away before you can catch them, there is no backup file to load. You’re just stuck with your painful regret at the missed opportunity.

We’ll be keeping an eye out for this as Pokémon Legends Z-A officially hits shelves on October 16, 2025. If Game Freak has indeed made autosave locked on, it will probably be something that sparks frustration in the community.

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