Wondering what people mean when they say they're looking for a RBHA, chained Pokémon? This page contains information about commonly used terms and phrases. Trading communities commonly use unique terminology and abbreviations when communicating with each other. This page will cover everything you need to know!
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Legitimate |
A Pokémon that has been generated as intended by the game itself, with no cheat codes or third party edits. Legitimate Pokémon are permitted for trading in the Wi-Fi room. |
| Legal |
A Pokémon that is possible to obtain by a player in game, regardless of how statistically unlikely it may be. A legal Pokémon is not always legitimate, but a legitimate Pokémon is always legal. Legal, hacked Pokémon are banned from trading in the Wi-Fi room. |
| Illegal/Hacked |
A Pokémon that is impossible to achieve by a player in game, meaning cheat codes or third party edits were used to achieve a result. Illegal/Hacked Pokémon are banned from trading in the Wi-Fi room. |
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Flawless IVs |
Refers to a Pokémon with ideal IVs for competitive battles, usually 4-6 Perfect 31 IVs. IVs of 0, 1 and 30 are considered flawless if in the correct place. You can find more information on our definition of "flawless" on the proof guidelines page. |
| Rare Pokeballs |
Specific Poké Ball types that are limited in quanitity through general gameplay. Rare Poké Balls are not sold in Poké Marts. Examples Include: Beast, Dream, Fast, Friend, Heavy, Level, Love, Lure, Moon, Safari & Sport Balls. |
| Battle Ready |
Refers to a Pokémon that is ready for competitive battle. Battle Ready Pokémon have the correct level, IVs, EVs, nature, and moveset for competitive battling. Common Abbreviations: BR, Competitive |
| Breedable & Breedject |
Used to describe a Pokemon that was hatched from an egg, typically one that has desirable qualities such as high IVs and/or egg moves. Breedject Definition: Any non-Shiny, non-BRd bred mon regardless of IVs or nature |
| Brilliant Pokémon |
In Sword/Shield, encounters in the overworld can sometimes have a yellow-golden aura surrounding them, this glow is known as "Brilliant Aura". Brilliant Pokémon are guaranteed to have 2-3 perfect IVs and an Egg Move, they will also produce Watts after capture. Common Abbreviations: BA |
| Chaining |
Chaining is present in most games aand is typically used to grant better shiny rates and guaranteed IVs, the extra boosts vary between games. Examples Include: Poké Radar, Dex Nav, and SOS battles. |
| Effort Values |
Effort Values increase the base stats of your Pokémon and are fundemental to building a strong competitive team. You can increase the EVs of your Pokémon by feeding them vitamins/feathers, or by battling and defeating Pokémon of a specific species. Common Abbreviations: EV, EVs |
| Effort Levels |
Effort Levels increase the base stats of your Pokémon in Legends: Arceus and are fundemental to making your Pokémon stronger! You can increase the Effort Levels of your Pokémon by feeding them Grit, which you can obtain by releasing any unwanted Pokémon at the pasture. Common Abbreviations: EL, ELs |
| Egg Moves |
Moves that are passed onto offspring when a Pokémon is bred which cannot usually be learned through level-up, or TRs/TMs. Common Abbreviations: EMs |
| Hidden Ability |
Hidden Ability was introduced in Gen 5 and continued ever since. This is a rare ability that generally has an extra requirement to acquire than just encountering a Pokémon in the wild. Common Abbreviations: HA |
| Hidden Power |
Hidden Power is a move that is present in Gen 3-7, the tpying of this move is dependent on the IVs of the Pokémon using it. Hidden Power is useful for giving a Pokémon a certain type of move it could not usually obtain, such as Hidden Power Ice on a Jolteon. Common Abbreviations: HP |
| Hyper Trained |
In Gen 7 & 8, Hyper Training allows you to boost a Pokémon's IVs using bottle caps. A Hyper Trained IV behaves like it is 31 in battle, but breeding still uses the base IV. In Gen 7 this allows Pokémon to have Hidden Powers without losing power by having imperfect IVs. Common Abbreviations: HT, HTed |
| Imperfect | Describes a Pokémon with any trait that makes it unsuitable for competitive use without Hyper Training or Mints. |
| Individual Values |
These are hidden numbers that range from 0 to 31 and affect a Pokémon's stats. Every stat has an IV and they are usually listed in the order of HP/Atk/Def/SpA/SpD/Spe. Usually, IVs only need to be stated if they are 0, 30, or 31; X can be used in place of unknown IVs.Common Abbreviations: IV, IVs |
| Minted |
Mints are items introduced in Generation 8 that let you change how a Pokémon's stats behave by altering its nature effects. For example, using an Adamant Mint on a Pokémon with a Modest nature will cause its stats to function as if it had an Adamant nature instead. However, the Pokémon's original nature doesn't actually change, Similar to how Hyper Training affects IVs without altering the underlying values. Common Abbreviations: Mint |
| Original Trainer |
The player name of the person who originally bred or caught the Pokémon, this information can be found by viewing trainer information on the summary page of a Pokémon. Common Abbreviations: OT |
| TID/SID |
Trainer ID is a 5/6 digit identifier given to a player that is visible on the summary screen of any caught Pokémon. Secret ID is a 4-5 digit hidden value that is not visible in-game, which can be used to determine which Pokémon will be shiny for the trainer. Common Abbreviations: TID/SID |
| Shop Ball |
Refers to balls that can be purchased out of Poké Marts. Examples Include: Poké, Great, Ultra, Premier, Net, Nest, Dive, Luxury, Repeat, Timer Balls. |
| Star & Square Shiny | This refers to the sparkle animation your shiny Pokémon is given when sent out into battle in Sword & Shield. The effect is purely visual and the different shiny types have different rarities depending on the origin of your encounter. |
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Dynamax Adventure | Describes the Dynamax Adventure feature introduced with the Crown Tundra DLC update for Pokémon Sword and Shield and can also be used to describe Pokémon obtained from it. |
| Streamer Pokémon | Describes a Pokémon that has been given away on stream. These Pokémon are are all treated as if they could be hacked and cannot be traded in the Wi-Fi room. |
| Masuda Method | Refers to breeding Pokémon with different language tags to increase the shiny rate. The region of the Switch Profile does not matter; you simply have to have different language tags in-game such as ENG and JPN, or CHT and KOR. |
| In-life Distributions | In-life events are defined as events that require you to go elsewhere to receive a code or Pokémon, such as visiting local game store to recieve a card that contains a code used to redeem a Pokémon. In-life distributions can refer to anything that requires any external effort to obtain, such as a Poké Ball+ Mew or an email distribution. |
| Event Raids | Special limited time raid distributions for Scarlet/Violet and Sword/Shield that add special Pokémon into Tera/Max Raid dens throughout the year. These raids appear at a higher rate than normal and can sometimes contain Pokémon that are otherwise unavailable in Raid encounters. Event raids can also have boosted shiny rates or have the Mighty Mark (SV exclusive mark). |
| Event Outbreaks | Special limited time outbreak distributions for Scarlet/Violet that have a highlighted group of Pokémon placed into random outbreaks which rotate throughout the year. These outbreaks appear at a higher rate than normal and can sometimes contain Pokémon that are otherwise unavailable in outbreaks. Event outbreaks can also have boosted shiny/mark rates. |
| RNG Abused | RNG is an abbreviation for "Random Number Generator." These terms refer to Pokémon obtained through RNG Abuse or RNG Manipulation. These are calculated methods to target rare and desired possibilities such as high IV or shiny Pokémon. It is used to counter the games' usual RNG, which creates "random" outcomes. All RNG abused Pokémon are obtainable through normal gameplay, but many of them are exceedingly rare. They are considered legitimate and legal. |
| Self-obtained | If you say a Pokémon is self-obtained it means that you caught, bred, or redeemed it on your own console and game yourself. If you did not obtain the Pokémon yourself it is not self obtained. For example, if you hosted a raid and others caught the Pokémon and traded them to you they are NOT self-obtained as they belong to the person who caught the Pokémon. Likewise, eggs are only treated as self-obtained if you bred and hatched the egg yourself, if you received the egg through a Link Trade it is NOT self-obtained. |
| SOS Battles | SOS battles are a chaining feature in Gen 7 games which refers to battles in which a Pokémon calls for help. Longer chains can increase shiny rates, maximum guaranteed IVs and chance of finding a Pokémon with a Hidden Ability. SOS chaining using Pokémon with a high EXP yield like Chansey is a common way to level-up a Pokémon in these games. |
| Soft Reset | Refers to Pokémon obtained by resetting the game over and over until a desired Pokémon appears. |
| TSV Hatched | A method used in older games (Gen 7 or earlier) to hatch shiny Pokémon by trading the egg to a different save file. Every trainer has a fixed 4-digit TSV (Trainer Shiny Value), and every egg has a randomly generated 4-digit ESV (Egg Shiny Value). If a trainer's TSV matches an egg's ESV, the egg will hatch shiny. More modern games have removed this functionality entirely. |
| Virtual Console (VC) | Refers to Pokémon transferred from the Generation 1 and 2 games re-released on 3DS. |
| Wonder Card | A digital card downloaded from Nintendo servers when receiving an event. Wonder Card (WC) injection is permitted in the Wi-Fi room as long as performed correctly. |
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Friend Code | Friend Codes are unique codes tied to a Nintendo account on Switch/3DS systems. On Switch you can find your friend code by selecting your user profile on the top of the home menu screen. Friend Code sharing is not requiured for trades/battles in Switch games, but you may wish to add friends via Friend code to co-ordinate gameplay such as Raid/Union Circle hosting. |
| Giveaway | User-hosted events to give away a free Pokémon. |
| GTS/GWS | An online trading system accessible via Pokémon HOME, the PSS (XY/ORAS) or Festival Plaza (SM/USUM). Old Wi-Fi Giveaways used the GTS system to distribute Pokémon in 3DS games. Pokémon obtained from the GTS are banned from trade unless they come from an old official GTS Giveaway. |
| IGN | In-game name; the name you picked for your character in the game. This is used to identify yourself to other players. |
| Link Code | This is a code used for trading, battling, and joining raids/union circles in Switch titles. When attempting to communicate with another player you should make sure that you are using the correct Link Code and have made the other player aware of your IGN for smooth communication. If the code you are using is common (e.g 11111111) and you are unable to match with the correct player, consider using a less common code (e.g 32988397). |
| LF/FT | Used in trade advertisements to tell other users what you're trying to trade and what you have to offer. LF = Looking For; FT = For Trade. |
| Passerby Trade | A trade with a stranger you have met through the Y-Comm, PokéPortal or similar. If you link with a player randomly this is considered a passerby under any circumstances. Passerby trades are notorious for exchanging hacked Pokémon, so anything obtained from a passerby is banned from trade in the Wi-Fi room. |
| Touch Trade | When a Pokémon is traded to another user and immediately traded back. This is usually used to fill the Pokédex or for trade evolutions. |
| Wonder/Surprise Trade | A randomized online trading system. Pokémon obtained from Wonder Trade or Surprise Trade are all treated as if they may be hacked, and therefore cannot be traded in the PS! Wi-Fi room. This includes Pokémon obtained from Pokémon HOME's Wonder Box feature. |