As most would know, creating sandwiches in Pokemon Scarlet & Pokemon Violet require ingredients and condiments. By combining ingredients/toppings with different or matching flavors, trainers can generate Meal Effects, which can be used to help catch or encounter Pokemon, or even make Pokemon Eggs hatch faster. The sandwich-creating mechanic can be a bit complicated, but it’s worth mastering for Scarlet/Violet players that want to catch wild Pokemon.

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Unlocking Sandwich Recipes

Scarlet/Violet players will unlock the Picnic feature before they leave Mesagoza. However, at the start, there won’t be too many ingredients or sandwich recipes. In fact, rookie trainers may want to stick to the Recipes because they’ll have limited ingredients. The only way to get new Recipes is to visit an Every Which Way store and speak to the man (white counter) by the counter. He’ll share any recipes with the player character. To unlock more recipes, players will need to collect Gym Badges (Victory Road). Each time a Gym Leader is defeated, visit Every Which Way and see if he has a new recipe to hand out.

The other way to get Sandwich Recipes is to return to the player character’s house and speak to their mother. She’ll give trainers the Veggie Sandwich Recipe once some progress has been made in Scarlet/Violet’s campaign.

Every Ingredient & How to Get Them

There are many sandwich ingredients and condiments in Scarlet/Violet. Like Sandwich Recipes, more of these will be unlocked as players earn Gym Badges. Each ingredient and condiment has a “flavor” and corresponds to different Pokemon Types. For example: Avocados are classified as a sweet and somewhat sour ingredient that provides a Dragon-type Boost when used in a sandwich.

Here’s every ingredient and condiment in-game:

The best way to get ingredients is to shop for them at Paldea’s four markets: Deli Cioso, Sure Cans, Artisan Bakery, and Aquiesta Supermarket. Most of these stores can be found in almost every major city in Paldea. Another way to get ingredients is to speak to picnicking NPCs in different Provinces. They’ll be standing next to a picnic table and their Pokemon. Speaking to them will net free ingredients and the chance to rest up and restore HP/PP of the player’s party.

Sure Cans

Located in:

Mesagoza (x2) Cascarrafa Porto Marinada Levincia

Aquiesta Supermarket

Located in:

Levincia

Aquiesta Supermarket is unique in that there’s only one in the entire Paldea region. Here, players can buy condiments such as Wasabi and Curry Powder, which can’t be found anywhere else. Of course, these items only become available once players have enough gym badges.

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Deli Cioso

Located in:

Mesagoza (x3) Artazon Montenevera Cortondo Levincia Cascarrafa Medali Porto Marinada

Artisan Bakery

Located in:

Mesagoza (x3) Cortondo Artazon Cascarrafa Porto Marinada Medali Alfornado Levincia

The Artisan Bakery chain are the only food stores that sell sandwich picks. These are required for sandwich making, too. The picks themselves can be rather pricey, so players may want to choose the Silver Pick (40 poke dollars) and put the rest of their money to actual ingredients.

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Rankings & Creative Mode

Every time a sandwich is made, it’s ranked on a scale of 1-3 Stars. A higher ranking means more healing (may recover PP and rid status ailments instead of just replenishing HP) and the more its Friendship grows. 3-Star Sandwiches usually have at least one Lv.2 Meal Effect.

If players are using a Recipe, then they can see the types of Meal Effects (and their level) that will be generated. To get a 3-star, players must make sure as little ingredients as possible fall off the sandwich. A sandwich made by following recipes means less chance of a sandwich “toppling” thanks to the limited amount of ingredients they use. Because of this, most of these sandwiches don’t have Meal Effects that go beyond Lv.1.

If players choose not to use a Recipe, then they can instead press the X-button on the “Make a sandwich” menu to go into Creative Mode. As its name indicates, Creative Mode allows players to choose up to 6 ingredients and 4 condiments. In Creative Mode, players can pile on random toppings/condiments, or they can craft a sandwich using specific ingredients for specific results. Any sandwich crafted from scratch are classified as “A Tasty [Trainer’s Name] Original” and are ranked on a scale of 1-3 Stars.

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All Meal Effects & What They Do

As mentioned, Meal Effects are bonuses from eating sandwiches. These usually last about half an hour. Players can only have 3 Meal Effects active at a time. If using Creative Mode, a Meal Effect is determined by the ingredients’ values, such as its taste and “Type.” There are 10 Meal Effects in Scarlet/Violet:

Meal Effects can be anywhere from Lv.1 to Lv.3, and it’s easier to get these by using Creative Mode. The stronger taste of the ingredients and condiments will determine the Type of the Meal Effects, as well as the Meal Effect itself. Also keep in mind that ingredients can cancel out another ingredient. So, if players are trying to craft a sandwich with the Humungo Meal Effect, then using the Rice ingredient (a humungo ingredient) will subtract a few points from the Teensy boost.

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Best Shiny Hunting Recipes

Once players get to Scarlet/Violet’s postgame, they’ll be able to participate in 5-Star Tera Raid Battles. These battles have a 2-3% chance of having Herba Mystica as rewards. When players defeat the postgame tournament, they’ll be able to partake in 6-Star Tera Raid Battles, which also may have Herba Mystica. These Herba Mysticas are a special and rare seasoning that will automatically boost a Meal Effect to Lv.3. They’re also necessary if players want to have the Sparkling Power Meal Effect.

To get the Sparkling Power, a sandwich recipe needs to have at least 2 Herba Mysticas. The ingredients and other condiments should reflect the Type of Pokemon that the player wants to catch. Here’s an example recipe for an Ice-type Sparkling Power sandwich:

2 Klawf Sticks 1 Ham 1 Lettuce 1 Red Onion 2 Herba Mystica (1 Salty, 1 Sour)

If none of the ingredients fall off, then the Sparkling Power: Ice Meal Effect was given as well as Title Power and Encounter Power. The other Powers are determined by the other types of ingredients. If one ingredient slips off, then the Typing of the Meal Effects will change to something random. It’s recommended to Save before trying to craft a sandwich with Herba Mysticas.

In short, players should craft a sandwich using ingredients that correspond to the Type of the Pokemon they want to Shiny Hunt. Then, they must select two Herba Mysticas if they want the Sparkling Power. To ensure that they get the results they want, Scarlet/Violet players should make sure not one ingredient falls off the bread.

Pokemon Scarlet & Pokemon Violet are available for Nintendo Switch.