Going to self plug here (also like 5 people randomly liked the thread yesterday so I guess other people are linking it somewhere??) but I ask that people please don’t spread an ambient underinformed paranoia about hacked Pokemon in official competitions. It is a byproduct of Game Freak’s weird negligence to acknowledge its own games’ mechanics exist. The worst it has done has never crossed the threshold of providing a meaningful competitive advantage in official competitions.
This is a big thread, covering a topic that's been pressing into me lately. I apologize to the mods of the in-game play forums if this is a hassle to deal with. I've wanted to talk about this sort of thing for a very long time, and I felt the need to speak about it somewhere as best I can.
A History of Competitive Pokemon and External Device Usage
Pokemon has failed to make its competitive game accessible, for 26 years and counting.
It has constantly presented a system where going outside of normal gameplay is the easiest way to obtain Pokemon. It has let Pokemon that...