A soft reset is a mechanic employed in several video games, including of the Pokémon franchise.
Description[]
A soft reset involves the player inputting a sequence of buttons to reset the game software without having to turn the console on and off, thereby saving time. It is usually preceded by saving the game first so that the player continues at the exact point before doing a soft reset.
In the core series, a soft reset is usually to repeat scripted encounters with Pokémon such as Legendary Pokémon if the battle has an undesirable outcome, like the player failing to catch a Legendary Pokémon. In some cases, the player does a soft reset for scripted encounters until they finally obtain a Shiny Pokémon.
For the Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance games, released during the first three generations respectively, the player has to hold the A button, B button, Start button, and Select button simultaneously to do a soft reset.
For the Nintendo DS games, released during Generation IV and Generation V, the player can do a soft reset by holding the L button, R button, Select button, and Start button simultaneously.
For the Nintendo 3DS games, released during Generation VI and Generation VII up to Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, the player can do a soft reset by holding the L and R buttons with either the Start or Select button.
Core games on the Nintendo Switch, released during Generation VII from Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee, Generation VIII, and Generation IX, lack a soft reset function.