I've never played a Pokemon game before and am interested in diving into the world. I recently received copies of Pokemon Y and Pokemon Alpha Sapphire in trade. Because I've never played a Pokemon game before, I had some very basic questions I was hoping some of you could help me with. And that recent Nintendo Pokemon Guide wasn't very helpful.
1. So I understand that you go through the games collecting Pokemon, and I understand that a handful of Pokemon are unique to each game in a "generation's" pair (e.g., Pokemon X and Pokemon Y). But are the majority of Pokemon the same across different generations? Are the vast majority of Pokemon in Pokemon X/Y also available in Pokemon ORAS, or are pretty much all the Pokemon in each generation completely different from the Pokemon in the subsequent generation?
2. If the Pokemon are pretty much the same across generations, after you finish a Pokemon game, do all the Pokemon you have already caught automatically transfer to a new Pokemon game (of a different generation) that you play? For example, let's say I beat Pokemon Y and have caught hundreds of Pokemon. If I now start Pokemon Alpha Sapphire, do I start the game with those hundreds of Pokemon already in my party? Or do I have to catch them all over again (again, assuming that the Pokemon are the same across generations)? If you do start the game with all of those Pokemon already, won't that make you too powerful at the beginning?
3. When a Pokemon "evolves," does that mean that I no longer have the Pokemon that it was evolved from, and that I have to catch it again? Like, if I have Treecko, and he evolves to Grovyle, does that mean I no longer have Treecko? So if I want to have Treecko to complete the Pokemon collection, will I have to find and catch another Treecko once my first Treecko evolves into Grovyle?
4. What exactly is mega evolution? Is that like evolving, but just better?
5. Is leveling up Pokemon pretty much like leveling up characters in traditional JRPGs? After every battle, do the participating Pokemon get XP, and once they get enough XP, they go up a level, and all their HP, MP and various stats go up? Or they get new abilities or something?
6. Are there "random battles" in Pokemon games like traditional JRPGs? Or do you only enter battles that you choose?
7. How exactly do you trade Pokemon? Is it through Streetpass, and it happens automatically? Or do you basically have to do it with friends? Because I'm a grown man almost in my 40s, and none of my friends play Pokemon (let alone any video games, really).
8. Is the Pokedex just the list of all of the Pokemon that have caught? Or is there more to it than that? Does each generation have its own Pokedex, or is it just one big Pokedex?
9. Considering that this will be the first Pokemon game I ever try, should I start with Pokemon X/Y or Pokemon ORAS?
all the generations basically have all their own Pokemon that are unique in the games of those gens.
no, all the games are their own quests, you fill the Pokedex by catching Pokemon, you reset the game and they're all gone, you play a different game and they're still on the other game (unless you trade).
When your Pokemon evolves you still had the pre-evolution so your Pokedex will still have the data. It still counts as you having that Pokemon because it evolved.
Mega Evolution is an extra part to battling, to evolution, where if you have the stone required for that Pokemon to mega evolve then you can do it in battle. It just boosts the Pokemons power, it's not permanent, it goes away after the battle.
Yes there are random battles, you'll know the areas they appear, like grass, water. ORAS will show you the way.
Thankfully, you can do all kinds of trading online, it's pretty cool and easy to use, you can even do wondertrades where you just select one of your Pokemon and quickly get a random one back from someone somewhere in the world also doing a wondertrade.
Yes the games have their own Pokedex's and it's an encyclopedia on all the Pokemon you run into, the information goes in when you catch it.
I would say start with ORAS because it's a remake of an earlier game where things are simpler, classic. but really, I'd start at the beginning if I was you, Leaf Green or Fire Red are the remakes of the originals, they're Game Boy Advance games though so I guess for you ORAS is a pretty good place to start.
Also, you can transfer all your pokemon from your previous game to your new one, but you need a certain number of badges (gotten from beating pokemon gyms) if you want certain level pokemon to listen to you. For example say you beat the previous game and you have this amazing level 93 Charizard. If you transfer it to your new game it won't listen to you until you have every badge.
The low level pokemon (level 1-10 I think) you caught in your previous game can pretty much be used right away if you're just staring out and have no badges.
1. So I understand that you go through the games collecting Pokemon, and I understand that a handful of Pokemon are unique to each game in a "generation's" pair (e.g., Pokemon X and Pokemon Y). But are the majority of Pokemon the same across different generations? Are the vast majority of Pokemon in Pokemon X/Y also available in Pokemon ORAS, or are pretty much all the Pokemon in each generation completely different from the Pokemon in the subsequent generation?
Usually, all of the games combined in a generation will give you access to most of the Pokémon available up until that point. There were, however, some Pokémon that were unavailable in Generation IV unless you transferred Pokémon from one of the 5 Generation III games. You will also need to transfer Pokémon from Generation IV to V if you want to access some of the Pokémon from the Generation IV Pokémon in Generation V. Generation VI (X/Y/OR/AS) is the first generation that doesn't have this problem. In fact, OR/AS allows you to capture more Pokémon (particularly legendaries) than any other main series game to date (including the previously event-exclusive Pokémon Deoxys).
You'll need at least one Pokémon X/Y game and one Pokémon OR/AS game to access the majority of the 721 Pokémon. You can resort to online trading, but you'd be better off catching as many Pokémon yourself in-game as possible. Any Pokémon that you absolutely cannot catch will either be distributed via online or in-store events anyway, or can be obtained via trading.
2. If the Pokemon are pretty much the same across generations, after you finish a Pokemon game, do all the Pokemon you have already caught automatically transfer to a new Pokemon game (of a different generation) that you play? For example, let's say I beat Pokemon Y and have caught hundreds of Pokemon. If I now start Pokemon Alpha Sapphire, do I start the game with those hundreds of Pokemon already in my party? Or do I have to catch them all over again (again, assuming that the Pokemon are the same across generations)? If you do start the game with all of those Pokemon already, won't that make you too powerful at the beginning?
You can transfer Pokémon from Generation to Generation. I won't explain the various ways in which this can be accomplished as you only really need to know how to transfer Pokémon from games that are currently available.
With Generation VI games, you will need the Pokémon Bank app and its companion app Poké Transporter (which can be downloaded for free with any annual subscription to Pokémon Bank). Pokémon Bank will allow you to transfer Pokémon from any Generation VI game to "cloud" storage and you can seamlessly swap these Pokémon around with any other Generation VI games that you may have. Once your annual subscription expires, you will not lose your Pokémon. You will simply be unable to deposit any new Pokémon, however, you may continue to withdraw as many of your stored Pokémon as you like, at your leisure.
Poké Transporter allows you to transfer Pokémon from any Generation V game (Black/White/Black 2/White 2) to the Pokémon Bank storage app. You can also transfer Pokémon from Generation IV to V and from III to IV, but this is a long and convoluted process and I don't think that this is particularly necessary for you to know considering that these Generation VI games are your first Pokémon games. Incidentally, Generation VI is the first time in the Pokémon series in which you only need one 3DS/2DS console to trade Pokémon with yourself. Transferring Pokémon in bulk through Pokémon Bank is also a lot less time consuming than previous generations (in which you needed to manually trade Pokémon individually using two consoles).
In terms of being overpowered, you can theoretically, transfer your Level 100 Pokémon to a fresh save file in another game, however, the game has countered this by means of obtaining badges. If you do not have enough badges, your higher levelled Pokémon may disobey you (either by neglecting to follow orders, or even falling asleep during a battle). For example, the first badge will make all Pokémon up to Lv. 20 obedient to you. The second badge will increase that cap to Lv. 30. The eighth and final badge will make all Pokémon obey you.
3. When a Pokemon "evolves," does that mean that I no longer have the Pokemon that it was evolved from, and that I have to catch it again? Like, if I have Treecko, and he evolves to Grovyle, does that mean I no longer have Treecko? So if I want to have Treecko to complete the Pokemon collection, will I have to find and catch another Treecko once my first Treecko evolves into Grovyle?
Yes. Evolution is a permanent process and you cannot revert an evolution. If a Pokémon evolves by levelling up, you may cancel the process by pressing B (or by letting it hold an Everstone). You will need to breed another Treecko (since it is not found in the wild) to obtain another one. You can find a comprehensive guide to which Pokémon can breed with another through websites such as Sereii and Bulbapedia. Generally, most Pokémon that can be bred can breed with Ditto, a Pokémon that mimics other Pokémon (and their attacks) via transformation.
4. What exactly is mega evolution? Is that like evolving, but just better?
Mega Evolution, unlike regular evolution, is a temporary process. You must obtain a Mega Ring (X/Y) or a Mega Bracelet (OR/AS) and let your Pokémon hold a compatible Mega Stone. For example, Houndoom will need to hold a Houndoomite (all Mega Stones end with "its"). Relatively few Pokémon can mega evolve (all of which are fully evolved), however, the number of Pokémon capable of Mega Evolution is expected to grow with the release of subsequent games. Two Pokémon, Mewtwo and Charizard, have two possible Mega Evolutions, which can be triggered by two different stones (one corresponds to X version while another to Y). As some Mega Evolutions were introduced in OR/AS (OR/AS was released in 2014, while X/Y was released in 2013), they will not be compatible with X/Y and cannot be traded between these games. All Pokémon that were introduced in X/Y are fully compatible with OR/AS, however.
Mega Evolution can occur only once in battle, and only one Pokémon in your team can Mega Evolve during a battle at a time. You can theoretically have six Pokémon capable of Mega Evolution on your team, but only one can Mega Evolve during any battle. If they faint during a battle and are revived by using an item, they will maintain their Mega Evolved status.
5. Is leveling up Pokemon pretty much like leveling up characters in traditional JRPGs? After every battle, do the participating Pokemon get XP, and once they get enough XP, they go up a level, and all their HP, MP and various stats go up? Or they get new abilities or something?
Yes. Pokémon gain XP during battle. A Key Item (in order words, an item that you can only obtain one of, and it cannot be sold or deleted) called Exp. Share will allow all of your Pokémon in your team to gain experience from the battle. The Exp. Share can be turned on or off at any time once you have obtained it. Once Pokémon level up, they gain XP as well as EVs (Effort Values) and your Pokémon's happiness will be affected as well (winning battles will make them love you more, whereas losing battles may make them dislike you as well as the use of bitter herbal medicine). Invisibles stats such as effort values and happiness are not shown to the player via status screens, however, there are some NPCs in the game who will imply the state of your Pokémon's effort and happiness values. EV training is a really complicated process and only the most competitive of Pokémon players will take advantage of it. I for one, have never "EV trained". All Pokémon have an ability of some kind (some of which may be a hindrance), and these can be manipulated through the use of certain status moves. Some Pokémon's abilities will change permanently via Evolution temporarily via Mega Evoluton or status moves.
6. Are there "random battles" in Pokemon games like traditional JRPGs? Or do you only enter battles that you choose?
You will randomly encounter Pokémon in grasslands (only if you walk in the grass though), however, caves and other places (such as industrial locations) do not have terrain to indicate a Pokémon's habitat, so encounters in those locations are completely random. Trainers are also often positioned in such a manner that you must battle them in order to proceed to the next route or town, however, there are many that can be avoided. I would recommend battling all trainers if you do not wish to make the game more difficult for yourself later on.
There is also a very, very, very small chance that you may encounter wild shiny Pokémon throughout the game. Shiny Pokémon are differently coloured Pokémon that you have 1 in 8192 chance of encountering. They will sparkle when you encounter them to indicate that they are shiny. You can increase the likelihood of encountering shiny Pokémon, however, I wouldn't worry about this until after finishing the game. But do yourself a favour and capture any shiny Pokémon that you encounter, and make sure you keep plenty of Poké Balls (and any variations that you can afford) to ensure that they do not get away if you are lucky enough to come across one. Legendary Pokémon can be shiny as well, however, a very small number of Pokémon (usually related to the story) may be "shiny locked" and cannot be encountered in their shiny form legitimately. Pokémon will retain their shininess even if they evolve so do not hesitate to evolve one if you intend to train it. Shiny Pokémon's stats do not differ to regular Pokémon. It's purely an aesthetic difference, but they are highly sought after, and I would not recommend trading them as there are many illegitimately obtained shiny Pokémon available through trades (usually created using a cheating device or other means).
7. How exactly do you trade Pokemon? Is it through Streetpass, and it happens automatically? Or do you basically have to do it with friends? Because I'm a grown man almost in my 40s, and none of my friends play Pokemon (let alone any video games, really).
You need to initiate a trade over the internet with friends you have registered or randomly with other players online. Trades and battles can also be initiated via local multiplayer. StreetPass does not allow trading, it simply gives you Poké Miles dependent on however many players that you have encountered.
If you do not have friends to trade with, you can use the GTS (Global Trade Station) that will allow you to deposit a Pokémon for trade in exchange for any Pokémon of your choosing. The only other criteria you can set is the desired Pokémon's sex and level. You may receive foreign Pokémon, however (such as Pokémon from Japanese, Korean or European players). You can also seek any Pokémon of your choosing, however, there seem to be many players with ridiculous expectations (e.g. a relatively common Pokémon for a hard-to-obtain legendary). Once you have deposited a Pokémon, you can continue playing, and log back into the GTS at a later time to see if you have found a trading partner.
8. Is the Pokedex just the list of all of the Pokemon that have caught? Or is there more to it than that? Does each generation have its own Pokedex, or is it just one big Pokedex?
Each generation (or region, rather) has its own Pokédex. For example, the X/Y regional Pokédex is different to OR/AS, however, all games have a National Pokédex (which is obtained after you defeat the Pokémon League) that will catalogue all of the Pokémon available to date. The Pokédex will allow you to see a brief blurb of any Pokémon that you have caught, as well as comparisons based on sex, shininess etc. You need to fill up the Pokédex by catching Pokémon. Encountering a Pokémon will only allow you to see their name and sprite(s) in the Pokédex.
9. Considering that this will be the first Pokemon game I ever try, should I start with Pokemon X/Y or Pokemon ORAS?
You should probably start with X/Y as its a little more user friendly. Both games are easy to get into, and I think that you'll enjoy them. It doesn't make a difference either way, but in terms of their release dates, X/Y came first so I would recommend that you play that before moving onto OR/AS.
1. Most of the Pokémon available in X are also available in Y. There are always some Pokémon that are exclusive to one version though. OR/AS are remakes of Gen 3 games Ruby & Sapphire so most of the Pokémon available are Gen1-Gen3 Pokémon but more become available after you've beaten the game. They add more Pokémon in each generation.
2. The Pokémon you caught in a different game won't automatically transfer to another game. You can trade or use Poké Bank to transfer them to your new game but they've made sure you can't be too overpowered by making them disobey you if you don't have enough badges. Your low level Pokémon obey you just fine but when you get a gym badge it says something like: "Pokémon over level 20 will now obey you even if they aren't originally caught by you".
3. The previous evolution is still recorded in your Pokédex but it won't stay in your party as it evolved into another Pokémon.
4. Mega evolutions are kind of like evolutions in a way it makes your Pokémon even more powerful but they can be only triggered once in every battle and after the battle is over it turns back into normal.
5. Leveling up is pretty much the same as in any other RPG. You gain EXP and when you gain a level your stats grow and you might learn new attacks or even evolve.
6. Yes. There are random battles against wild Pokémon. You run in tall grass and they will randomly pop out. Trainers have to see you though so you can avoid some of them if you so choose.
7. Trading happens locally or through internet. There are different types of trading.
You can do normal trades by asking someone to trade with you. I'm sure there are a lot of people willing to trade with you here in the forums so just ask around. You choose the Pokémon you want to give and the other player does the same. You see what the other player is going to trade and you can choose to accept or decline.
GTS or Global Trade Station has trainers all around the world. You can pick a Pokémon you want to trade and list conditions for the Pokémon you want in return and players around the world can see that and trade if they want to. It's full of people begging for Legendary Pokémon though so it's very hard to find anything from there...
Wonder Trade lets you pick one of your Pokémon and it will search for any other player trading through Wonder Trade at that moment and you both get surprised. You never know what you are going to get.
8. Pokédex lists all the Pokémon you've seen and caught. It tells you information about the Pokémon like its weight, height, area where it can be found, footprint, etc. Most of the info is hidden until you catch it but you can at least see the area where they're found so you know where you can find a Pokémon your opponent is using if you really like that Pokémon.
9. You can pretty much start with any Pokémon game. OR/AS limits you with Gen 1-3 Pokémon for most of the game while X/Y throws all six generations at you at once. I consider X and Y easier and bit better for new players.
Check out my Gaming Nonograms thread here on Nintendo Life if you are into Picross or other similar games.
Thanks so much for all your thorough replies! Very appreciated. My first handheld was the GBA, and by that point I was already out of college so I missed the Pokemon craze growing up. I'm excited to see what it's all about.
Oh, one last stupid question, when you trade Pokemon online, do you lose the Pokemon you are trading? So if I am trading a Pokemon, if I still want to keep it after trading it, does that mean I need 2 of them? And when you trade Pokemon, does the other person get the Pokemon at the level you are trading it at (or, put another way, if someone trades to me a Level 50 Pokemon, will that Pokemon be Level 50 for me?)?
You lose the traded Pokémon (although of course you keep its Pokédex data) and the level stays the same. It's worth mentioning that traded Pokémon gain experience points faster, though.
You lose the traded Pokémon (although of course you keep its Pokédex data) and the level stays the same. It's worth mentioning that traded Pokémon gain experience points faster, though.
That isn't true as far as I'm concerned. Experience modifers do not exsist besides O-powers and lucky egg.
Traded pokemon are traded and remain the condition they are when traded. (Lv. EVs, etc all remain the same)
And yes.. you trade you trade.. the pokemon is gone inexchange for something else. Be careful what you giveaway.
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(User name changed in November 2016, MegaBeedrill)
It's worth mentioning that traded Pokémon gain experience points faster, though.
That isn't true as far as I'm concerned. Experience modifers do not exsist besides O-powers and lucky egg.
??
Any Pokemon where you are not the OT (Original Trainer) gains a 1.5x experience boost. If that Pokemon came from a different language game, the multiplier is 1.7x instead. Besides O-Power and lucky egg, there are also experience boosts for the Pokemon having high enough affection (Pokemon Amie), or the Pokemon being at or past the level it would normally evolve (example: level 16+ Bulbasaur).
It is also worth noting that if you happen across a shiny Pokemon, I would personally put it in GTS and ask for one of the following cheated Pokemon: Shaymin, Jirachi, Arceus, Victini, Keldeo, Celebi, or Darkrai. Those cheats are GTS tradable and have very high trade value. They're often already trained with the perfect stats for their kind. While I myself do not own or use cheating devices, I will warn you that Pokemon is not noob friendly. People will be wanting shinies and will take advantage of people who do not know their Pokemon's trade value. Also beware of people claiming to have eggs containing rare Pokemon like Mew and Hoopa. Those are scams because those Pokemon don't hatch from eggs even if they claim they're hacked eggs. If I were you I'd stick to wonder trading. Sometimes if you're lucky you'll get version exclusive Pokemon, and if you're really lucky you'll get a legendary or even a shiny. Just keep in mind that outside of wonder trade, most people are trade jerks who will not trade with noobs. I'm not like that, though. Since I've caught 719 Pokemon and have extra event only and extra shiny Beldum events I'd be happy to share. My friend codes on the bottom.
It is also worth noting that if you happen across a shiny Pokemon, I would personally put it in GTS and ask for one of the following cheated Pokemon: Shaymin, Jirachi, Arceus, Victini, Keldeo, Celebi, or Darkrai. Those cheats are GTS tradable and have very high trade value. They're often already trained with the perfect stats for their kind. While I myself do not own or use cheating devices, I will warn you that Pokemon is not noob friendly. People will be wanting shinies and will take advantage of people who do not know their Pokemon's trade value. Also beware of people claiming to have eggs containing rare Pokemon like Mew and Hoopa. Those are scams because those Pokemon don't hatch from eggs even if they claim they're hacked eggs. If I were you I'd stick to wonder trading. Sometimes if you're lucky you'll get version exclusive Pokemon, and if you're really lucky you'll get a legendary or even a shiny. Just keep in mind that outside of wonder trade, most people are trade jerks who will not trade with noobs. I'm not like that, though. Since I've caught 719 Pokemon and have extra event only and extra shiny Beldum events I'd be happy to share. My friend codes on the bottom.
Thank you! I plan on starting Pokemon Y at the end of the week. Though that just means I have to put off MH4U AGAIN!
Your comment made me wonder about something. I guess I assumed collecting Pokemon was was more like collecting the characters in Suikoden, where you can get all of the characters because they're always in a set location-- you just have to know where and when to look for them. Now I'm starting to worry that certain Pokemon just may or may not show up in my playthrough of the game. Your mention of these "legendary" and "shiny" Pokemon with high trade values makes me think these particular Pokemon are hard to catch. Are the chances of catching particular Pokemon random? Is that why certain Pokemon are "rare"? Or is it just that they are rare because it requires skill to get, or they are just well hidden? Is it possible that I could look in every nook and cranny, and certain Pokemon (not referring to version exclusive ones) just won't appear for me to catch because it's randomly determined whether they show up?
I thought the purpose of trading Pokemon was just to get the version exclusive Pokemon from the version you're not playing.
Shinies are very very very rare. They don't show up on your Pokédex and they have normal stats, so there is no need to get them (though of course they're a cool thing to add to your party);
Some Pokémon have little chance of showing up, but you'll end up finding them with some patience;
Each game has a number of legendaries, and there is a single specimen of them for each copy of the game. If you defeat them, you won't be able to find them again, so you'll soon learn how important it is to save before you fight them
Normal Pokémon appear when you walk in tall grass. They are random encounters like in other RPG games and different Pokémon have different chance of appearing. Let's say you started Pokémon X and you went to Santalune Forest which is an area at the beginning of the game. There are around 10 different Pokémon you can catch. One of them is Pikachu and it has 6% chance of showing up while something like Caterpie has 10% (Caterpie is X exclusive).
Shinies are rare Pokémon that have 1/4096 chance of showing up (1/8192 in previous generations). Any Pokémon can be shiny apart from some Legendaries. Shiny Pokémon don't differ in any other way but their color. For example, Charizard is normally orange but a shiny Charizard is black. They don't really have any significance but it's always nice when you have luck and one appears instead of normal Pokémon.
Legendaries are rare and powerful Pokémon. They don't appear in random encounters. They are usually found in caves and there's only one of them so if you find something like Mewtwo standing in a cave I recommend saving before starting the battle (you have to talk to it in order to initialize the battle) in case you make it faint (you won't have a second chance to catch it), you faint or you use all your Pokéballs. Every Pokémon have their own catch rate and Legendaries are very hard to catch. Mewtwo is one of the hardest with only 0.4% catch rate but you can raise your chance of capturing a Pokémon by weakening it, by inflicting a status effect or by using different Pokéball variations.
Pokémon games tend to teach you all you need to know.
Your comment made me wonder about something. I guess I assumed collecting Pokemon was was more like collecting the characters in Suikoden, where you can get all of the characters because they're always in a set location-- you just have to know where and when to look for them. Now I'm starting to worry that certain Pokemon just may or may not show up in my playthrough of the game. Your mention of these "legendary" and "shiny" Pokemon with high trade values makes me think these particular Pokemon are hard to catch. Are the chances of catching particular Pokemon random?
The chances of encountering Pokémon in the wild is random. Legendary Pokémon are usually a certainty (that is, they'll appear in a specific location, and if you interact with it, it will initiate a battle). However, most legendary Pokémon can only be battled once, so make sure you save your game prior to doing so. Each Pokémon also has a specific catch rate. Catch rates can be boosted in your favour by lowering the Pokémon's health, afflicting them with status ailments (such as paralysis, poison, sleep etc.) and by using specific types of Poké Balls. While this is not as common practice with the most recent Pokémon games, there have been "roaming" Pokémon in the past, that can be randomly encountered in any grassland (not indoors). If your Pokémon's speed stat is high enough, you may have a chance to attack it or throw a Poké Ball, however, the roaming Pokémon will usually flee after the first attack has been dealt or the first ball has been thrown. Now that you've encountered the Pokémon, you view its current location on the map in your Pokédex, however, the Pokémon will be travelling from route to route. If you happen to encounter it again, its health and status will not be reset, giving you another chance to attack it again and lower its HP even further, or you could take a chance at throwing to capture it. From memory, the only roaming Pokémon in X & Y are the legendary birds Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres. You will only be able to encounter one of them depending on which Pokémon you had chosen at the start of your adventure. However, unlike past generations, you will not get a chance to attack these Pokémon during random wild encounters. You will need to encounter them several times before they will roost in a specific location. At that point, you can encounter them and battle like them any other legendary Pokémon (i.e. they will not flee and will no longer roam the map). There are no roaming Pokémon that I know of in OR/AS.
Legendary Pokémon have a much higher rate of failing to be caught, however, as long as you keep an abundance of Poké Balls with you at all times, you should have no problem catching virtually any Pokémon. Standard Poké Balls have a standard catch rate, Great Balls are 1.5x more effective than Poké Balls, Ultra Balls are 2x as effective, and Master Balls are 100% effective (though you cannot capture other trainers' Pokémon, and there are very rare exceptions in which you are not permitted to use a Poké Ball against a wild Pokémon). You can only obtain one Master Ball per game unless you win the in-game lottery (which is a huge stretch). There are other specialty balls for catching bug and water Pokémon for instance, or Pokémon confined in caves etc.
Whatever you do, do not trade your legitimately obtained Shiny Pokémon to the GTS. Any idiot can hack their own illegitimate Pokémon (shiny or not), and if you are insistent on obtaining event-exclusive Pokémon, you should either wait for Nintendo to host an event (either in-store, or online via Mystery Gift), or obtain a cheating device, such as Action Replay, in order to obtain them. Beware, as cheating devices may irreversibly corrupt your save data.
Is that why certain Pokemon are "rare"? Or is it just that they are rare because it requires skill to get, or they are just well hidden?
Yes and no. Certain Pokémon are harder to catch, however, seasoned Pokémon players will have virtually no problem in obtaining any non-legendary Pokémon. It's the legendaries that are the most valuable. Some Pokémon, such as Chansey, Feebas, Dedenne, Hydreigon, Munchlax and Chimecho have a very low encounter rate in the wild. They are available in unlimited quantities, sure, and once you've obtained one, you can breed them to your heart's content, but Pokémon such as these, are sought for their relative rarity. Others are valuable because they are only available in one version in a generation (such as Swirlix, who is only available in X version and Spritzee in Y version).
With legendary Pokémon, however, they are only available once per game. The most sought after Pokémon, however, are event exclusives (namely Mew, Celebi, Jirachi, Manaphy, Darkrai, Shaymin, Arceus, Victini, Keldeo, Meloetta, Genesect, Diancie, Hoopa and Volcanion). These Pokémon can only be legitimately obtained through in-store or online events, or as a reward for completing a spin-off Pokémon game.
Is it possible that I could look in every nook and cranny, and certain Pokemon (not referring to version exclusive ones) just won't appear for me to catch because it's randomly determined whether they show up?
That's a possibility. But you'll almost certainly encounter even the rarest of Pokémon if you are patient.
I thought the purpose of trading Pokemon was just to get the version exclusive Pokemon from the version you're not playing.
That's the purpose, sure, but players also enjoy trading Pokémon that they are struggling to obtain. I would advise against spending time on Pokémon message boards as you'll be bombarded with the more obsessive players whose lives revolve around the bloody games.
I wouldn't worry too much about the politics of the Pokémon trading/battle scene. Just try one out, and if you get stuck, you know where to turn. You can worry about trading and obtaining legendary Pokémon once you've completed the main game.
Porygon did nothing wrong.
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Hi! Even if you don't have friends in real life that play pokémon there are forums dedicated to pokémon and usually they have a trading section. I'm unaware if I can say a site name here and I don't see a PM system, so, I'll just say that I participate in a forum dedicated to pokémon that has a "Giveaways and Services" section where you can ask for free pokémon, even legends or shinnies (hacked or cloned of course, but that doesn't matter if you are just trying to catch 'em all!).
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