Since their launch on Friday, it's become clear that Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen's Nintendo Switch re-releases aren't just simple ports, with a number of changes made from their original Game Boy Advance versions. However, one alteration is either one of the best or by far the most annoying, depending on who you ask, as quickly resetting the game just became a lot easier.
Soft resetting in Pokemon is nothing new – certain button combinations in the pre-Switch games swiftly send you back to the title screen, allowing you to reload your save without having to more slowly turn your console off and back on again. This is generally a feature reserved for the shiny hunters – folks dedicated to tracking down ultra-rare, sparkly Pokemon with alternate color palettes – as for certain Pokemon like Legendaries and the starters at the beginning of the game, the only way to look for them is by re-rolling that same encounter over and over again.
In the original releases of FireRed and LeafGreen, the soft reset button combination was A+B+Start+Select at the same time, but on Switch and Switch 2, you can mash A+B+X+Y at the same time, instead. It wasn't particularly tricky before, but the ability to press your thumb against your controller makes resetting even smoother, and I know I'm going to be thankful for it when I get to the post-game and the re-added Deoxys event (which I'm determined to make sparkle).
I'm not the only shiny hunter excited about this change. "Y + X + B + A to soft reset is SO COMFY!" celebrates content creator Professor Rex. "I discovered on my own and that's gonna be a breeze for shiny hunting," another responds.
For some, though, resetting might be proving a bit too easy. "So uh accidentally button mashed abxy while level grinding in leaf green and lost a female pikachu a gym badge & 90 minutes of progress," one player tragically writes. "Don't be like me gamers save OFTEN."
Anddddd here’s the moment it happened 😭😭 don’t be like me save save SAVE your games ugh #FRLG #PokemonFRLG https://t.co/LXAdu8Fxk4 pic.twitter.com/KRdW1R6Ey8March 1, 2026
"I lost 5 hours of progress because of this and rage quit, sent from lavender town back to Mt. Moon," says another.
"I found out the hard way accidentally lol I had four pokemon hadn't saved just yet accidentally hit all four at once and it took me out," another adds.
It's always good advice to save often in games that don't have an auto-save feature, but that seems more important now than ever, especially if you're someone who tends to mash buttons a lot – stay vigilant, folks.
