Hacked Pokémon keep popping up in Scarlet and Violet trades, and players don’t know what to do about it

Hacked Pokémon keep appearing in Surprise Trades in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet despite Nintendo’s warning those found guilty of using “illegally modified data” will be banned, and while some players want nothing to do with them, others are happy to capitalize.

It can be hard to differentiate a hacked Pokémon from a legitimate one, but a dead giveaway is the companies who create them tend to use their website address as the name, presumably as a means to advertise.

They also typically come with rare items, such as a Master Ball, and are often Shiny, have amazing sats, and are at the max level.

One player, for example, received a hacked Shiny Froakie with a particular website as its name. They weren’t sure what to do with it, fearing keeping it could result in a ban, which sparked a discussion on how to best handle the situation.

Some implied the best thing to do is release them because keeping them could result in a ban, while others pointed out that would only be the case if they had illegal moves. Others suggested using them to breed legitimate variants, storing them in a box because they look cool, and lapping up the free items they usually come with. Some don’t even have an issue with it.

So, there’s clearly a bit of division on the matter, and while Nintendo has promised to crack down on it, they haven’t been able to nip it in the bud yet.

Plus, since it was and still is an issue in some previous titles, there’s a good chance that hacked Pokémon will be here to stay in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet too.