Welcome to Gaia! ::

Okay so obviously I'm a pokemon ds game newbie. I have not traded much yet. An I was thinking about 'buying' some event/shinny/legendary pokemon from ebay or something one day. Mostly cuz I probably wouldn't have anything to trade for the type of pokemon I want to get (such as mew or shinny dragonair or something)

So my question being, how do you tell whats legit or not? If I bought those pokemon which are claimed to be legit would I be able to tell if they were hacked or not. Since the sale advertises that they have ANY pokemon or legendary (and shinnies) to buy (its like a couple bucks for a few)

Just curious if its worth it cuz its pretty cheap and I could get some good pokemon but I want them to be legit and be able to battle or even trade with other trainers to benefit from.

(I'm not that far into diamond yet I recently got my 3rd badge)

Though Kunx isn't helpful, he has point. It is best to save your money because it is easier to get a trade, and it is very possible that people hacked their pokemon and are selling it as legit.

The best way to tell if it is legit is where it was obtained. Legendaries only come from a specific location, so if the location in which the pokemon came from matches, it might be legit.

Another way is to check their IVs. If the pokemon has more than 3 IVs completely maxed out, it is not Legit.

3 IVs that are maxed out is possible just highly unlikely.

But over all buying Pokémon is a waste of money and someone somewhere would have a Dratini/Mew for trade.

Thats what I mean, is that it would probably take a long time to get those. (I think pink/purple dratini is soo cute!)

But I actually figured out how to catch shinnies with chaining so that might not be the problem. Just have to get an event pokemon to trade for mew later I guess...

Hey Munak, I agree with the others, save your money. I have almost completed my dex entirely with legit pokemon and all through trading both through this guild and through the GTS (which is the greatest thing ever XD). The first thing to do is see if someone will do some data trades for legendaries, then try and get some off the GTS eventually you will be able to hunt down the pokemon you want.

Heck I saw a shiny mew on the GTS today, no word of a lie XD. I tried to get him but I didnt have the right level pokemon for the trade crying . Anyways, the ebay thing dont do it! There are lots of helpful people here in the guild that can give you a hand as long as your patient ^___^

so what you are saying with legitness. If it says "obtained from a faraway place." then it isnt legit?

Edit: What if it says "Pokemon League" or "Pokemon Cartoon" as its place of origin?