Pokemon Scarlet & Violet players divided over “forbidden” Shinies being called legitimate
Pokemon Scarlet & Violet players have discovered a way to circumvent Game Freak’s preventative measures and spread hacked Pokemon, and trainers are divided over calling these “forbidden” Pokemon legitimate.
When data miners began digging through Pokemon Scarlet & Violet’s code, it was discovered that several unused Pokemon were found inside the game’s files. These Pokemon came with models, textures, and movesets but weren’t obtainable via legitimate means.
Meant to be present and ready to go when Pokemon Scarlet & Violet could connect with Pokemon HOME, players could use hacks to inject these “forbidden” Pokemon into their save files early. The catch, however, was that these Pokemon could not be used in online play. No Surprise Trades or Link Trades allowed.
Yet, players found a way to circumvent these protective measures using the new Union Circle mode. By entering a Union Circle without one of these forbidden Pokemon in their party, a trainer can then pull the Pokemon out of their box and breed it, allowing the other trainers to collect the eggs, effectively bypassing Game Freak’s preventative measures and spreading the “forbidden” Pokemon.
Can “forbidden” Shiny Pokemon be legitimate?
As showcased in the video above from Trails Pokemon, these “forbidden” Pokemon function exactly as intended, even allowing players to use the Masuda Method to Shiny hunt them. While it isn’t the fastest hunting method, it gets the job done when there aren’t other options.
Trails never claimed his Shiny Hisuian Arcanine was legitimate and makes it explicitly clear that his Hisuian Growlithe originated from someone down the line that hacked the Pokemon in. But Reddit user No-Cancel-3990 revealed a tear in the community when showing off their Shiny Fennekin on r/ShinyPokemon.
“I got a forbidden shiny in Scarlet and Violet,” they stated, “and it’s legitimate in every way.” And while most players were fine with the first half of the statement, it was the second half that made waves.
Trainers in the comments began to argue over why they thought the Pokemon was or wasn’t legitimate. “Just wanted to comment that the Shiny Fenniken was obtained via a legitimate shiny hunting method. The pokemon itself was not legit,” one user shared.
Another stated, “Doesn’t matter how far down the breed goes, if it starts with a hacked mon, people look the other way. Bc if it wasn’t for hacks, there would be no way for you to shiny hunt it. So don’t say “legitimate” if you want people to not argue.”
Others came to the user’s defense, stating, “Who gives a rat’s *ss if it’s whatever people want to call it. Congrats on the sick shiny homie.”
Another pointed out how ridiculous it seems for players to get mad at how another trainer plays a single-player game. “Those of you who get mad at these kinds of posts, what kind of effect did this have on your copy of the game?”
OP stated they feel the Pokemon is legitimate because they didn’t use hacks to obtain the original, and they didn’t manipulate the game to make it easier to Shiny hunt. They added that these forms would be added to the game soon with the addition of Pokemon HOME compatibility. They just bypassed the wait.
