Pokemon Problems

[Juxapose]

This is not for the new Pokemon titles, this is for all the Pokemon titles. 

Pokemon has that magic that enables the players to immerse themselves in an RPG that allows people to interact with other players by their different "versions". Versions limit the players on what Pokemon they can catch and train, and may have some slightly different experiences. The game allows players to trade and battle each other via either the link cable, wireless communication, or global over the internet. 

Naturally, when we discuss any games that allows players to interact with others, there's gonna be problems. Especially once you bring the internet into perspective. The more advanced the system, the more risks we are putting ourselves into. Allow me to explain what sort of problems we may have already encountered, and the problems we might expect when the new versions come out.

Trading

Trading Pokemon is one of the reasons Pokemon can be fun in the old days. But over time, this feature can be pretty useless once people understand how it works. You trade to get Pokemon that your version does not have. But hardcore Pokemon players no longer need to trade with each other since the invention of game genie and other second party hacking software. Not only will they get whatever Pokemon they desire, but they have been able to custom make their own with custom stats and moves that specific Pokemon may not normally be able to learn. Rules of breeding are complex, and it's hard to tell if a Pokemon is legit or hacked unless you do your homework.

Because of hacked Pokemon, you can't really tell if a Pokemon you are receiving via a trade is a legit captured and trained Pokemon. I am aware that in more modern games, games are often patched to try to control hacking and cheating in online competitive play.

One of my fears is that because we are dealing with the 3DS now, hacking Pokemon may come with additional risks than before. I don't know if it has happened with the DSi, but advanced systems are now at greater risks of viruses, phishers, and other potential risks of receiving data over the internet. I don't fully know how a 3DS works, but if it works similar to an XBOX or PS3, some personal info may be entered into your system. 

What if a Pokemon you received in a trade is infected with a virus that bricked your system? Or a Pokemon may leave some type of IP tracking program that infects any computer linked to your router or modem? What if sensitive info is stolen because of something you traded over the internet?

I notice that many people do in fact trade Pokemon over the internet with some of the latest titles. But seriously, why trade a Pokemon with someone over the internet? My assumption is that people are looking for players who are willing to accidentally trade Pokemon with High IV scores for a Pokemon with low IV scores. Older and more intelligent players know how to tell their Pokemon's IV score using a second software over the internet. If a Pokemon has low IV score, they may trade that Pokemon for another one from some kid who has a Pokemon with high IV score. Also I learned that Pokemon with different region Trainer ID has a greater chance with breeding Pokemon with high IV scores. SO by taking advantage of a feature in the game, people will try to pull Pokemon for their nice stat scores, assuming they want to get those scores legitly.

Trainer Battles

With the problems of hackers and second party programs, I don't need to point out the obvious. But just in case it wasn't clear enough, I'll go over it.

Battling friends can and will only be fun if you played against someone you know and trust. But we all know that list of people is very small, and battling against the same people can get boring. But like the old problem I have encountered in Harvest Moon: Sunshine Islands, people hack the games where they can feel like a champion only minutes after the game is released.The same day the game was released, people already had the max title of the game, even though a guide claimed that the title takes months and possibly over a year to be able to gain that title. 

In the game Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, I have noticed hacked players in the PvP campaigns. Players cannot be killed even after being hit with the strongest weapons while being able to kill everyone with the smallest weapons. I asked via the voice chat, and players explained that players do in fact hack their games in order to gain advantages in online competition. They aim to make themselves feel good. While legit players just quit out of frustration and anger. I was one of those players.

In my high school days, I met another Pokemon player. We decided to battle to see who has the better team. Of course, he pulled out a level 137 electrode. Yes, a Pokemon who is over level 100! That one Pokemon just demolished my entire team by itself. The player did admit to obtaining that Pokemon using the Missingno Glitch. But since he didn't hack the game to get that Pokemon, he considered it fair game. Any fair player knows any hack or exploited glitch is not fair game. He had an obvious advantage, and he was proud of that fact. Imagine a million players who would do the same?

Downloadable Content

This idea has been getting a lot of attention in the recent days. Nintendo 3DS allows for downloadable content, like many mainstream systems. Although this is a good idea, allowing players to buy additional maps and quests to challenge in the Pokemon game. But this has become a very scary idea as well. Imagine if some or many of the Pokemon cannot be found unless you paid to be able to catch it. How fair is that? Or maybe you downloaded a map that have Pokemon that you cannot catch elsewhere? The Pokemon shown below is Meleotta, and it's rumored that trainers will not be able to get this Pokemon unless they paid more money than the original cost of the game. Will this also cause problems when it comes to trading Pokemon? Will I not be able to get some Pokemon over trades unless I unlocked the feature by buying online DLC?




SO tell me forum, how do you feel about the online features of Pokemon? Do you have a story to share about people playing the game unfairly? Or maybe you have your own concerns about online trading and battling?

[Butterscotch]

My own reasons for trading via wi-fi are mainly the old-school reasons: to get Pokemon that I can't catch in my version or to get Pokemon that only evolve via trading. And in B/W2 for Join Avenue. I only know one person IRL who also plays Pokemon and we don't see each other much since he changed jobs. So, a few years ago, when DD and I traded Pokemon via wi-fi, it was literally the first time ever that I'd traded a Pokemon with another person and it was pretty cool. 

I'm pretty sure Melotta was a free pokemon. You had to go to a Gamestop to get one and get it via Mystery Gift
I've never gotten any of the in-store event Pokemon, but I've gotten some of the wi-fi event Pokemon (Victini, Gensect and Mew)

[Juxapose]

A small update to my previous post.

Trading

I have looked into a Pokemon forum, and lots of players are not only trading hacked, modded, cloned, and/or RNG'd Pokemon, but they don't even have any shame in doing it. They just set up their little  posts accepting requests for super powered Pokemon to be used in competitive battles.

Trainer Battles

Just for kicks, I have tried my hand on playing the game online against other people. Naturally, the global network is filled with hackers with modified Pokemon with perfect/unnaturally high stats. But if that's not enough, I just found out as well that the game itself is very broken. Apparently, there are items in the game which makes any Pokemon have godly scores outside of hacking. When you have a Pokemon that is both hacked and cheap, the game gets too boring too quickly. But the way that some people deal with it is to use other cheap methods to win. The cheap methods are legit, but is only to counter the godly stats of the hacked Pokemon, which means that normal Pokemon have no chance, and these battles can take HOURS to complete. The online global gameplay is just a trainwreck, and I just enjoy the metagame of Pokemon B2/W2. (The metagame to these are hard enough on it's own, but it is fair.)