A Plea To All Pokémon X & Y Players Out There

Hey. How's it going? Are you having a fun time catching monsters and being the very best? Yeah? I'm glad.

Listen. We need to talk. No, don't worry, I'm not taking you off my Passerby list on the X & Y games. You're good, you're good.

Well, almost. I've got a problem. It's just that I've noticed something while using the Wonder Trade feature in Pokemon, which is a cool new thing that lets you get a random Pokemon from a stranger in exchange for one of your own Pokemon. Like a blind trade of sorts.

Here's what usually happens. I'll spend some time picking up cool, rare or interesting Pokemon and I'll put them up for trade...only to get back shit like level 4 Scatterbugs and Zigzagoons.

Really? ....really?

And you know what? Okay, yes, that's to be expected. I'm not gonna get like, a Deoxys every time I put in something into Wonder Trade—and to some extent, the chance that I could get an awful Pokemon is exactly what makes the feature so exciting. You don't know what you're going to get! That's the point; so many options.

But Wonder Trade can't be a wonderful thing that brings us together if everyone goes on with a box of Bidoofs all the time. You gotta make some effort to put in stuff that's cool, sometimes—and when you get something back that's neat, it'll be worth it! You don't really want to be the jerk that sits there, chuckling to themselves that they just suckered someone out of a good Pokemon, do you? That's kind of gross.

Plus, there are plenty of ways to have fun with it Wonder Trade. Name your Pokemon something special or funny to send people messages through trades. Like this Slowpoke called RIP MJ: it's a novelty in some way, so the Pokemon doesn't even have to be rare or anything to be worth the trade, you know?

You can also look at the version-specific Pokemon and toss some of those up—you might just make the day of someone who has the opposite version of yours. Or, you can put up some Pokemon that evolve on trade—that's always neat.

Starters are also good options to put up—you only get one (or well, technically two) choices for starters in X & Y, so it can be neat to have more of 'em. This person has the right idea.

Maybe a Pokemon that's a little difficult to obtain? This person is a fuckin' saint—look at all 'em Sylveons. Fantastic. You can put up Pokemon like this up on Wonder Trade, too.

If you're a breeder, you should consider putting up Pokemon that can only get moves via breeding: it could make for a nice surprise for someone else.

Do you have a favorite Pokemon? Why not share that with other people? Heck, you could always pick a Pokemon that's similar to a pet that you have, or have had in real life. It's a sweet move.

If you're the lucky sort that has managed to get Pokerus, a virus that lets you buff your Pokemon's stats faster, you should definitely spread that love—in that case, don't even worry about putting up Bidoofs and stuff. As long as it has the Pokerus, you're doing Arceus' work.

If you're the bold type, yes, you could always put up rare legendaries and shinies—you know, if you want to. Here, I won't blame you for hesitating, but it's certainly the type of move that could make Wonder Trade amazing for some people.

And remember, Pokemon can hold items, too! And all Pokemon games have a buttload of cool items; you should try to spread some of those around. Why not?

Maybe you have your own ideas for Wonder Trade that I don't list here—that's okay. Make em happen. Just, for everyone's sake, help Wonder Trade be the fantastic sort of place it's meant to be, okay? We'll all love you for it. <3

(Top image via ohnotheydidnt)