Pokemon Scarlet & Violet players devise “genius” Smeargle trick

Nathan Ellingsworth
The Pokemon Smeargle stands in the middle of a room, holding its tail like a paintbrush

The Pokemon Smeargle has one very particular trick up its sleeve, but it can run out. But, Pokemon Scarlet & Violet players are now coming together with a genius new Smeargle tactic.

One of many Pokemon that make a return in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet is Smeargle, the Sketch Pokemon. A strange Pokemon with a paintbrush for a tail and a very unique move, players have been using Smeargle to help them catch Pokemon ever since its debut.

Smeargle can learn a move called ‘Sketch’ which allows it to copy another Pokemon’s move. It can also learn this move multiple times, which means while some Pokemon are limited to the few TMs they can learn, Smeargle can learn almost any move in the game.

This helps catch Shiny Pokemon, as Smeargle can learn all sorts of fancy moves to trap Pokemon or use various status effects to bring down their defense. So, a few Pokemon Scarlet & Violet players are sharing their “genius” Smeargle techniques to make the most of the painterly Pocket Monster.

Fans share how best to use Smeargle in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet

In a Reddit post shared by Pokemon Scarlet & Violet player Gr4mmar, the user comments, “How go get unlimited smeargle sketches if you’ve beaten all possible trainers.”

Then they add, “Keep re-inviting Rhyme in the league club room in the indigo disk dlc and just constantly re-challenge her since she always does double battles. Utilize the “call special coach” feature on the computer. Hope this helps someone.”

Fans are adding their techniques in the comments, with one helpful comment adding, “If your Smeargle doesn’t know Sketch let it relearn Sketch by using the reminder function in the Pokémon menu.”

Then, they expand saying, “To use Sketch on most moves: Find a Smeargle in the wild and attack it with the attack you want to sketch. The wild Smeargle will sketch it.”

They follow up, saying, “Switch out to your Smeargle and let it Sketch the wild Smeargle’s attack which it learned by sketching your first Pokémon’s move.”

It’s a touch convoluted, but another player adds a different tactic, saying, “Fight a ditto with a Pokemon Carrying ONLY the move you want to copy. Wait for it to transform. Swap in Smeargle. Sketch.”

A few people are already sharing the best way to take advantage of this Smeargle trick, especially to bag some rare Pokemon. One comment adds, “I still haven’t caught most of snackworths friends. Now I’m considering making another Smeargle with spore, false swipe and thunderwave.”

It’s clear that, despite its humble Generation 2 origins, Smeargle is still a useful Pokemon for trainers even in the modern day. Hopefully, this information helps some of the newer players to appreciate this classic Pocket Monster.