The Pokémon Bank Thwart Attempt! (PoBaTA)

[fingerz]

Welcome to the Pokémon Bank Thwart Attempt! (PoBaTA)

Hi everyone! As you probably all know, the Pokémon Bank has officially been released everywhere, which means that everyone will be able to transport Pokémon from their previous games to Pokémon X & Y. However, there is one small thing that had me intrigued: hacked Pokémon can't be traded over to these new games. A little voice in the back of my head asked me, "What do they mean by hacked Pokémon?" Well, the only way to find out was to do a little bit of research myself, which is how the Pokémon Bank Thwart Attempt (or PoBaTA as I like to call it) came into being! I'm sure plenty of people have tried this, but I wanted to check it all out for myself so I knew exactly what could and couldn't make it through.

Basically, PoBaTA is an extensive test that I conducted with a small party of Pokémon to truly find out what GameFreak classified as a 'hacked' Pokémon. I then extended my research to a box of legendary Pokémon, both pure and hacked ones, to see if the results were different for them. Lastly, I explored a little more with my final Pokémon from the first test to see the effects of changing the region in which a Pokémon was found. So, if you'd like to find out the results and see what YOU can trade over, keep on reading!

PART 1: Journey into the unknown; the Lillipup expedition!

My first test consisted of a small army of 14 Lillipups. I had done something or altered every one of them in some small way as to see whether modifying that particular variable made a Pokémon considered hacked. Each variable was done independently of the others as to make sure that I could isolate what made a Pokémon 'hacked'. In order to make this seem as legitimate as possible, I went out and caught all 14 Lillipups on Route 1 in Pokémon Black Version on my CycloDS Evolution DS card. I then used a Pokémon-modifying application called PokéSav BW on my laptop to alter each of these Lillipups. I named each of them as I normally do in my Pokémon games so I knew which was which and to add to the legitimacy. Below is a list of all the Lillipups, what was changed/altered and if the Pokémon made it through or not.

1. Gyro - Completely normal
This Lillipup wasn't touched or edited in any way, shape or form. I didn't even open it up in PokéSav to make sure that there was nothing at all that could interfere with the purity of this Pokémon. As expected, Gyro was successful in making it through.

2. Marley - Save & loaded with PokéSav (completely normal)
I'd originally discussed potential ideas with people as to what wouldn't be accepted and one that came up was the file size of a Pokémon. In order to test this, I saved this Lillipup to my laptop as a PKM file and then reloaded it into my PC Box without editing anything. This would have changed the file size as it was saved on my laptop. However, Marley was successful in making it through, proving evidence that file size doesn't make a Pokémon hacked, providing evidence that Pokémon may actually have different file sizes in the game.

3. Gus - Edit EVs but revert to original
Another idea that came to mind was if a Pokémon was 'hacked', is there a way to make it legitimate again? In order to test this, I edited this Lillipup's ability, moveset and EVs (to 255 each). After doing so and saving the changes, I changed everything back to normal by hand. Interestingly, Gus was successful in making it through. This is a good sign to those of us that have made a Pokémon 'hacked' and want to know if changing everything back makes it legitimate again.

4. Diesel - Edit & give nickname
I wanted to check if naming a Pokémon using PokéSav would have any effect on the legitimacy of a Pokémon, seeing as it's a form of tampering with a Pokémon's code. I caught this Lillipup and didn't nickname it in the game. I then used PokéSav to give the Pokémon a nickname. Diesel was successful in making it through, indicating that naming a Pokémon using PokéSav won't make it 'hacked'. I assume this is the same with editing a Pokémon's original trainer (OT) as it uses the same kind of coding.

5. Pugwell - Edit PID (Generate)
I believe the PID code is what determines your Pokémon's nature, sub-nature and what effects that has on stat growth. Generating another code without actually changing a nature or sub-nature in any way does cause an indiscretion in the Pokémon's natures, and I thought this would make it considered hacked. As it turned out, Pugwell was successful in making it through. This obviously wasn't on the high-priority list for GameFreak, or this coding issue was simply fixed on the way through.

6. Guppy - Edit to make shiny
It only makes sense to see if fake shiny Pokémon could make it though. I found a normal Lillipup in the wild and made it shiny using PokéSav. Interestingly enough, the PID also determines whether a Pokémon is shiny and by modifying that correctly, you have a shiny Pokémon! Funnily enough, Guppy was successful in making it through, which means that ANYONE can catch a Pokémon and turn it into a shiny. Well, that takes the fun outta finding them...

7. Yirl - Change nature
I'm sure many people that can't be bothered to find a specific-natured Pokémon and will modify its nature to their desire. I wanted to check if a Pokémon with a modified nature would make it through, so I edited the Lillipup's nature (including sub-nature). Yirl was successful in making it through. This means that many Pokémon trainers can modify their Pokémon's natures before sending them over, giving them an advantage in battles.

8. Spearmouse - Change location caught
This is particularly important to those who actually hack Pokémon and catch them in places that they can't be caught in. I caught a Lillipup on Route 1 and changed its caught location using PokéSav to Dragonspiral Tower, which is absolutely no place for a level 3 Lillipup to be found! Surprisingly, Spearmouse was successful in making it through. My conclusion to this is that when a Pokémon is transferred to the Pokémon Bank, specific location data is lost. I looked at the summary screen of the Lillipup in Pokémon X and it only said "from the Unova Region", which makes it seem that these specific locations aren't important. However, that doesn't mean that there isn't specific region data. My later experiments are used to test this as this topic is VERY important!

9. Marj - Edit all IVs to 31
Individual Values (or IVs) determine the base strength of a particular Pokémon stat. The numerical value of IVs ranges from 0 (incredibly bad) through to 31 (extremely superior). EVs also affect the strength of a particular stat, but if the IVs of that stat aren't high enough, that stat won't be very good at level 100. I wanted to see if making a Pokémon's IVs all 31 would make it considered 'hacked'. I personally didn't think so, seeing as Pokémon can be caught in the Friend Safari with five out of six IV stats that are 31. As I thought, Marj was successful in making it through, giving people who want to max out their Pokémon's IV stats to give them an advantage in battles an opportunity to do so. Legitimate? Hmmm...

10. Bez - Edit all EVs to 85 (max legitimate)
Effort Values (or EVs) are what determines the strength of each stat a Pokémon has. A Pokémon can accumulate a total of 0 to 255 points for one particular stat, however, that Pokémon can only accumulate a total of 510 points to spread across all its stats. This means that if you make one particular stat extremely good, the others will suffer for your decision. PokéSav gives you two default options as to how you can edit your Pokémon's EVs: make every stat have 85 (which is 510 in total, making it legitimate) or making every stat have 255 (which WAY over 510 and makes a Pokémon unnaturally strong). I decided to test all the EVs at 85, just to check if this default setting would work. As predicted, Bez was successful in making it through.

11. Shybs - Edit all EVs to 255 (illegitimate)
Now, this is where we start to abuse the power of the PokéSav and use it to create almost invincible Pokémon to destroy every living thing on the face of the planet!! Well, not quite, but I wasn't very optimistic with my subjects from here... I cranked this Lillipup's EVs all the way up to 255 each, just to see if there was any possibility that it might make it through. Obviously, Shybs was unsuccessful in making it through. I was going to be VERY worried if any Pokémon managed to make it through with stats like that, so at least this problem has been solved by the Pokémon Bank. Tough luck, you hackers out there!

12. Dug - Give impossible moveset
This was another incredibly hacked Pokémon that I wanted to try out: one with an impossible moveset. I gave this Lillipup the power to shatter any Pokémon in a single blow! Just to make it as hacked as possible, it knew Dynamic Punch, Horn Drill, Sheer Cold and Fissure. As expected, Dug was unsuccessful in making it through, indicating that a Pokémon's moveset is considered a VERY important aspect as to whether it is 'hacked' or not. There are exceptions to this rule, but they will be explained later on.

13. Beetroot - Give impossible ability (Wonder Guard)
It only seemed logical to test out whether a Pokémon would be considered 'hacked' if it had an impossible ability. As stated above, I changed the Lillipup's ability to Wonder Guard as it's probably the most obviously hacked ability. Beetroot was unsuccessful in making it through, meaning that Pokémon with hacked abilities can't be sent through. Another good and crucial move by GameFreak.

14. Gabe - Caught with R4 cheat
I caught EVERY Pokémon in Pokémon Diamond Version legitimately back in the day, but I got fed-up with the fact that I had to clone everything and trade it to all my newer games and started using a particular cheat on my R4 card. Pokémon Black & White have the same kind of cheat which I've been using for those games. Basically, you press L + R to receive 100 Ultra Balls and 649 Master Balls in your bag. You throw away Ultra Balls to modify the level of wild Pokémon and you throw away Master Balls to modify which Pokémon you find in the wild. I used this method to find my last Lillipup; 506 Master Balls and 40 Ultra Balls. I wanted to see if a Pokémon was considered legitimate if caught using this method as it's an easier way to fill up your PokéDex. Interestingly, Gabe was successful in making it through. Take note of what level this Pokémon was too; caught at level 40. This gives further evidence to the lack of location specific data as you obviously can't catch a Lillipup on Route 1 at level 40. However, this Pokémon was caught in a region in which it COULD be caught in, so region specific data wasn't tested here.

Results!!
I was actually very pleased with the results of my beloved Lillipups; 11 out of 14 of them made it through. This is an excellent result, considering the fact that 13 out of 14 of the Lillipups had been altered in some way. These results prove that Pokémon can in fact be hacked and modified and still make their way through to Pokémon X & Y, to an extent. File size doesn't affect the legitimacy of a Pokémon, a Pokémon can be modified to make it considered a legitimate Pokémon again (reducing stats, changing moveset, etc.), a Pokémon's code can be modified and still make it through, a Pokémon can be hacked to be shiny and still pass as a legitimate Pokémon, changing a Pokémon's non-regional location or level of capture doesn't affect its legitimacy and neither does catching a Pokémon using an encounter cheat on an R4 card so long as it exists in that region. However, giving a Pokémon max EVs, making it know impossible moves for it to learn or giving it an ability it wouldn't naturally have makes it considered hacked. My deep interest in this leads me to take a look at the restrictions on legendary Pokémon.

PART 2: So the legends say...

GameFreak have never made it easy to Catch 'Em All over the years. Legendary Pokémon, particularly event legendaries, seem to be in high demand and there's never enough for everyone. The same goes for this generation too; GameFreak is probably going to have PLENTY of restrictions on legendary Pokémon because there are a lot of hacked legendaries out there!

1. Regions are a big thing!

My interest with this and what makes a legendary Pokémon considered 'hacked' started with me attempting to trade over my Lillipups through the Pokémon Teleporter. I didn't realise you needed to put them in BOX 1 in your game in order for them to be transferred, so it asked me if I'd like to trade half the legendaries I own in that game over. As I was about to cancel, I realised that about 10 of them were missing from the box as they were considered hacked. After seeing this, I went back into my Pokémon Black Version 2 and checked out which Pokémon they were. As it turns out, they were a number of common legendaries that I'd used the encounter cheat on the R4 to collect. They didn't have boosted stats or anything out of the ordinary, so what could it be that makes them considered hacked?

I had a look at my Zapdos, Moltres and Articuno that happened to fail the test and I checked their capture log. All of them were caught in Pokémon Black Version at the Dreamyard. The thing is, you can't find these legendary Pokémon in that game. We already know that the specific location data has no relevance due to my Lillipup from Dragonspiral Tower, so that has to be the key! There is specific region location data for all legendary Pokémon, which means that for a Pokémon to be considered legitimate, it has to be caught/obtained in a game in which it can be found/obtained in. All my other legendaries that came from their respective regions were accepted for trade.

The same goes for event Pokémon such as Mew and Jirachi. If they are obtained in the correct games the event was meant for, they are considered legitimate and can make it to the Pokémon Bank. Going by this logic, if a Pokémon's region is modified using PokéSav, it's likely that it will make it to the Pokémon Bank. However, I prove this NOT to be the case...

2. It must be fate!

My biggest concern with some of my legendary Pokémon is that some of the event Pokémon that I have know moves that they wouldn't normally know, e.g., an event Arceus with Roar of Time and Spacial Rend. I used PokéDex 3D Pro to discover what moves certain legendary Pokémon can learn and those definitely weren't on there... However, that Arceus and my Jirachi with Draco Meteor made it over smoothly.

What does this mean? If you look at the summary screen for these Pokémon, it says they were met in a fateful encounter. The movesets of the recent Dialga, Palkia and Giratina events for Generation V games are quite obscure too. It seems that Pokémon met in a fateful encounter have certain moveset exceptions. The stats of these event Pokémon are well within the legitimate range and their abilities are the same as many others of their kind though, so these variables are unaffected by the 'fateful encounter'. Some event Pokémon in previous games, like Celebi, are shiny, however it has been clearly stated that a shiny Celebi can't exist in Pokémon X & Y. I attempted to send over a legitimate event shiny Celebi and it was unsuccessful in making it through, proving that particular legendaries will not make it through to the Pokémon Bank under any circumstances if they are shiny.

Results!!
As I've discovered, there is specific region location data for all legendary Pokémon, which means that for a Pokémon to be considered legitimate, it has to be caught/obtained in a game in which it can be found/obtained in. In my later experiment, I will see if this applies to normal Pokémon as well. As it appears, Pokémon met in a fateful encounter have moveset certain exceptions, but nothing else that makes them considered 'hacked' can be modified. Also, particular legendaries will not make it through to the Pokémon Bank under any circumstances if they are shiny. As my interest in this region specific stuff grows, so does my research...

PART 3: That came from WHERE??

As a follow-up to my previous discoveries with legendary Pokémon and their region specific requirements, I decided to inadvertently put together another small sub-experiment with non-legendary Pokémon to see if the same rules applied to them. I'm sure they would, seeing as it would be a bit suspicious if someone was attempting to send over a Lillipup from the Johto Region... I found a few Pokémon that weren't native to the Kalos Region in my PC boxes in Pokémon Black Version 2 that I could use as these test subjects whilst filling up my PokéDex. The subjects were:

1. Stantler
I had an extra one of these in my PC box that I could send over to the Pokémon Bank, and it was conveniently caught using the R4 cheat in Pokémon Black Version. As we know, Stantlers are native to Pokémon HeartGold/SoulSilver Versions, so if this Pokémon follows the same rules as the legendaries, it shouldn't make it to the Pokémon Bank. As I predicted, the Stantler was unsuccessful in making it through. This means that this region specific data not only applies to legendaries, but every Pokémon that exists. This makes getting them all just that little bit harder...

2. Baby Stantler
As always, I wanted to see if there was a loophole to this region specific data thing. I made an egg of my Stantler above and hatched it in Pokémon Black Version. Technically, this should make the baby Stantler legitimate as it was actually hatched in that region, therefore making it legitimately come from that region. Thankfully, the baby Stantler was successful in making it through, proving this theory of mine. This is a way to avoid any problems with region specific data as the Pokémon is HATCHED in the region and not CAUGHT. The reason why legendary Pokémon are not so easy to trade over is because they can't make eggs, therefore they do have to be caught in a region in which they exist in.

3. Cacnea
This one confused me a little bit because its actual name was in capitals, so I assumed it was from a game in the early Generation IV series or younger that I'd caught at some point. However, when I went to check its location, it told me it was from a 'Faraway Place'... That concerned me because there's no 'Faraway Place' in which a Cacnea could come from that a Generation V game wouldn't know of. It's OT was Fingerz, so I wasn't sure how I'd gotten it... Oh well! This one would be a perfect specimen for an experiment like this because even the game doesn't know where it came from! As expected, the Cacnea was unsuccessful in making it through. This just proves the same thing as the original Stantler as a Pokémon must be caught in a region in which it comes from. It also tells us that Pokémon that shouldn't come from a 'faraway place' will be considered hacked.

4. Fearow
For my last Pokémon, I thought I'd try modifying a Pokémon's actual region using PokéSav. I found a Fearow caught in Pokémon Black Version and edit its region to the Kanto Region (Pokémon LeafGreen/FireRed Versions). The wording on the summary screen was completely accurate and said: "Travel through time and space from the Kanto Region." The Fearow was unsuccessful in making it through, fully proving that any Pokémon MUST be caught in a region in which it can be caught in and it's region can't be edited at all, otherwise it will be considered hacked.


Results!!
The results from this experiment provide evidence that the region in which a Pokémon is caught is a VERY big thing and that incredibly strict rules apply to Pokémon from wrong or edited regions. Pokémon caught in regions that they can't be found in and Pokémon that have had their region edited will be considered hacked. The only way to avoid this is by creating an egg of that Pokémon and hatching it, making it native to that region and therefore a legitimate Pokémon. This can't be done with legendary Pokémon, thus making them much harder to be obtained legitimately.

CONCLUSION: So what on earth does this all mean?

Yes, I understand that I've written a hell of a lot and much of it is incredibly elaborated, so I've condensed it all for you! Below is a list of all my findings, so read this to be fully informed as to what will work and what won't when you attempt to trade over a Pokémon to the Pokémon Bank.

1.   Pokémon that haven't been altered in any way, shape or form will always be accepted into the Pokémon Bank UNLESS it's a particular shiny legendary Pokémon.
2.   Tampering with the file size of a Pokémon doesn't affect its legitimacy.
3.   Reverting a 'hacked' Pokémon's stats, moveset or ability will result in a successful transaction.
4.   Editing a Pokémon's coding (nickname, OT, PID, nature, sub-nature) won't affect its legitimacy.
5.   Editing a Pokémon to be shiny doesn't affect its legitimacy.
6.   Changing a Pokémon's location caught or level caught at within its particular region won't affect its legitimacy.
7.   Editing a Pokémon's IVs all to 31 won't affect its legitimacy.
8.   As long as a Pokémon's total EV count doesn't exceed 510 points, it will be considered legitimate.
9.   A Pokémon with a total EV count exceeding 510 points will be considered hacked.
10.   Giving a Pokémon a move that is impossible for it to learn will make it a 'hacked' Pokémon.
11.   Giving a Pokémon an ability it doesn't naturally have will make it a 'hacked' Pokémon.
12.   Catching a Pokémon using a wild Pokémon modifier cheat on an R4 card will not affect the Pokémon's legitimacy so long as the Pokémon that is caught can be found within the game it is being caught in.
13.   Pokémon met in a 'fateful encounter' have certain moveset exceptions, BUT no exceptions to stats or abilities whatsoever.
14.   Because some particular legendary Pokémon are coded not to be shiny in Pokémon X & Y, they will NOT make it through to the Pokémon Bank under any circumstances if they are shiny.
15.   Pokémon caught in regions in which they can't be legitimately caught in will be considered hacked.
16.   Pokémon that have been edited to come from another region will be considered hacked, EVEN if they can be legitimately caught in that region.
17.   Hatching a Pokémon not native to a certain region from an egg in that non-native region will completely nullify the region lock issue and will make it a 'legitimate' Pokémon.

Well folks, I hope this has been educational and that you've come away with a little bit more knowledge about what will work and what won't when it comes to transferring to the Pokémon Bank. If you'd like me to investigate anything else, just let me know and I'll see to it. Thanks!

[blueflower999]

This is beautiful. Those Lillipups were so brave! Fearlessly adventuring into the unown! Such a tear jerker! 

[fingerz]

Ahahaha! I'm glad you like it, Blue! I thought I'd put in all the details about my experiments, but the main thing to keep in mind is that list of 17 things at the very bottom. You follow that and all's good!

And yes, I shed a tear for the three that didn't make it... Poor, poor souls... XDD

[Echo]

So basically, as long as you don't make something impossible, it'll go through. Most of the restrictions seem to be based on making battles fair, although I think there are other restrictions like not being able to hack the wrong kind of Poke Ball on a Pokemon (like an HG/SS Apricorn ball on a Gen 5 Pokemon, for example).

iirc though, they screwed up with Shiny Manaphy, since you can get one, but I don't think you can use it in any kind of multiplayer feature.

[fingerz]

Ah, good point there. I didn't try that out, but I'd assume you're right. I think it's pretty interesting how shiny Pokemon can make it through with ease, though. Basically, you shouldn't accept a shiny from someone if it's not caught in Pokemon X/Y because it could be hacked.

[BlackDragonSlayer]

This is beautiful. Those Lillipups were so brave! Fearlessly adventuring into the unown! Such a tear jerker! 

o7

Bless you, Fingerz. Blfingerz. I wonder if anybody will understand this reference...

[Waddle Bro]

Already knew alla dis

[K-NiGhT]

Thanks fingerz!

[fingerz]

Already knew alla dis

Yep, you're welcome too.