[UPDATE] Players Encounter Unobtainable Pokemon From Surprise Trades And Raids In Pokemon Sword/Shield

As many of you may know, Pokemon Sword And Shield launched with a limited roster of available Pokemon, many of which will only return with Pokemon HOME and free updates.

Recently, many Pokemon Sword and Shield players have begun encountering some of these “unobtainable” Pokemon in Surprise Trades and Raids. These include starter Pokemon such as Litten, to Legendaries like Solgaleo or Zeraora. Notably, all of these Pokemon already exist in the game’s code, but just cannot be caught through normal means.

Unsurprisingly, the emergence of these “unobtainable” Pokemon is a result of hackers manipulating the game’s code by making them capturable in the wild or hosting hacked raid battles. Once caught, these hacked “unobtainable” Pokemon can then be freely bred or traded away to unsuspecting players.

Given the “illegal” nature of these Pokemon, players may wish to avoid using them online in case the Pokemon Company decides to take action against these hacks. In any case, with Pokemon HOME‘s release on the horizon, it won’t be long before players will be able to acquire legitimately caught versions of these Pokemon obtained from past games.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments.

[UPDATE]: Reports are now coming in from various sources that The Pokemon Company and Gamefreak are issuing bans to players for using these “Unobtainable” Pokemon online. Players are advised to take the following precautions to avoid being banned.

• Avoid using Surprise Trade until Pokemon HOME is released.
• Do not enter Raid Battles for Unobtainable Pokemon.
• Reject any trades for Pokemon that are not currently obtainable in the game.
• If you already own a Pokemon not yet available in the game, do not use it in online features.