Guide to GTS Giveaways
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Introduction
Every week, Smogon hosts a new Wi-Fi giveaway on its official Facebook page. The purpose of these giveaways is to give back to the community by providing competitively ideal, battle-ready Pokémon to players around the world. Oftentimes, we receive questions about the giveaways and how they work. In this article, we'll try to answer some of the questions that players have had.
History
What could be considered Smogon's first giveaway took place in late 2013 on Twitter and required would-be participants to like the Facebook page, follow Smogon's Twitter account, and tweet "@SmogonU" in order to have a chance at the list of prizes. Needless to say, the requirements for participating have simplified since then. This giveaway and the ones following it offered competitively ideal hatchlings at level 1.
The giveaways as we know them weren't a reality until August 2014, when TheMantyke ran a flawless Ditto giveaway that celebrated 220,000 likes on the Facebook page. This giveaway was a massive success and marked the introduction of giveaways that use the GTS distribution method and ask for Magikarp in return for the giveaway Pokémon. Following this were two rounds of shiny Eevee giveaways, the second of which asked that all Magikarp have a funny nickname. Over the next few months, the giveaways generally featured RNGed legendaries, shiny Pokémon, and Pokémon with moves that were obtainable only in past generations, courtesy of TheMantyke, who became a familiar presence on the Facebook page.
Since the beginning of 2015, Layell and princessofmusic have been organizing the giveaways and distributing competitively ideal, battle-ready Pokémon that are Gen VI-native and eligible to be used in Battle Spot's ORAS league.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Can cloned Pokémon be used over Wi-Fi and in official tournaments?
All of the Pokémon that we distribute are fully legal, whether they were RNGed or lovingly hand-bred and raised. Cloning doesn't impact the legality of the Pokémon as long as the original one was legitimate as well, so rest assured that your 3DS won't explode, nor will security at VGC cuff you for bringing in a suspiciously good-looking Dragonite. We never offer "genned" or hacked Pokémon.
How long do the giveaways last? Why do I see them only once they're over?
The giveaways typically run for anywhere from 70 minutes to two hours, with the average time being around 90 minutes. We start trading immediately after the announcement post goes up and continue trading non-stop until all of the Pokémon have been given away. Breaking down the math, each trade lasts approximately 90 seconds including the trade animation, and 90 seconds times 60 Pokémon per distributor equals 90 minutes or 1.5 hours of giveaway time. To help players prepare for an upcoming giveaway, we hold the giveaways at the same time every week and generally make a warning post half an hour or an hour beforehand to announce that a giveaway will be starting soon. Sometimes, we have unscheduled or "surprise" giveaways, such as on April Fool's Day, when we gave out 60 Timid Chatot with perfect IVs and the egg moves Boomburst, Defog, and Nasty Plot.
Why hasn't my Magikarp been selected?
There's more than one possible reason for this. Most of the time, it means that the distributors haven't seen your request yet. Double-check to ensure that you haven't listed the wrong gender or level range, which would prevent us from making a trade. Likewise, it's also important to type in the message in the announcement post correctly, as we're unlikely to accept misspellings and incorrect capitalization. As a more abstract answer, there are always more participants in a given week than Pokémon we can distribute, meaning that it isn't logistically possible for everyone to receive a Pokémon.
While the selection process is based on luck, there are two tactics you can try to help your Magikarp stand out. One is to give your Magikarp a nickname. Names such as "Carpe Diem" and "Magikarpet" have become cliché, so avoid them and try to think of names that are clever and original. The other thing you can do is upload a shiny Magikarp (it's OK if it's genned).
If I can't select a gender, can I still receive a giveaway Pokémon?
If you haven't seen the giveaway Pokémon in your in-game Pokédex, the game gives you the option of entering the species name manually, but you won't be able to specify a gender. Not listing a gender has no impact on your likelihood of receiving a giveaway Pokémon, so no worries. The reason we ask you to do so in the announcement post is to help deter snipers.
Snipers?
The biggest drawback to distributing over the GTS is susceptibility to snipers. Sometimes, a Magikarp gets traded away, but the player doesn't receive the giveaway Pokémon. In this context, snipers are those who take others' deposited Pokémon and trade a Pokémon of the same species that's otherwise different from the giveaway version. The Pokémon that you receive from a sniper can be either entirely uncompetitive or "genned" to have perfect traits and be nearly identical to the one offered in the giveaway. Sniping is a malicious activity that we discourage for obvious reasons.
The giveaway Pokémon that Layell and princessofmusic donate have the OT Princess and the ID No. 05400, while those from giveaways by TheMantyke have the OT Roarke and the ID No. 23883. If you suspect that your Magikarp was sniped, double-check the Pokémon's information. We never distribute with the OT "Smogon" or any variations thereof.
Why aren't there giveaways for different time zones?
Currently, the giveaways are scheduled to commence every week on Saturday morning at 10:00am EST/EDT (Eastern US and Canada). While this timing is more convenient for those on the North American east coast and in Europe and some parts of Asia, we know it doesn't work for everyone, especially for players in Australia and other parts of Asia and on the west coast of North America. Like everything else on Smogon, the giveaways are entirely volunteer run, and the timing depends on the organizers' availability. No matter when a giveaway takes place, it's impossible for it to be convenient for everyone around the world.
How can I help with the giveaways?
If you're interested in lending a hand, contact the current organizers of the giveaways on the forums. We're always in need of volunteers who can clone and distribute Pokémon and are available on a weekly basis. You can also contact us if you have competitively ideal Pokémon that you'd like to donate for a future giveaway. The main benefit of helping to distribute is that you get access to all of the giveaway Pokémon that you otherwise might've missed. Helping out for a considerable amount of time can also earn you a badge on the forums; this applies to new members as well as members who are familiar with the forums.
What happens to all of the Magikarp?
Layell eats them... or deposits them into Pokémon Bank.
Conclusion
For those who've been wondering about how the giveaways work, we hope that this article was of use. If you have any further questions or comments, feel free to contact the giveaways' current organizers; we're always happy to hear from you.
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