Pokemon trainer gets Lv100 Shiny Blastoise in surprise trade, but there’s a catch

Identifying and handling hacked Pokémon in Sword/Shield surprise trades

The Temptation of Too-Good-To-Be-True Trades

Pokémon Sword and Shield’s surprise trade feature delivers thrilling moments when players receive unexpected treasures, but seasoned trainers know to approach extraordinary gifts with caution.

While receiving a Shiny Blastoise through surprise trade might seem like a dream come true, the Pokémon community quickly identified this particular LV 100 specimen as likely illegitimate. This incident highlights the growing issue of hacked Pokémon circulating in online trades.

Authentic Shiny Pokémon remain exceptionally rare in the Galar region, with legitimate acquisition requiring either extraordinary luck or dedicated hunting techniques like the Masuda Method. The odds of randomly encountering a Shiny in the wild stand at 1 in 4,096, making unsolicited Shiny trades particularly suspicious.

Reddit user Vegaworldpeace’s experience serves as a cautionary tale. Their initial excitement at receiving a high-level Shiny Blastoise turned to disappointment when community members pointed out multiple red flags, including:

• Perfect IV spreads across all stats
• A trainer ID matching a URL shortening service
• Unusual moveset combinations

How to Detect Hacked Pokémon

Vigilant trainers can employ several verification techniques to identify potentially hacked Pokémon:

IV Analysis: Press the + button on your Nintendo Switch controller while viewing the Pokémon’s summary to check its Individual Values. While perfect 6IV Pokémon do occur naturally, their appearance in surprise trades should raise suspicion, especially when combined with other red flags.

Trainer ID Inspection: Examine the Original Trainer (OT) information. Hackers often use:

• Blank trainer names
• Website URLs advertising hacking services
• Shortened links (like bit.ly or t.co)
• Impossible trainer IDs (all zeros or repeating patterns)

Additionally, check for Pokémon with:

• Impossible move combinations (moves the species can’t legally learn)
• Abilities not normally available for that species
• Shiny locks (Pokémon that are programmed to never appear Shiny)

Best Practices for Safe Trading

To protect your game integrity and online experience, follow these trading guidelines:

Pre-Trade Precautions:

• Set realistic expectations – genuine Shiny trades are extremely rare
• Research current event distributions to identify possible legitimate sources
• Consider using dedicated trading communities with reputation systems

Post-Trade Verification:

• Immediately check all received Pokémon using the methods above
• When in doubt, consult community resources like r/PokemonSwordAndShield
• If a Pokémon is suspect, release it rather than risk using or retrading it

Remember that using hacked Pokémon, even unknowingly, could potentially flag your account. The safest approach is to maintain a policy of “when in doubt, release it out” for questionable trades.

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