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Last month, an official Pokémon wi-fi tournament allowed Pocket Monster players from all over the world a chance to compete. For a large number, it was a chance to cheat.


According to The Pokémon Company, the 2013 Global Showdown saw a whopping 1,558 cheaters. These players didn't use regular in-game Pokémon or special rare Pokémon given out at events.

Rather, they used smartphone apps that allow players to "build" and edit Pokémon to their own liking, instead of investing time playing the game and training their Pocket Monsters. Using an app, these Pocket Monsters are created on a smartphone and then uploaded to the players' Nintendo handheld.


Before the tournament, players had to register the Pokémon they planned to use in a "battle box." After the tournament was over, The Pokémon Company went back through the battle boxes and, thus, discovered a large number of these unfairly created Pocket Monsters. Here's the breakdown of the number of cheaters The Pokémon Company discovered in each division:

Junior Division: 68 players Senior Division: 335 players Master Division: 1,155 players.

The Junior Division is for players born in 2002 or later, the Senior Division is for players born between 1998 and 2001, and the Master Division is for players born in 1997 or prior. Cheating became increasingly prevalent among older entrants. Imagine that!

The number isn't that bad when you consider how there are three million players on the Pocket Monster Global Link. In its official statement, however, The Pokémon Company didn't disclose how many players participated in this online tournament. That being said, a thousand cheaters is still a thousand cheaters.

These players will not be included in the tournament's rankings. The Pokémon Company added that it would do all it can to stamp out unfair Pokémon practices. The Pokémon Company might have nabbed these 1,558 cheaters, but there are still more out there. Gotta catch 'em all.


2013 Global Showdownのランキング発表について [Pokemon]

Photo: Tumblr

To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter @Brian_Ashcraft .

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