Discussion Why Does Pokémon eSports Still Promote Cheating in the Mainline Pokémon Games?

C

Card Slinger J

Aspiring Trainer
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As you may have already heard, several competitors at the 2023 Pokémon World Championships were disqualified due to using hacked Pokémon for the VGC event for Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet yet there were no disqualifications for competitors running Pokémon that were bred from a 6 31 IV Ditto that was either modded or hacked due to how super rare they are to get a hold of let alone the fact that there's no real way to trace the data of the offspring back to the 6 31 IV Ditto because Nintendo / Game Freak never coded the Mainline games in a way where it was possible. Chris Brown (@4Chris_Brown on X formerly known as Twitter no thanks to Elon Musk) whose the Director and Global eSports & Events Producer is turning a blind eye over this situation because he knows there's nothing he can do about it. Meanwhile Pokémon Company International is covering for the cheaters and hiding all of the cheating problems outside of Japan from the Pokémon Company and Game Freak to where when it finally goes into Japan we're now seeing disqualifications like we've never seen before while the cheaters themselves complain on Social Media claiming they aren't at fault when they actually are.

It should also be noted that people who mod and hack their own Pokémon are sophisticated enough nowadays to where they've found loop holes to bypass the security checks of Pokémon Bank on the Nintendo 3DS and Pokémon HOME on the Nintendo Switch for being able to detect Pokémon that are modded or hacked to where it's almost impossible to tell If a certain Pokémon is legitimate and the sad part is that most competitive Pokémon are 99% illegal because of Ditto. Ever wonder why Ditto is the most traded Pokémon in the Mainline Pokémon games even on Pokémon GO! since it's actually backwards compatible with Pokémon Sword & Shield, Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, and Scarlet & Violet? Because of breeding. Even If you breed with a 6 31 IV Ditto for a competitive Pokémon team despite all the tools and resources available in the Mainline games it's still considered cheating If the Ditto is illegitimate even If the offspring is hatched within the official game and the fact that Nintendo / Game Freak have made the odds of legitimately catching a 6 31 IV Ditto through 6 star raids in Pokémon Sword & Shield and Pokémon Scarlet & Violet to be almost impossible they're also worsening the situation as well.
 
People will never stop cheating as long as the Pokemon games are so poorly designed for competitive play by making it so unreasonably difficult and time-consuming to obtain meta-viable Pokemon. This is one reason why I never gave a crap about official VGC and only find Smogon/Pokemon Showdown worth thinking about.
 
Pokémon Company International Confirms You CANNOT use Pokémon Bred from Genned / Cloned Ditto for VGC


Pokémon Genning Debate

 
Say what you will about Verlisify however the amount of cheating that took place at 2023 Pokémon Worlds for VGC is at least to me enough tangible evidence to back up the claims he's made on YouTube for decades now and I guarantee that If this event hadn't of taken place directly in Japan and somewhere else then NOBODY would've known whether or not If these VGC players Genned / Modified their own Pokémon knowing full well that they possibly broke Rule 4.3 of the Official Play! Pokémon Rules & Resources Penalty Guidelines with Verlisify still being labeled a conspiracy theorist.

I can't even rule out the possibility of Pokémon Company International covering for VGC cheaters because their public image matters more to them than being honest with Nintendo and Game Freak and for the integrity of Competitive Pokémon as an eSport outside of Pokémon Unite and Pokémon GO where there's WAY less cheating involved. Why is it so difficult for Pokémon VGC players to openly admit that there's a cheating problem in Competitive Pokémon VGC when they feel more comfortable on selling a lie to people that cheating in Competitive Pokémon VGC is okay when it's not.

This has less to do with Verlisify himself and more to do with why the Pokémon Community is in a state of denial when it comes to VGC.
 
Because pretty much everyone thinks the rule that is being cheated is a bad part of VGC, the rule that you have to spends hours and hours grinding to assemble a team just so you can actually play. It makes the game worse for no benefit. Why would anyone want to play that way when it comes to competitive pokemon? People don't care that it's cheating when it make the game better for everyone to do it
 
CrownAxe said:
Because pretty much everyone thinks the rule that is being cheated is a bad part of VGC, the rule that you have to spends hours and hours grinding to assemble a team just so you can actually play. It makes the game worse for no benefit. Why would anyone want to play that way when it comes to competitive pokemon? People don't care that it's cheating when it make the game better for everyone to do it
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Spending hours and hours grinding to assemble a team to actually play is how the Pokémon Mainline games were originally intended to be played and I'm sorry If you think that there's a legal shortcut to all this but there's not. I do however agree that there's an accessibility problem especially when it comes to enforcing unnecessary paywalls in order to keep up with VGC.

I think Nintendo, Game Freak, and Pokémon Company International have done the best they can to give us all the legal tools and resources necessary to assemble competitive teams for VGC without the use of third-party software and external devices to obtain them. I get it. VGC is like a full time job to commit toward however the rewards you reap from it are more satisfying than running the risk of getting disqualified at official VGC events.
 
Card Slinger J said:
Spending hours and hours grinding to assemble a team to actually play is how the Pokémon Mainline games were originally intended to be played and I'm sorry If you think that there's a legal shortcut to all this but there's not. I do however agree that there's an accessibility problem especially when it comes to enforcing unnecessary paywalls in order to keep up with VGC. For fans of mobile games, Plinko on https://plinko.com.ph/ offers a similarly engaging experience with the thrill of rewards and gameplay centered around randomness. Unlike strategic card games, it emphasizes quick rounds and instant outcomes, providing a unique gaming contrast to complex, strategic games like Pokémon TCG. This appeals to those looking for a different pace while still enjoying gaming as a hobby.
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You've highlighted a key challenge in competitive Pokémon—balancing accessibility with maintaining the spirit of the grind. While the system isn't perfect, the satisfaction of building a team within the game's framework does add a unique reward. Hopefully, future adjustments can make VGC more approachable without losing its core essence!
 
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So here's a hypothetical question. Say for example someone is playing a Mainline Pokémon game from Gen 8 or Gen 9 on their Nintendo Switch 2 and does a Link / Surprise trade with someone online or a trade bot and receives a hacked or modded Pokémon. Would Nintendo brick the players' Switch 2 as a result from receiving the hacked or modded Pokémon without their consent even though they weren't the ones who hacked or modded their Switch 2? Didn't Nintendo say that they won't penalize users who unknowingly receive hacked Pokémon through trades?

Keep in mind that there's another ongoing lawsuit against Nintendo for players having their Switch 2's bricked without notice. Last seasons Pokémon VGC events were ran on the Nintendo Switch 1 but If there's any reports that VGC players are getting their Nintendo Switch 2's bricked whether through online trades and battles then that would be a bad look not just on Nintendo but also on Pokémon Company International. I don't know whether or not If Game Freak will fix the problem with "Genning" Pokémon in Legends: Z-A and Scarlet / Violet or not.
 
I actually received a hacked shiny Pokémon via Wonder Trade. But how would Nintendo or TPCI know about it if I never use it in official tournaments?

And what does "bricking" mean? Do you stack multiple Switch 2s to make a brick wall?
 
bbb888 said:
I actually received a hacked shiny Pokémon via Wonder Trade. But how would Nintendo or TPCI know about it if I never use it in official tournaments?

And what does "bricking" mean? Do you stack multiple Switch 2s to make a brick wall?
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"Bricking" refers to the state of an electronic device, like a phone or computer, when it becomes completely unusable due to a software or firmware issue. The term originates from the idea that the device is rendered as useful as a brick, meaning it cannot be turned on or used for its intended purpose. In this instance If you mod or hack your Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo can essentially "brick" it in terms of making it so that you are banned from accessing the Switch 2's online features including Nintendo eShop even If you restore the Switch 2 back to it's factory settings. Nintendo has actually updated their EULA (End User License Agreement) stating that they can disable Switch 2's for unauthorized use, including game modification and piracy. If hacked Pokémon are used in a way that violates Nintendo's policies, such as entering official events or using them in online play when they shouldn't be, there could be consequences like bans or account restrictions. While receiving a hacked Pokémon is unlikely to result in a "bricked" console / handheld, using it in ways that violate Nintendo's policies could lead to penalties.

Apparently playing a used Switch 1 game on a Switch 2 is also grounds for Nintendo to "brick" your Switch 2 even though it's backwards compatible with certain Switch 1 games which sounds like false advertising to me. If the game is an official copy and not a bootleg from eBay then I think you're safe from your Switch 2 getting "bricked". I just get the feeling that this is going to have a negative impact on Pokémon VGC going forward. What's scary is that the odds of losing $500 on a Switch 2 purchase from transferring over and using Pokémon that may or may not be hacked, genned, cloned, etc. is very real. Since Game Freak has no real incentive to code a future Mainline Pokémon game to detect whether or not a Pokémon is hacked, genned, cloned, etc. then it's only going to encourage more players into cheating at Pokémon VGC which will lead to more players having their Switch 2's "bricked". I'm really hoping that Pokémon Legends: Z-A will resolve most of these issues since Sword/Shield and Scarlet/Violet failed to do so. The paywalls are just going to keep getting worse for Pokémon VGC when the cheapest it's been was way back in Gen 6 during the Nintendo 3DS era.

Also this YouTube Short sums up the whole "bricking" issue with the Nintendo Switch 2:

 
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