How Do Auctions Work in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet?

Pokemon Scarlet & Violet introduced many firsts for the long-running series. The obvious additions are features like Terastallizing, the open world, and the iconic ability to stop and make a sandwich. But one new feature that many easily overlook is the Porto Marinada auction house.

Sure, if you’re running low on supplies, you could simply hit a Pokemon Center and stock up. But for specific items you can’t find anywhere, the auction house might be what you’re looking for. Let’s see how the auctions work in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet.

How do auctions work in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet?

First, you’ll have to take down the Cascarrafa gym leader. Fortunately, this quest will actually teach you quite a bit about auctions in the process. Afterwards, you’ll have access to daily auctions in the Porto Marinada Market. As a reminder, this is just west of West Province (Area Two).

Once you arrive, you’ll see four vendors, two on each side. These vendors won’t let you purchase items from them traditionally, but you will be able to participate in an auction to win a specific item indicated by the speech bubbles above their heads. Be sure you have plenty of money to spare, as these auctions can get pricey.

As soon as you’ve decided to participate, the auction will begin. You’ll be put up against two characters who also want the item, so you must outbid them. The vendor will announce the starting bid, and you can choose to either meet it, exceed it, pass this round, or give up entirely. Then, the other bidders will make their respective choices. The auction will go on until two of the three bidders have given up on making any future bids. It’s worth noting that some bidders will bid higher on certain. But if you bring enough cash to play with, that shouldn’t pose a problem.

Every item has a minimum Pokedollar amount at which you’ll 100% win the auction. However, this value is invisible to the player, and doesn’t apply to the other NPCs. The safest way to win auctions is to keep bidding until your opponents bow out. However, if you save right before the auction and reload your file, you may score the item for a bit cheaper. This most likely isn’t worth the time, especially since it’s faster to just farm cash. To learn more about farming money, check out our guide here.

Be careful, though! Once you’ve either won or lost the auction, there won’t be another one in that stall until tomorrow. Unless you choose to change your Switch’s time, but… you didn’t hear that from me.

The different kind of options

As we mentioned earlier, there are four total auctions each day — three normal and one special. You’ll only have access to the special auction if you have certain Pokemon in your boxes/party. For example, you can earn the valuable Rotom Catalog from the special auction. If you keep checking, you can also win a Griseous Core, a Scroll of Darkness, a Prison Bottle, and many other items!

Normal auctions offer items that are less rare, but still helpful depending on how much you’re willing to spend. For example, I nabbed a set of Dive Balls, which can be helpful when catching ‘mons in or on the water. You can also buy items to reset your Pokemon’s EVs via auctions.

Depending on what daily items you roll, you might find that it’s easier (and cheaper) to just find a store that sells that item and buy it there. But, it’s at least worth checking to see what’s being auctioned off each day that you’re progressing through Pokemon Scarlet & Violet.