The first day of the 2023 Pokémon World Championships brought huge surprises. Top players got disqualified, causing a lot of upset. Now, some are even thinking about not playing next season.
On August 10, in Japan, Brady Smith and other experts fought hard. They aimed to move to day two. But they got disqualified for using “genned” Pokémon. This made many players mad. Getting certain Pokémon in Scarlet and Violet is tough. Players often trade to get rare Pokémon. But traded Pokémon might be hacked.
Pro player James Arnold shared on Twitter that it’s hard to spot some illegal Pokémon. The official checks can miss certain hidden details. This issue is big in the community. Illegal Pokémon get traded a lot. Official advice says to avoid using Pokémon from others.
Some think having an easy way to make battle-ready Pokémon would help. Pokémon YouTuber Patterrz said this change could make competing easier compared to breeding.
Smith and others talked about striking in 2024. They want to push for changes. They hope to make the game better for competitive players.
But this approach might not work if players stay. Others think protesting for hacking isn’t the right move. Many competitors likely won’t strike. This wouldn’t pressure the Pokémon Company to legalize these Pokémon.
Some just see this as a push to cheat smarter. The Pokémon Company hasn’t made big moves to open up VGC, despite adding Rental Teams.
The Pokémon World Championships will end on August 12.