You can do it nearly straight away, and it could become a habit

Falling in with the open-ended nature of the game, you’ll gain access to a lot of different mechanics inPokemon ScarletandVioletafter the tutorial is finished.

But in the case of sneaking around/stealth, you’ll get it even earlier than that.

How to crouch and sneak up on Pokémon in Scarlet & Violet 1

Press B to crouch and enter stealth mode

Right aroundthe point where Nemona teaches you how to capture Pokemon(roughly 30 minutes in), crouching and sneaking around will be a useful mechanic.

To do it, just press the B button to enter crouch mode, and it’ll “stick” (no need to hold down the button). To get back up, just press B again.

How to crouch and sneak up on Pokémon in Scarlet & Violet 2

A lower profile could help you force battles with skittish Pokemon

Just like knocking Pokemon out of trees, you may also use the stealth crouch to your advantage.

Using ZL (left trigger), you can lock on to Pokemon and get a rundown of their level. While locked on, you can also press ZR (right trigger) to toss a ball their way, and initiate a battle.

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If you look at the two screenshots in the gallery above, the left image shows off a successful sneak-lock-toss, and I captured the Pokemon shortly after. The second screenshot involves a situation where I didn’t sneak up on the Pokemon in question, and the Diglett dove underneath the ground to escape.

Another actionable bonus of sneaking and tossing Pokeballs on unaware Pokemon: you can catch them off guard, and act first in combat!

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