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Why do people ask for legendary pokemon in exchange for common pokemon?

At least in the 6th gen you can filter out all special pokémon and go even further by only seeking trades for pokémon you have. GTS used to be a massive pain back in the 4th generation <__<.
 
It might be interesting to check one of these lists one day and then compare it the next day to see if that's what is going on. I'd like to think that is is, because I can't get my head around so many people either trolling or expecting these trades to really go through. Some people maybe, but this many?
In some ways it's worse in the TCGO, because on the TCGO you can only post a trade for up to 24-48 hours at a time and there are STILL hundreds of requests for rare cards in exchange for commons.
 
Just now i went on the GTS and searched for Ekans, since i couldn't get it on my game. There were several results, all asking for Kyogre, Mew, and quite a few other other legendary pokemon.

Does anyone really think a level 1 Ekans is worth a Mew? Or am i missing something?

Well it's like this. many many people horde their legends. Most of these people have multiple games. However the majority of players don't have multiple games, not ones at least that trade with each other. If you're trying to get all of the Pokemon and you have a limit of one game it really isn't fair if you are trying to collect all of the Pokemon to have one of each (instead of a PokeDex listing only) to trade off your Legendary Pokemon for one you don't have. There are plenty of people out there that have multiple copies of Pokemon Legendaries and it isn't going to kill them to trade one of these extras away.
For those people though, wouldn't it make sense to offer up a pokemon that isn't common? Or even a shiny?

The ones that are annoying me are the low level (either freshly hatched or freshly caught) very easy to get pokemon asking for the very rare and hard to get pokemon. No level 1 Zigzagoon is worth a Mew.


I bet these are the same people that flood Wonder Trade with Route 2/Route 102 pokemon. :(
 
It'd be nice of the GTS would give more information on the Pokemon, such as abilities, so people don't get scammed as much by people making untrue claims, but that's a different issue, I guess.
That would be awesome, as I've been scammed out of Legendaries by people claiming that they are offering 6IV HA Pokemon. I lost two Groudon trying to get a female Iron Fist Chimchar and both had Blaze--my third attempt was actually successful--and I have a box full of "6IV/HA!" Golurk that have two IVs and are all Klutzes. Granted, I kept everything I got in trade but it is annoying as heck to cough up a tariff like that only to find out that the person on the other end of the deal is lying.

And yes, I'm willing to pay that sort of price for a legit trade. But when I find out I've been scammed, I'm far more reluctant to trade. (There was someone who was offering No Guard Golett on the GTS last year; she was asking for a Palkia iirc. I traded.... and the little guy had Klutz. She offered others throughout the year but I absolutely refused to bite, which was difficult to say the least. But you know the saying: Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.)
 
And yes, I'm willing to pay that sort of price for a legit trade. But when I find out I've been scammed, I'm far more reluctant to trade. (There was someone who was offering No Guard Golett on the GTS last year; she was asking for a Palkia iirc. I traded.... and the little guy had Klutz. She offered others throughout the year but I absolutely refused to bite, which was difficult to say the least. But you know the saying: Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.)

This is what I went through looking for a Bulletproof Chespin. I've traded away too many legendaries by trusting people on there.
 
At least in the 6th gen you can filter out all special pokémon and go even further by only seeking trades for pokémon you have. GTS used to be a massive pain back in the 4th generation <__<.

This is the saving-grace of an otherwise terribly-executed perfect idea. Although I still continue to ponder why the GTS lets you ask for event legendaries when they simply cannot be traded via GTS?
 
I have almost all pokemon with Hidden abilities (the only ones I don't have are legendaries cause they're from event only)


And yes... I do actually get the trades because I actually trade out what people wants so they will recommend me as a good trader on GTS, lol. (not like people talk to each other anyways)

I've gotten 3 Darkrai, 2 Jirachi, 2 Shaymin on GTS by trading Hidden Ability pokemons.



(created an account here just to reply to this, giggles)
 
I've gotten legends for common Pokémon, too. People are surprisingly generous - I've put up multiple 5-6 IV Duskull breedjects and gotten around:
15 Reshiram
10 Zekrom
7 Kyurem
5 Kyogre
5 Groudon
2 Cresselia
Tornadus

Some of them were shiny, too.
 
That would be awesome, as I've been scammed out of Legendaries by people claiming that they are offering 6IV HA Pokemon. I lost two Groudon trying to get a female Iron Fist Chimchar and both had Blaze--my third attempt was actually successful--and I have a box full of "6IV/HA!" Golurk that have two IVs and are all Klutzes. Granted, I kept everything I got in trade but it is annoying as heck to cough up a tariff like that only to find out that the person on the other end of the deal is lying.

And yes, I'm willing to pay that sort of price for a legit trade. But when I find out I've been scammed, I'm far more reluctant to trade. (There was someone who was offering No Guard Golett on the GTS last year; she was asking for a Palkia iirc. I traded.... and the little guy had Klutz. She offered others throughout the year but I absolutely refused to bite, which was difficult to say the least. But you know the saying: Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.)

Ughhh. Yeah, IV data would be good, too, if people are going to offer trades based on those. Some people will just take advantage of others in any way possible. As much information as possible should be available.

Sadly, I don't think there's much that can be done about the uneven, Zigzagoon-for-Jirachi trades we see everywhere. People are just going to be people, I suppose.
 
(created an account here just to reply to this, giggles)
Hehe. I nearly created an account just to ask this. I got all the way though the registration form and was about to hit the button when i realized i already had an account. Ooops.

I've gotten legends for common Pokémon, too. People are surprisingly generous

I don't doubt there are generous people on the GTS, but the reason i'm there is simply to fill out my pokedex. The pokemon that comes from the GTS will be leveled, evolved and never touched again.

It drives me crazy when i look for a mundane pokemon and get a dozen asking for legendaries.
 
Just now i went on the GTS and searched for Ekans, since i couldn't get it on my game. There were several results, all asking for Kyogre, Mew, and quite a few other other legendary pokemon.

Does anyone really think a level 1 Ekans is worth a Mew? Or am i missing something?

Well it's like this. many many people horde their legends. Most of these people have multiple games. However the majority of players don't have multiple games, not ones at least that trade with each other. If you're trying to get all of the Pokemon and you have a limit of one game it really isn't fair if you are trying to collect all of the Pokemon to have one of each (instead of a PokeDex listing only) to trade off your Legendary Pokemon for one you don't have. There are plenty of people out there that have multiple copies of Pokemon Legendaries and it isn't going to kill them to trade one of these extras away.
For those people though, wouldn't it make sense to offer up a pokemon that isn't common? Or even a shiny?

The ones that are annoying me are the low level (either freshly hatched or freshly caught) very easy to get pokemon asking for the very rare and hard to get pokemon. No level 1 Zigzagoon is worth a Mew.


I bet these are the same people that flood Wonder Trade with Route 2/Route 102 pokemon. :(


I understand but the most hacked Pokemons in the entire game are level 100 Pokemon. A scam in itself. Me I take offense to hacked Pokemon. I'd prefer level 1. And I understand, make it shiny. that would be fair. But if it's a 6IV 31 stat Zigzagoon than it's legit no matter what level to trade it (if you legit caught it or bred it) for a legendary. It's harder to get 6IV 31 stats than it is to get a Legendary Pokemon (save the event only Pokemon).
 
Just now i went on the GTS and searched for Ekans, since i couldn't get it on my game. There were several results, all asking for Kyogre, Mew, and quite a few other other legendary pokemon.

Does anyone really think a level 1 Ekans is worth a Mew? Or am i missing something?

Well it's like this. many many people horde their legends. Most of these people have multiple games. However the majority of players don't have multiple games, not ones at least that trade with each other. If you're trying to get all of the Pokemon and you have a limit of one game it really isn't fair if you are trying to collect all of the Pokemon to have one of each (instead of a PokeDex listing only) to trade off your Legendary Pokemon for one you don't have. There are plenty of people out there that have multiple copies of Pokemon Legendaries and it isn't going to kill them to trade one of these extras away.

What's stopping you from putting up a rareish Pokemon, say a version exclusive and then asking for something you need. Unless it's a legendary, after a few days you should get one. That's how I get stuff.

Most of them are probably either trolls or naive kids.

However sometimes I do this to transfer myself items from a game to another, since I just have one console and Pokébank won't transfer items. I put, say, a Lv.2 Zigzagoon in GTS, requesting a Lv.100 Garchomp. In my other game I have a Garchomp and I pack it with an item, and then I do the trade through GTS. It's safer this way because I'm pretty sure nobody will give a Garchomp for a Zigzagoon.

I do this only for items, but for people without Pokébank, this is the easiest way to transfer the pokémon itself.

That's one way I never even thought of doing things.
 
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I understand but the most hacked Pokemons in the entire game are level 100 Pokemon. A scam in itself. Me I take offense to hacked Pokemon. I'd prefer level 1. And I understand, make it shiny. that would be fair. But if it's a 6IV 31 stat Zigzagoon than it's legit no matter what level to trade it (if you legit caught it or bred it) for a legendary. It's harder to get 6IV 31 stats than it is to get a Legendary Pokemon (save the event only Pokemon).

I understand what you're saying. I have no idea if the pokemon in question are 6IV. i assume not since they aren't advertised as such.

All i want to do is complete my pokedex :( And since i have no interest in competitive battling, the legendary is worth more to me than even a 6IV 31 stat pokemon.

I took the advice above and have started putting up bred starters for the pokemon i can't get from the game i have.

Regarding hacked pokemon, how prevelant is that on the GTS? I mean, i thought Nintendo had safeguards in place to protect against them?
 
They're hoping that someone will be generous enough to fufill the trade. Trust me, I was one of them. It failed miserably
 
I understand but the most hacked Pokemons in the entire game are level 100 Pokemon. A scam in itself. Me I take offense to hacked Pokemon. I'd prefer level 1. And I understand, make it shiny. that would be fair. But if it's a 6IV 31 stat Zigzagoon than it's legit no matter what level to trade it (if you legit caught it or bred it) for a legendary. It's harder to get 6IV 31 stats than it is to get a Legendary Pokemon (save the event only Pokemon).

I understand what you're saying. I have no idea if the pokemon in question are 6IV. i assume not since they aren't advertised as such.

All i want to do is complete my pokedex :( And since i have no interest in competitive battling, the legendary is worth more to me than even a 6IV 31 stat pokemon.

I took the advice above and have started putting up bred starters for the pokemon i can't get from the game i have.

Regarding hacked pokemon, how prevelant is that on the GTS? I mean, i thought Nintendo had safeguards in place to protect against them?

yes they have/had safeguards in place, but it doesn't catch Pokemon from two generations ago. You can watch videos on youtube that will basically tell you this. If you have all the way back to generation 3 and you hack catch all legendaries for that generation and then transfer them through the various games all the way to generation 5 and then put them on the GTS it will not register that you hacked them. Now when it comes to Pokemon Bank the same applies. It only checks these things:

1) Where the Pokemon was caught. Since it can't check this for Generation 3 and 4 games if you hack caught it in the wild it will let it pass with a check because the Gen 5 will only say "came from Hoenn" or "sinonn" or whatever. not the actual location it was caught at.
2) stats
2a) First it checks the IV's to see if that Pokemon from Generation 5 matches what it should for the IV's maximum that no stat is over +31
2b) Second checks the EV trained stats to see if they go over the maximum 510 points allowed and if any EV trained stat is over 252 points.
2c) Third it checks the stats of every single Pokemon to see if they match what the record states that it should have for the GTS or the Pokemon Bank.
3) Shiny lock, is the Pokemon Shiny locked?
4) Egg locked, was it bred by an egg?

If you pass all of those and yet you hacked the Pokemon then well it will pass on the GTS and Pokemon Bank and in tournaments.

Just now i went on the GTS and searched for Ekans, since i couldn't get it on my game. There were several results, all asking for Kyogre, Mew, and quite a few other other legendary pokemon.

Does anyone really think a level 1 Ekans is worth a Mew? Or am i missing something?

Well it's like this. many many people horde their legends. Most of these people have multiple games. However the majority of players don't have multiple games, not ones at least that trade with each other. If you're trying to get all of the Pokemon and you have a limit of one game it really isn't fair if you are trying to collect all of the Pokemon to have one of each (instead of a PokeDex listing only) to trade off your Legendary Pokemon for one you don't have. There are plenty of people out there that have multiple copies of Pokemon Legendaries and it isn't going to kill them to trade one of these extras away.

What's stopping you from putting up a rareish Pokemon, say a version exclusive and then asking for something you need. Unless it's a legendary, after a few days you should get one. That's how I get stuff.

Most of them are probably either trolls or naive kids.

However sometimes I do this to transfer myself items from a game to another, since I just have one console and Pokébank won't transfer items. I put, say, a Lv.2 Zigzagoon in GTS, requesting a Lv.100 Garchomp. In my other game I have a Garchomp and I pack it with an item, and then I do the trade through GTS. It's safer this way because I'm pretty sure nobody will give a Garchomp for a Zigzagoon.

I do this only for items, but for people without Pokébank, this is the easiest way to transfer the pokémon itself.

That's one way I never even thought of doing things.


that goes right back to trading version exclusive only legendaries because only legendaries are version exclusive and rare. All the other exclusives are not legendary and are common to find accept for shinies of course. So no it goes back to (which I think you didn't read the whole post before you replied) that if you want one of each Pokemon in existence to actually own it instead of having a Pokedex entry you would not trade your legendaries away. Most people have 1 or 2 versions of Pokemon. The rest they hawked or they gave away or threw away or whatever. I am talking about it's okay to trade legendaries for non legendaries regardless of the level. Level 100 is the most hacked Pokemon in the entire game and there are a lot of people who CARE if it is hacked and don't want the hacks to be in their system/cartridges.
 
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It drives me crazy when i look for a mundane pokemon and get a dozen asking for legendaries.
Tell me about it. Try trading for a Reshiram: everyone wants an Arceus or a Mew. >_<

Now sometimes, I will trade a Legend for a common Pokemon if the common Pokemon is holding something valuable. I was able to amass 15 Master Balls on X using that method and last night I scored a Rowap and Custap Berry. Both berries were held by common Pokemon--a Scatterbug and an Oshawott--but coughing up a Palkia and an Yveltal wasn't that bad an asking price.

However, now that I have those two berries, I'm going to devalue the slag out of them by growing them in multiple hundreds and pass them out like candy in Wonder Trades. :evil:
 
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