Pokémon Scarlet And Violet’s Passive EXP Hack Feels Too Cruel To Use

Grind experience points while watching Netflix, but at the cost of your immortal soul

Tinkaton waves a hammer menacingly.
Screenshot: Nintendo / Kotaku

Farming experience points has never been easier. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet introduced a “Let’s Go” function that allows your leading Pokémon to auto-battle roaming opponents in the overworld. But if you want to take your laziness a step further, there’s a passive farming hack that lets you strengthen your Pokémon while you’re doing something else. You just have to be a monster about it.

Here’s how it works. Fly over to the isolated puddle in North Province (Area Two), which you can see in the screenshot below. Since the puddle is surrounded by cliffs on all sides, you can only get there once you’ve unlocked the final form of Koraidon or Miraidon. By completing the Path of Legends quest, your motorbike Pokémon will be able to scale cliffs. So be sure to finish gathering all of the herbs from the five Titan Pokémon before attempting this trick.

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A map shows the death pit location.
Screenshot: Nintendo / Kotaku
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Once you’re there, you should spot a ton of Golducks, Dratini, and Vaporeons. To start farming, jump straight into the pit and send out a Pokémon that’s strong against Water-types—you can do this by pressing the R button. Then use your motorbike to jump safely onto the top of the pit. Your Pokémon will stay within the confined area and battle everything that spawns in it, while you’re just chilling on a clifftop. The hack was originally discovered by NerdyNinetales on TikTok, and I was able to get it working on my own copy of the game.

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As I watched my Arboliva pulverize everything in the pit, I couldn’t help but feel slightly… guilty? Did I just turn this peaceful wildlife refuge into a death pit? These wild Pokémon don’t even get to experience the sweet release of death, as soon as they get back up from their beating, your Pokémon whallops them all over again, ad infinitum. All so that I could read a book while grinding some levels.

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I wrote in my Scarlet review that Pokémon training felt too streamlined. Grinding your favorite Pokémon is supposed to be a labor of love. Instead, we let our beloved companions raise themselves with minimal supervision. We want the level 100 Meowscarada without the burden of having cared for it. If that’s you, then this method is perfect for raising competitive Pokémon. Personally, I’ll raise mine the normal way: Putting them in one-on-one cockfights.