When I got Pokemon X/Y way back in October, I was intrigued by the new unrevealed Pokemon, as well as the enhanced graphics. Just two-and-a-half months later (early this morning), I was able to complete the ENTIRE Pokedex – that’s right, ALL 700+ Pokemon , using only ONE Nintendo 3DS system (a 3DS XL that I bought the same day as I bought Pokemon X) and ONLY ONE Pokemon game and NO POKEMON BANK in the span of TWO WEEKS . A near-impossible task, you may think. How did I do it, you ask? Well, I’ll show you – you’ll just need LOTS of spare time, at least one hard-to-get PokeBank Pokemon (more on that later), constant use of wifi (A MUST! ), to have defeated the game (beating the Elite Four), a period where you are only breeding eggs, and knowing the ins-and-outs of the Global Trade System (GTS).



Step 1: Catch All of the Kalos Pokemon

How do you do that? Simple. Use the map below to find and catch all of the Pokemon available on your Pokemon version. My recommendation – store up on about 100 Quick Balls from the Pokeball Emporium in Lumiose City (if you do not know where the store is, just use a taxi in that big Paris-like city). These Pokeballs have the BEST capture rate outside of Master Balls, and you use them INSTANTLY you enter a wild battle; if you cannot catch the Pokemon at that moment, flee and try again.

You may ask: What about X-exclusive/Y-exclusive Pokemon? Just use the GTS option (ONLY if you have internet/wi-fi service). Also, if you are having trouble catching the basic version of the Pokemon (like Remoraid, Mime Jr. or Trubbish), catch the parent (in this case, Octillery, Mr. Mime and Garbador) and place the parent and a Ditto in the Pokemon Daycare. Once the owner has turned around with an egg, hatch it (by going back-and-forth on your bike on that street outside the Daycare (Route 7) near Camphrier Town, with a Volcarona/Talonflame – they have the ability “Flame Body”, which speeds up egg-hatching) and store the hatched Pokemon and its parent in your PC. I would recommend carrying five eggs at a time; hatching one egg at-a-time would take FOREVER!

Step 2: Use the GTS to Exchange Version-Only Pokemon

If you want to get the shiny charm as soon as possible, you will DEFINITELY need a steady and reliable wifi connection. Why, you ask? It is the ONLY way to obtain not only the remaining Kalos Pokemon, but also the remaining 300+ other Pokemon not in Pokemon X or Pokemon Y, including the sought-after Legendary PokeBank Pokemon. To get the other version (i.e. Huntail or Gorebyss), use the GTS. Go to the “Player Search System” bottom screen (the yellow screen), and tap on the gray icon on the top of the said screen. Tap the right arrow to go to the next page, and on the top left is the GTS icon. Tap it, and save your game. There are three choices that show up: “Seek Pokemon”, “Deposit Pokemon” and “Quit the GTS”. Click on the second choice and choose your version (i.e. Huntail). Click on “Pokemon you want” and scroll ALL THE WAY DOWN to “What Pokemon?”. Here, you will have to type up the other Pokemon’s name CORRECTLY, otherwise the trade WILL NOT WORK (doesn’t matter if you use all UPPERCASE or lowercase characters). Hit “Ok”, then the yellow icon “Deposit with these conditions”. You will have to wait anywhere from 30 seconds to a couple of hours for the transfer to take place. Exit out at this point. You will know if the trade has taken place if you re-enter the GTS and get the new Pokemon back.

Step 3: Use Reddit or another Online Pokemon Forum for a PokeBank Pokemon

I found this process very helpful, and was able to bet a bulk of the missing Pokemon this way. Remember (if you don’t, I’ll tell you) how the Pokemon Bank was going to be released worldwide on December 27, 2013? Lemme give some background first. Pokemon Bank was going to be this revolutionary service (video below), where you could deposit ALL of the Pokemon you’ve gathered in prior Pokemon versions (such as Diamond/Platinum/Pearl/Heartgold/Soulsilver/Black/White/Black 2/White 2) and transfer them to an online cloud storage system (think Dropbox or Google Docs, where you can access your files online), then transfer them back to your Pokemon X or Pokemon Y, all for $5 a YEAR . Well, Pokemon Bank (PokeBank for short) released early for JAPAN ONLY on December 25, 2013. There was a server malfunction, as millions, if not, billions of people started using this service instantly, and in a couple of days, PokeBank, as well as the entire Nintendo eShop, got shut down for a week. PokeBank is STILL unavailable now for the entire world, with a release of To Be Determined. However, LOTS of prior-generation Pokemon made it to X/Y, and through the use of trading (like Wonder Trade), people worldwide could obtain these PokeBank Pokemon. Here’s where Reddit comes into play.

Make an account on Reddit, and use r/ PokemonGiveaway to get someone’s friend code and exchange Pokemon. One user was giving away a Koffing that knew the move Toxic Spikes (almost impossible for a Koffing to know that move), so that was the Pokemon of choice for me, as you cannot get this Pokemon in X/Y directly. My recommendation: get a Rattata/Koffing/Porygon or any common Generation 2/¾/5 Pokemon not accessible to get in X/Y (Darumaka is another example). Now, store that Pokemon in the Pokemon Daycare, and get AT LEAST two to three BOXES FULL of that Pokemon through storing and hatching the eggs. Remember the GTS I talked about earlier? Use the same application to now exchange that Pokemon for ANY Pokemon you are missing in your National Pokedex (minus the Legendary Pokemon – obtain them LAST, and NOT though this method). Some transfers may take a day, or just 15 seconds. My recommendation: get the single Pokemon (ones that have NO evolutions) FIRST (i.e. Maractus, Boufalant, Miltank, Castform…etc.); then get all of the BASIC Pokemon next (i.e. Treecko, Spheal, Magnemite, Seedot…etc.) second, so you can then level-them up to the maximum (around level 60 or so – use Le Wow and 5 lucky eggs to do so) to account for the parent Pokemon (Walrein, Magnezone, Shiftry…etc.) and intermediate Pokemon as well. Lastly (before attempting to get the Legendaries), get the Pokemon required through trade (i.e. Milotic, Rhyperior, Politoed…etc.) as these are the HARDEST to obtain.

Step 4: Getting Those Pesky Legendaries

Now, this is where the hard part sets in. I was somehow able to swing a trade (using the GTS) using my spare Koffings for a Moltres. You should be able to do something similar (i.e. Porygon for Articuno). Use this spare legendary as basically trade bait. Trade that spare legendary for each of the other legendaries, using the GTS. Remember, you do NOT need the following Pokemon to get the Shiny Charm, as they ALL are Event-Only and as such, CANNOT be traded: Mew, Celebi, Jirachi, Deoxys, Manaphy, Darkrai, Shaymin, Arceus, Victini, Keldeo, Meloetta and Genesect. The ONLY exception is Cresselia, since you can catch this Legendary Pokemon in Pokemon Black 2 or Pokemon White 2.

REMEMBER: in order to get the Shiny Charm, you MUST have ALL Kalos-native Pokemon be from that region. To figure out which Pokemon are NOT native to the Kalos region, check the Central/Coastal/Mountain Kalos Pokedex. If the Pokemon listed has a normal Pokeball icon next to its image, the Pokemon is NOT originally obtained in the Kalos region (legendaries – minus the Legendary Bids, Mewtwo, Xerneas, Yveltal and Zygarde – are the exception), and you MUST either breed through egg hatching or trade for the same Pokemon using the GTS.

Once ALL Pokemon (minus the event legendaries) are obtained (should be 706 Pokemon total – check if there is a yellow crown next to each Pokedex; if not, your Dex is still incomplete), go to Professor Sycamore’s Lab in Lumiose City to obtain your reward! For me, it took me two weeks – I started on New Year’s Day, 2013 and got the last two – Uxie and Azelf – this morning). Last but most important, You Gotta Catch ‘em All!