This is a quality-of-life change rarely discussed. You can now press the "B" button immediately after inputting a Z-Move to skip the long pose animation. The damage still calculates, but the player avatar no longer freezes for 2.5 seconds. This cut online match times by an average of 8 seconds per Z-Move.
While not officially advertised by Nintendo, dataminers quickly discovered that Pokémon Ultra Sun Update 1.2 quietly patched a terrifying save corruption bug.
Before 1.2, a specific sequence of events — involving saving inside the Festival Plaza while simultaneously receiving a trade request and a Wonder Trade — could corrupt the save file, forcing players to delete their entire progress. This was rare but devastating.
Update 1.2 rewrote how the game handled autosave triggers in the Plaza’s network lobby. Post-1.2, the game creates a temp backup before finalizing trades, eliminating the corruption risk. If you are picking up Ultra Sun today, do not skip this update—the unpatched version is a time bomb for your save file.
In the grand history of Pokémon patches, Pokémon Ultra Sun Update 1.2 may not be as flashy as Scarlet/Violet’s DLC or as famous as X/Y’s Lumiose City save fix. But for the 3DS generation, it was the final seal of quality.
It transformed Ultra Sun from a slightly buggy, online-fragile game into a rock-solid farewell to an era. Whether you are a shiny hunter relying on the GTS, a VGC veteran revisiting 2018 rulesets, or a new player discovering Alola for the first time on a used 3DS, install Version 1.2.
Don’t risk the save corruption. Don’t accept the broken Bank transfers. And certainly don’t miss out on the chance to battle with Zeraora.
Alola’s final patch is its finest.
Further Reading:
Have you experienced any glitches with Pokémon Ultra Sun? Did Update 1.2 fix them? Share your story in the comments below.
Pokémon Ultra Sun version 1.2 was a critical patch released by Nintendo and Game Freak to address specific bugs that hindered the gameplay experience shortly after the game's launch. While it did not introduce new Pokémon or story content, it remains a mandatory download for anyone looking to access the game's online features or ensure a stable playthrough. Why the 1.2 Update Was Necessary
The primary goal of version 1.2 was stability. Before this patch, players encountered several "soft-lock" bugs and move-specific glitches that could ruin a competitive match or force a hard reset of the Nintendo 3DS system. By downloading this update, players ensured that their save files remained compatible with the Global Link and the Pokémon Bank. Key Fixes and Improvements The update focused on three major areas of the game:
Move Glitches: Fixed a bug where moves like Wide Guard and Ion Deluge did not function correctly in specific battle scenarios.
Z-Move Stability: Addressed an issue where using a Z-Move could occasionally cause the game to crash or behave erratically.
Online Compatibility: Required for all "Battle Spot" activities, including Rated Battles and Online Competitions, to ensure all players were on the same version. How to Download the Update
Updating your copy of Pokémon Ultra Sun is straightforward. You can follow these steps: Connect your Nintendo 3DS to the internet. Open the Nintendo eShop from the home menu. Search for "Pokémon Ultra Sun Update." Select "Update Ver. 1.2" and tap "Download."
Alternatively, the console may prompt you to update automatically when you launch the game while connected to Wi-Fi. Data and Storage pokemon ultra sun update 1.2
The update requires roughly 539 blocks of free space on your SD card. It is important to note that after installing version 1.2, any Battle Videos recorded on previous versions (1.0 or 1.1) will no longer be playable. Summary of Changes Fix Status Wide Guard Bug Ion Deluge Bug Online Battles Enabled (Required) System Stability
🚀 Pro Tip: Always keep your 3DS firmware updated alongside the game patch to prevent connectivity errors when trading or battling with friends. If you are having trouble with the update, let me know: What error code are you seeing? Do you have enough SD card space? Are you using a physical cartridge or a digital download? AI responses may include mistakes. Learn more
Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon Update 1.2 was primarily a bug-fix patch released on February 7, 2018, to resolve critical game-freezing issues during competitive play. www.pocketmonsters.net Key Fixes & Changes Move Glitch Fixes : Fixed a bug where using the moves Forest’s Curse Power Trick String Shot
could cause the game to freeze during Live Competitions or QR Code events. Competitive Unbans
: Due to the fix, these four moves were officially unbanned from Play! Pokémon video game tournaments. Ion Deluge : Resolved an issue where the move Ion Deluge would fail to function correctly. Online Requirement
: This update is required to access any of the game's online functionalities. Battle Videos
: Once the update is installed, any Battle Videos saved in previous versions (v1.1 or earlier) can no longer be played or shared. www.pocketmonsters.net Technical Details Download Size : Approximately 539 blocks of space on your SD card. Availability : Downloadable via the Nintendo eShop for the Nintendo 3DS family of systems. www.pocketmonsters.net
For a complete history of all technical adjustments and minor patches, refer to the Serebii Update Archive installing this update on a specific device, or are you interested in competitive strategies for the moves that were unbanned? Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon Version 1.2 Patch This is a quality-of-life change rarely discussed
The final and most significant update for Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon is Version 1.1. If you see a prompt to update your game, this is the version you are installing.
Here is the complete breakdown of the features included in the Version 1.1 Update, which is mandatory for online play and specific in-game events.
The Alola Photo Club was prone to crashing when loading custom QR codes for backgrounds. Update 1.2 stabilized the QR reader, preventing the “An error has occurred, please restart the system” black screen.
Posted by Zeta_Blade on April 24, 2026
If you dust off your old New Nintendo 3DS XL today, pop in a cartridge of Pokémon Ultra Sun, and let it connect to the internet, something strange happens. It doesn't immediately find a random battle or a Wonder Trade. Instead, a tiny, unassuming prompt appears: “A software update is available. Version 1.2.”
For the majority of players who finished their Alolan journey back in 2018 or 2019, this update might as well be a ghost story. We remember Version 1.1—the day-one patch that fixed the Mantine Surf softlocks and enabled the Battle Agency. But 1.2? That arrived quietly in the twilight hours of the 3DS eShop, just before the servers began their long sunset.
Let’s dig into what Pokémon Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon Version 1.2 actually did, why most of you never noticed it, and why it represents the final, bittersweet breath of the Nintendo 3DS generation.