Have you ever wandered into a shop or the Daily Chit Chat, saw something someone said, and went "What the heck does that mean?" Well look no further! We've compiled a list of commonly used terms in Trade and their definitions just for you! (And everyone else o3 o)
Aprimons: Coined by a PC member! (We're the best yup) Basically just a Pokémon in an Apricorn Ball, special Balls exclusive to HeartGold and SoulSilver. Well, you can get them in GSC as well, but you can't trade those Pokémon into Gen III and beyond anyways. A list of them can be found
[here on Bulbapedia].
AR: Action Replay - p If you don't like them make sure to read rules of shops, they're required to list out what codes they use if they do use them. (Don't worry, we don't allow certain cheats like "Make all wild Pokémon shiny, etc.)
B: Pokémon Black (Version)
B2: Pokemon Black (Version) 2
CMT: Check my thread - Normally used when someone shows interested in Pokémon being offered and that person owns a shop or a quick trade post they use for reference. If you use this remember to link that post!
CSS: Cascading Style Sheets - A particular sheet style language that can be used on PokéCommunity to pretty up your shop or post. A simple guide with some examples for it can be found
[here].
DCC: Daily Chit Chat - Trade Corner's DCC can be found
[here]!
DWf: Dream World female - A female Pokémon with its Hidden Ability. More commonly used in Gen V threads.
Egg moves: Moves a Pokémon can only learn from breeding with a compatible male with the move or with a mother that already has the move. More information can be found
[here (Gen V)] and
[here (Gen VI)]
Egg RNG Trick: Even with RNG Abuse no longer viable in Gen VI, there is still a way you can get the IV spread you need, up to 5 or 6 IVs depending on how much time you want to take. Relies on the new Destiny Knot breeding mechanics. More information on what it is and how to do it can be found
[here].
EV(s): Effort Value(s) - They determine how much of an extra stat boost your Pokémon gains. No Pokémon can go over 510 EVs in total over all 6 stats and only can gain 252 in any one stat. Every 4 EVs equal an extra stat point in that particular stat. More information can be found
[here (Gen IV)],
[here (Gen V)], and
[here (Gen VI)].
FC: Friend Code - A string of 12 digits that you'll need to trade with other people over Wi-Fi. I don't want to get too into it here, but more information about FCs (and a guide on how to trade over Wi-Fi) can be found
[here].
Filler: A random Pokémon that you don't want. Usually used in one way trades, reasons why can depend. (For example a Bidoof for a Shiny Ho-Oh)
Flawless IVs: Normally used to refer to a Pokémon with 6 (perfect) IVs, typically with the spread 31/31/31/31/31/31.
Sometimes is substituted in place of "Perfect", refer below for the exact meaning. Only example I've received was "Quint Flawless" which means the same thing as "Perfect".
Fodder: Sometimes referred to as "Trade Fodder". Long story short, refer above to "Filler".
Gen: Generation - Usually followed by I (one), II (two), III (three), IV (four), V (five), or VI (six). III, IV, V, and VI are the more commonly used ones in TC. Don't know what "TC" means? Scroll down!
Genned Pokémon: Pokémon that have been created or edited with the Pokémon editing program PokéGen. Pokémon obtained in this method are considered hacked and are not allowed to be traded here.
HA: Hidden Ability - The third alternate ability of a Pokémon that cannot be obtained by breeding parents that do not have the hidden ability in the first place. These abilities can only be legally possible in Gens V and VI. Extra information can be found
[here (Gen V)] and
[here (Gen VI)]. Some HAs are not available and to my knowledge, the only comprehensive easy-to-use lists are about Gen V. One such one can be found
[here on Serebii]. Please keep in mind that some abilities may have been changed in Gen VI. An example is the Venipede line's HA being Quick Feet in Gen V, but being Speed Boost in Gen VI. Common hacked HA Pokémon include the Johto and Unova starters.
Hacked Pokémon: Pokémon that either do not fit within the games programmed parameters for one reason or another or were created using cheat devices and editing programs. More information for hacks can be found
[here (Gen IV & V)] and
[here (Gen VI)]. Read "Legal" and "Legit" below for further reference within the glossary.
IGN: In-game Name - Simply put, the name of your trainer in your Pokémon game.
IV(s): Individual Value(s) - They are static (never changing) values. One is assigned to each Pokémon's stats and it determines the amount of growth that particular stat will have. More information can be found
[here (Gen V)] and
[here (Gen VI)]. These are also breeding guides for their respective generations and you may find it useful.
Legal: Pokémon able to naturally exist within the game. It does
not mean it isn't hacked.
Legit: Pokémon who are legal and were created through in-game means, such as breeding, catching, events, and etc. Non-legit Pokémon include Pokémon created, edited, or manipulated with Action Replay, Pokegen, and/or Pokesav. Additional information can be found above in the "Hacked Pokémon" definition links. The following are not considered hacked and are allowed to be traded here if you indicate what you did:
— Cloned Pokémon
— Pokémon hatched by Fast Egg Hatch code
— Pokémon caught by 100% Capture Rate code
— Pokémon raised with boosted Experience points code
— Pokémon raised with infinite Rare Candy, vitamins, EV wings codes
— Pokémon legitimately obtained but with aid of flashcart/emulator (including backing up save files)
— Using codes to obtain infinite legal items
— Using max Battle Points code to tutor Pokémon
— Using Rebattle codes
— Using IV/EV Check codes to check a Pokémon's stats
OT: Original Trainer - If you've looked at the status screen of a Pokémon you'll notice that it will have a trainer's name on it. Whether or not it's your name, it indicates who caught or hatched it originally.
PC: PokéCommunity - The most commonly form of this abbreviation here for PC.
Of course it can
also mean Pokémon Center or the PC you store Pokémon in-game too, just keep that in mind and watch for how it's used ;)
Pentagon: You may have noticed a little blue pentagon on your Pokémon's status screen. This indicates that this particular Pokémon was either bred, caught, or obtained in an event in a Gen VI game (currently on X/Y). However this is
not a 100% way to prove a Pokémon is not hacked as people have found ways to hack it onto a Pokémon from previous generations in addition to the release of Powersaves 3DS. A simple guide about checking it can be found
[here], you just need to scroll down a bit.
This is referred to as "Kalos Native (caught or bred) by the official VGC.
Perfect IVs: Normally used to refer to Pokémon that have 5 perfect IVs that make up the correct IV spread needed for a particular competitive spread. The four most commonly traded spreads being 31/x/31/31/31/31, 31/x/31/31/31/0, 31/31/31/x/31/31, and 31/31/31/x/31/0. Of course, there are always different ones that are not as commonly seen :)
However, this term does have a
secondary meaning as it can also simply indicate the amount of IVs the Pokémon has that are 31. (3 perfect IVs, 1 perfect IV, etc.)
PKRS: Pokérus - Maybe you've received a Pokémon with this on their status screen. Or maybe your Pokémon obtained it. Or maybe you just saw it while idly scrolling through the forums. Don't panic! It does not mean your Pokémon is hacked! It is something a Pokémon can catch normally in-game, a "disease" of sorts. Before you panic again, just know that it is actually
beneficial to your Pokémon! It doubles the amount of EVs your Pokémon gains while battling, and yes, that's
twice. I don't want to get too lengthy so in depth information can be found
[here at Bulbapedia]. If you don't know what an "EV" is, scroll up in this very glossary :)
PM: Private Message - A form of communication here on PokéCommunity. Click on their username or go to their profile to send them one!
Powersaves 3DS: Commonly mistaken as an Action Replay cheat device for 3DS games. This is not the case despite the words being present on the packaging as it seems to be part of some sort of sub-series under that name. This is more of a save editor and doesn't allow input of codes such as "100x EXP" and stuff like that. This however does allow you to fiddle with your Bag and the like in certain ways and also allows you to back up saves which for some people, can be quite convenient.
QTs: [Quick Trades forum]
QTT: Quick Trade Thread - They're all found in the Quick Trades forum.
RNG: Random Number Generator - It's just the way the game determines what Pokémon shows up when wild, or the stats of an egg, or the nature of wild Pokémon, etc etc.
RNG Abuse: No longer as commonly done, but it is a method in Gen III, IV, and V in which you use a program such as RNG Reporter or PPRNG to predict what Pokémon you catch or hatch when you encounter it or accept the egg. It can be used to help players obtain perfect Pokémon, shiny Pokémon, or both. Our guide to what all this is can be found
[here].
SID: Secret ID - Similar to the Trainer ID in that it is also is comprised of 5 digits, but this one is hidden. This is what can differentiate you from someone else in the event you find someone else with the exact same TID apart from the trainer name. In addition this set of numbers also helps to determine whether or not a Pokémon is shiny when you encounter or hatch it.
SV(s): Shiny Value(s) - Complicated in explanation and would require the addition of extra glossary entries for the sake of this term. If you are really curious about it, you can read about it more in depth
[here].
TID: Trainer ID - A string of 5 digits that acts like an ID number of sorts. Helpful in setting you apart from other people if you have the same or very similar trainer names.
TC: [Trade Corner forum]
TR: [Trader Reviews forum]
TS: [Trade Shops forum]
UT: Untouched - No experience, no Pokérus, no extraneous ribbons, no changes to moveset/stats/EVs/condition, no nickname, etc. Basically as if the Pokémon was freshly caught, hatched, or obtained from an event.
VM: Visitor Message - A form of communication here on PokéCommunity. Go to the person's profile page to leave them one!
W: Pokémon White (Version)
W2: Pokémon White (Version) 2
