The Pokemon Red Paperclip Challenge

[Meksal]

Have you ever heard of the Red Paperclip challenge? No? Perhaps not. Check it out on wikipedia here.

In essence, a man started with a red paperclip, and traded it over the internet until he worked his way up to a house. In this challenge, you start with a very weak, unwanted pokemon, and trade it through the GTS or directly with other people until you reach your personal goal!

RULES​

RULE 1: Your beginning Pokemon must be level 10 or less. Ideal Pokemon to start with include Magikarp, Lillipup, Flabebe, and Feebas.

RULE 2: Your beginning Pokemon cannot be shiny, or holding an item.

RULE 3: You may NOT use Wonder Trade, or trade with any close friend that is generous enough to trade you their Mewtwo for your Magikarp. This defeats the purpose

RULE 4: You may NOT modify a Pokemon you receive in any way. This includes giving it an item, using an item on it, evolving it, leveling it up, or removing an item it is holding. It must not be touched in any way.

Mek's notes
Read it.​

I recommend you begin with a direct trade, and trade your pokemon for something slightly more attractive. An example would be what I did: A level 5 Ralts for a level 1 Druddigon.

After you get your Pokemon, remember you are not allowed to modify it in any way. This includes evolving it, giving it an item, leveling it up, or removing an item it is holding.

But when do you reach your goal?

It is completely up to you. For mine, I'm going to go until I get an event-only pokemon. Some people perhaps want to go from a level one pokemon to a level 100 pokemon. Perhaps someone just wants to get a legendary.

Yah whatever. How do I sign up?​

I have a form for you to use. Contact me on this thread or a PM whenever you trade something new so I can update the thread! For the starting Pokemon field, I'd like to know the level of the Pokemon and the day you started the challenge, but it's optional. If you've already started and you didn't make note of it, it is fine. I don't remember the levels of all of my pokemon either.

Starting Pokemon:
Goal:
Game:

My signup sheet:

Starting Pokemon: Level 5 Ralts on September 18th
Goal: Event-only Pokemon
Game: Pokemon X

When you trade your pokemon, contact me on the thread or in a PM! Here's what it should look like. (Again, if you didn't bother to pay attention to things like level, it's fine.)

I traded a Level 5 Ralts for Level 1 Druddigon on September 18th over direct trade

Questions? Concerns? Suggestions? Just ask!

Participating members​

Spoiler:

Tek

Goal: Vullaby or Mandibuzz with the egg move Roost and the ability Overcoat
Starting Pokemon: Level 1 Tyrogue. Impish nature, Steadfast ability, 3V no egg moves.
Game: Y

Spoiler:

None yet!

Destinedjagold

Goal: Cresselia
Starting Pokemon: Level 1 modest female Ralts with 4 egg moves.
Game: X

Spoiler:

<--->

Spoiler:

Tuesday September 23
Traded the Ralts for a Gible.

CDChaser

Goal: Level 100
Starting Pokemon: Level 1 Sneasel
Game: X

Spoiler:

<--->

Spoiler:

Tuesday September 23rd
Traded the level 1 Sneasel for a level 1 Amaura

<--->

Spoiler:

Tuesday September 23rd
Traded the level 1 Amaura for a level 13 Axew

<--->

Spoiler:

Tuesday September 23rd
Traded the Axew for a level 50 Dragonair

Dedenne1

Goal: Level 50+ shiny Espeon with 3+ IVs
Starting Pokemon:
Game: X

Spoiler:

<--->

Spoiler:

Monday September 22nd
Traded Litleo for level 17 Vivillion

Still being logged! So many trades 0.o

BakingBluePotatoe

Goal: A shiny Pokemon.
Starting Pokemon: Currently undecided
Game: Y

Spoiler:

No trades made yet!

Sydian

Goal: A shiny Pokemon
Starting Pokemon: Level 1 5IV Helioptile
Game: Pokemon X

Spoiler:

No trades yet!

MIAU

Goal: A level 100 Pokemon
Starting Pokemon: Level 1 Meowth
Game: Pokemon X

Spoiler:

Logging!

Powalen

Goal: Suicune
Starting Pokemon: Level 10 Squirtle

Spoiler:

logging

Sheerow

Goal: Giratina
Starting Pokemon: Level 4 Pansear
Game: Pokemon X

Spoiler:

Logging

Matthew Jay Reynolds

Goal: Level 100 shiny Pokemon
Starting Pokemon: Level 1 Magikarp
Game: Pokemon X

Spoiler:

None yet!

Finished Challenges​

Spoiler:

Meksal

Goal: Event-only Pokemon
Starting Pokemon: Level 5 female Ralts.
Game: X

Spoiler:

<--->

Spoiler:

Thursday September 18th
My first trade was very successful. A Ralts for a Druddigon over direct trade. The Druddigon was only level 1, however.

<--->

Spoiler:

Thursday September 18th
At first this seemed like a step down, but remember that starters are rare because you can only pick one at the beginning of the game. This Froakie was level 1, and I got it over direct trade.

<--->

Spoiler:

Friday September 19th
Gave the GTS a try yesterday, and wow! I was happy to find that I actually got a level 50 Vanilluxe for this little Froakie.

<--->

Spoiler:

Friday September 19th
Back to direct trade. I got ahold of a Greninja for my Vanilluxe. It was level 38. I'm looking back wondering if it was truly a fair trade. Next I ask for a Dragalge.

<--->

Spoiler:

Friday September 19th
Literally an hour later, I got myself a Dragalge over the GTS! I was thrilled.

<--->

Spoiler:

Sunday September 21
This took me forever to get! But I got it. A Milotic! The most beautiful Pokemon in the world. (We all know the real most beautiful Pokemon is Sableye) I'm psyched :0

<--->

Spoiler:

Sunday September 21
It took around 10 minutes for someone to give me their precious Xerneas for the Milotic. The Xerneas was untrained at level 60.

<--->

Spoiler:

Sunday September 21
Now this was really something. A level 86 Mewtwo for my Xerneas. What's next?

<--->

Spoiler:

Tuesday September 23
A level 4 Phione for a level 86 Mewtwo may not seem like a good trade, but remember, everyone with X/Y can catch Mewtwo at level 70, whereas you have to have Manaphy, an event only Pokemon, to breed Phiones. I wonder what I should ask for next?

Challenge ended early!
Reason: stuck on a pokemon

Congratulations on the completion of your challenge, me!

Natnew

Goal: Pokebank Legend
Starting Pokemon: Level 6 Riolu
Game: X

Spoiler:

<--->

Spoiler:

Tuesday September 23rd
Traded the level 6 Riolu for a level 1 Meditite

<--->

Spoiler:

Thursday September 25th
Traded the level 1 Meditite for a level 100 Slurpuff!

Challenge ended early! Reason: happy with level 100 Slurpuff

Congratulations on the completion of your challenge!

 

[Necrum]

This is great! This is exactly the kind of thing I want to happen in Challenges, lots of new and creative ways to do challenges. Making the act of trading the point rather than playing through the main game is a really cool way to make a challenge. I might give this a shot later on and see if I can pull off a jump from level 1 to 100 over time.

EDIT: Why do people need to PM you? Why not have them post that they made progress in their trades here?

EDIT2: You might want to explicitly ban Wonder Trade since it's an unfair advantage and someone could mistakenly think it was allowed.

 

[Meksal]

This is great! This is exactly the kind of thing I want to happen in Challenges, lots of new and creative ways to do challenges. Making the act of trading the point rather than playing through the main game is a really cool way to make a challenge. I might give this a shot later on and see if I can pull off a jump from level 1 to 100 over time.

EDIT: Why do people need to PM you? Why not have them post that they made progress in their trades here?

EDIT2: You might want to explicitly ban Wonder Trade since it's an unfair advantage and someone could mistakenly think it was allowed.

Thanks! I hope it does well.

Response to suggestion one: Good idea. To be fixed

Response to suggestion two: Even better idea.

 

[Feraligatr13]

This looks like a cool challenge; I'm going to sign up now, and I probably will have to start in November when ORAS comes out, since I recently (sadly) lost my X Version, my only 6th gen game up until that point :(

Starting Point: Lv. 10 Magikarp (Default Old Rod catch)
Goal: A legendary shiny (this is going to be tough, might just modify this later)
Game: Omega Ruby (Since this challenge doesn't seem to take up a whole game, it shouldn't interfere with the Poison Monotype I plan to do in that game)

Do you think I could pull a challenge of similar proportions in a 5th gen game? I'm sure the 5th gen GTS is a bit less active, if not dead. I think I'll also sign up for one of those.

Starting Point: Lv. 2 Lillipup
Goal: Kyurem
Game: White 2

Wish me luck on both!

 

[BakingBluePotatoe]

I think I'll try this!

Starting Point: (TBD)
Goal: I dunno, Shiny?
Game: Pokemon Y

Do you think I could pull a challenge of similar proportions in a 5th gen game? I'm sure the 5th gen GTS is a bit less active, if not dead. I think I'll also sign up for one of those.

Starting Point: Lv. 2 Lillipup
Goal: Kyurem
Game: White 2

That is literally not going to happen. ALL the online services for every single DS game has been shut down as of May this year.

 

[Tek]

Wow, this is so cool! I don't have to start any of my games over! And it's an excuse to trade more :]


Hmm, let's see... I like to trade good stuff to people, so I'll start with a Tyrogue I bred to be a Hitmonchan.


Starting Pokémon:
Lv 1 Tyrogue
Impish nature, Steadfast ability, 3V
No egg moves


Goal:
Vullaby or Mandibuzz with Roost egg move and Overcoat ability


Game:
Pokémon Y

 

[Feraligatr13]

I think I'll try this!

Starting Point: (TBD)
Goal: I dunno, Shiny?
Game: Pokemon Y



That is literally not going to happen. ALL the online services for every single DS game has been shut down as of May this year.

Ok, well thanks for filling me in. This is why I was reluctant to sign up for the White 2, for this exact reason. I remember hearing something along these lines, but I wasn't sure if it included GTS; I thought it only involved GL. So please disregard my White 2 signup, it's clearly not going to happen.

 

[Meksal]

This looks like a cool challenge; I'm going to sign up now, and I probably will have to start in November when ORAS comes out, since I recently (sadly) lost my X Version, my only 6th gen game up until that point :(

Starting Point: Lv. 10 Magikarp (Default Old Rod catch)
Goal: A legendary shiny (this is going to be tough, might just modify this later)
Game: Omega Ruby (Since this challenge doesn't seem to take up a whole game, it shouldn't interfere with the Poison Monotype I plan to do in that game)

Do you think I could pull a challenge of similar proportions in a 5th gen game? I'm sure the 5th gen GTS is a bit less active, if not dead. I think I'll also sign up for one of those.

Starting Point: Lv. 2 Lillipup
Goal: Kyurem
Game: White 2

Wish me luck on both!

Unfortunately the only games you can use are X/Y, as BBP mentioned. My apologies for not mentioning that :(. I encourage you to sign up for X/Y, if you have them!

Wow, this is so cool! I don't have to start any of my games over! And it's an excuse to trade more :]


Hmm, let's see... I like to trade good stuff to people, so I'll start with a Tyrogue I bred to be a Hitmonchan.


Starting Pokémon:
Lv 1 Tyrogue
Impish nature, Steadfast ability, 3V
No egg moves


Goal:
Vullaby or Mandibuzz with Roost egg move and Overcoat ability


Game:
Pokémon Y

Excellent! I'll sign you up. Best of luck!

I think I'll try this!

Starting Point: (TBD)
Goal: I dunno, Shiny?
Game: Pokemon Y



That is literally not going to happen. ALL the online services for every single DS game has been shut down as of May this year.

Yes, that is true, unfortunately :(.

 

[Feraligatr13]

Unfortunately the only games you can use are X/Y, as BBP mentioned. My apologies for not mentioning that :(. I encourage you to sign up for X/Y, if you have them!

Well, shouldn't ORAS work when they are released? I mean, GTS should work for them, right? I plan to do the Poison monotype anyway :l

 

[Tek]

Excellent! I'll sign you up. Best of luck!

Thanks!

Someone's offering a Vullaby for a Gabite, so Tyrogue is on offer for a Gabite. We'll see how it goes.
If that particular Vullaby is gone when I check tomorrow, I'll set up a new offer.

 

[Necrum]

ORAS is gonna be compatible with XY for trading, so I see no reason why someone couldn't sign up ahead of time. Though it is ultimately up to Meksal.

 

[Meksal]

Well, shouldn't ORAS work when they are released? I mean, GTS should work for them, right? I plan to do the Poison monotype anyway :l

Yes, they would work just fine! As Necrum suggested, you can sign up for ORAS now and do it later.

Thanks!

Someone's offering a Vullaby for a Gabite, so Tyrogue is on offer for a Gabite. We'll see how it goes.
If that particular Vullaby is gone when I check tomorrow, I'll set up a new offer.

Excellent! I don't think a Gabite would be impossible to get for your Tyrogue, considering it's got some good egg moves. Best of luck.

ORAS is gonna be compatible with XY for trading, so I see no reason why someone couldn't sign up ahead of time. Though it is ultimately up to Meksal.

Absolutely. It would be fine with me if someone were to sign up early to play ORAS.

 

[Tek]

Excellent! I don't think a Gabite would be impossible to get for your Tyrogue, considering it's got some good egg moves.

Nah my Tyrogue doesn't have egg moves. But you can't tell on GTS anyway.

 

[destinedjagold]

lol this looks like fun. I wanna join! xD

Starting Pokemon...
Ralts (a leftover from my breeding project)
Level 1, Modest, Female, 4 Egg Moves (I forgot what they were)

Goal: Cresselia

Game: X

 

[Meksal]

Nah my Tyrogue doesn't have egg moves. But you can't tell on GTS anyway.

Ah! I'll make a note of that, sounds good :D

lol this looks like fun. I wanna join! xD

Starting Pokemon...
Ralts (a leftover from my breeding project)
Level 1, Modest, Female, 4 Egg Moves (I forgot what they were)

Goal: Cresselia

Game: X

Welcome aboard! I'll sign you up. Keep me posted!

NOTE 1: I got avatars on the page! So pretty :D

 

[✎ BlueFoxCreations]

Starting Pokemon: Sneasel, Level 1
Goal: Level 100
Game: X

Sounds fun! I'll get started later, meanwhile I'm trying to sort out my B.S.o.D'd computer...

 

[Meksal]

Starting Pokemon: Sneasel, Level 1
Goal: Level 100
Game: X

Sounds fun! I'll get started later, meanwhile I'm trying to sort out my B.S.o.D'd computer...

Sounds good to me. I'll sign you right up! Best of luck.

 

[Necrum]

This seems like the kind of Challenge that should have the X/Y tag since right now that's all that works. If I can figure out how to add it would you be alright with that?

 

[Meksal]

This seems like the kind of Challenge that should have the X/Y tag since right now that's all that works. If I can figure out how to add it would you be alright with that?

Absolutely. I wonder if I could add it myself? If not, go ahead.

UPDATE: Got a Phione for the Mewtwo. Any ideas for what to request for it?

UPDATE: Finished documenting all of my trades. Check em out now!

UPDATE: I can't add the tag, but if you can Necrum, I'm all for it.

 

[Necrum]

You might be able to add it yourself if you use the Thread Options and go to Edit Thread, though I'm not 100% sure on this, that's just how I did it.