FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: What is the order process like?
A: You can add items to the cart and proceed to the checkout. After the payment, please register the following friend code for the best trading experience depending on the bundle(s) you have purchased: For Pokemon Ultra Sun and Pokemon Ultra Moon Goku Black: 5129-5930-3714 for Event Pokemon, Son Goku: 1650-6721-4811 for Pokemon Bundles, and Sinista: 4270-5859-8174 for Custom Bundles!!!. For Pokemon Sword and Shield upon purchase, message me your order number or name on the purchase and your Trainer name and I will send you a link code. If you have a Facebook account, you can proceed to send a message with your order number, in-game name, and friend code through the chat or directly to facebook.com/pokemon4ever. If I am online at the time of your purchase we will most likely be able to trade in a few minutes after. If I am offline at the moment, I will message you back as soon as I can trade. Alternatively, you can send me a message texting me at 252-515-2159 or  using the Contact Us form in case you don’t have any access to Facebook or have access to a phone. When we are both online I will register your friend code and get online in the game. We will trade the Pokemon you ordered for anything you don’t mind losing.

Q: I’d like to buy a Pokemon now. Are you available?
A: Please check the time for EST. Hours of operation are from Monday Through Friday 5:00PM Eastern Standard Time-12:00AM Eastern Standard Time. Feel free to send a message through Facebook, or on my business number 252-515-2159 to see if I can trade right now.

Q: You weren’t available at the time of my purchase, when can we trade?
A: The easiest way to setup a trade is to either wait to receive a message from me or send me a message via Facebook or my business phone. Please try not to send multiple messages in one day. I will usually have some time to trade every day.

Q: You are online on Facebook / you said you would be able to trade at this time, but I don’t see you online in my game. Why is that?
A: That’s probably because I frequently need to delete friend codes. Otherwise, it gets too cluttered and I don’t know who is who anymore. If you send me a message, I will probably show up online in a few minutes.

Q: Where do you live and what is your time zone?
A: I live in United States, so my time zone is Eastern Time (UTC-5:00). I am 5 hours behind of the UK, 3 hours ahead of California, 13 hours behind Japan, and 2 hours ahead of Sydney, Australia.
 
Q: I just placed an order. Now what do I do?
A: You will receive an order confirmation with instructions soon.

Q: I just placed a custom order. When will it be ready?
A: That depends on the amount of orders I have and the amount of custom Pokemon you requested. In general, the Pokemon will be done anywhere between 2 and 3 days.

Q: I bought a single Pokemon. Can I get it customized?
A: No! Single listing Pokemon already have competitive movesets for it and if you want that particular Pokemon customized, you will have to buy a custom bundle.
 
Q: Do you have [insert Pokemon] listed?
A: You can start by following the format in the custom listing. If you can’t find it, I don’t have it at the moment. You can place a custom order in a message to get the Pokemon you are interested in.
 
Q: Are your Pokemon legit?
A: Yes, I breed/catch the Pokemon myself and they can be used in all online features: Pokemon Bank, Battle Spot, Online Trading, and the GTS. Keep in mind that the following Pokemon are always banned from the GTS:
 
Mew
Celebi
Jirachi
Deoxys
Darkrai
Manaphy
Shaymin
Arceus
Victini 
Keldeo
Meloetta
Genesect
Diancie
Hoopa
Volcanion

Q: Is selling Pokemon legal or illegal?

A: The Nintendo 3DS EULA states:

"The Nintendo 3DS Code of Conduct prohibits all harmful, illegal or otherwise offensive conduct, including, but not limited to the following: 
Engaging in any commercial activity using the Nintendo 3DS System or any other activity that disrupts, diminishes the quality of, interferes with the performance of, or impairs the functionality of a Nintendo 3DS System, including the Nintendo 3DS Services or networks connected to the Nintendo 3DS Services."

The Pokemon games' Terms of Services state a similar prohibition. This is of course just about the User Agreement and EULA, which is not illegal to break. At best, Nintendo and Gamefreak could stop providing their products and services to you; however, that is pretty impossible in practice.

The first sale doctrine is probably the best defense. Section 109(a) of the Copyright Act states:

“ Notwithstanding the provisions of section 106(3) (which grants copyright owners the exclusive right to distribute copies or phonorecords of a work), the owner of a particular copy or phonorecord lawfully made under this title, or any person authorized by such owner, is entitled, without the authority of the copyright owner, to sell or otherwise dispose of the possession of that copy or phonorecord."

That is why you are allowed to resell your old video games and DVDs. Section 109(b) states:

"The owner of a particular copy of a computer program or a particular phonorecord of a sound recording may not rent, lease or lend that copy or phonorecord for the purpose of direct or indirect commercial advantage."

So you can't rent out your Pokemon games. Fair enough, we're talking about selling anyway. After a trade, the Pokemon is truly deleted from the computer program (or game in this case). There is still one problem though. More often than not, the User Agreement states that you are merely buying a license to use the game, not a copy of the game itself. By that logic, a licensee is not allowed to resell the software (Section 109). The Pokemon Omega Ruby manual states:

"This software (including any digital content or documentation you download or use in connection with this software) is licensed by Nintendo only for personal and non-commercial use on your Nintendo 3DS System."

Yes, you read it right. It basically says, this software is licensed by Nintendo only for personal use. That doesn't sound like a proper sentence, nor does it state that you own a personal license. It says that Nintendo holds the license for personal use. Very strange. That's pretty much all it says about licenses.

Lastly, many courts have recharacterized a software publisher's shrinkwrap licensing agreement as a sale when the publisher distributes its software through retail channels. Other courts have taken the opposite position, however, holding that a copy of software obtained through a license is not subject to the first sale doctrine or other benefits of "ownership." In other words, it differs per court. I would think that we fall under the first category (as long as you use a physical copy). We are essentially selling the game in parts (one Pokemon at a time). Like selling a DVD boxset in singular DVDs,  instead of the whole set. In that sense, our selling falls under legitimate reselling of the first sale doctrine. On the other hand, if the court disagrees (in that you only have a license and you are not the owner) then every single person that resells a Pokemon cartridge is committing copyright infringement. It's still legally light gray, but it seems like copyright law is on our side. Still, it would be easy for The Pokemon Company to catch any seller on a technicality, like using a trademarked term or having a Pokeball design somewhere on the website.

In short, if you are a buyer, you have nothing to fear. If you are a seller, just be aware of the legal ambiguity of the situation as there is no clear yes or no answer to the question "is selling Pokemon illegal?". I am certainly not the biggest provider for this service so it would be interesting to see if and how The Pokemon Company reacts should the big trading services grow even bigger.