The Pokemon Company has finally issued bans to Pokemon Sword and Shield players who have been avoiding losses in Ranked Battles by cheating.
This is achieved by disconnecting at a specific time during the match which will make it as if the battle never happened. While it is a prevalent glitch, fortunately it hasn’t become as widespread as it could have.
“If it is confirmed that such illegal operations and annoying acts have been performed repeatedly, [the cheater] will be excluded from [participating in] ranked battles and Internet competitions, and the right to participate in live competitions,” The Pokemon Company previously warned in regards to the cheat.
Permanent bans handed out to Pokemon cheats
Now they have followed through with this threat. The first bans seem to have come in Japan, according to Pokemon Matome.
It is also being reported that it seems these bans are permanent. This shows the zero tolerance stance the Pokemon Company have when it comes to such flagrant cheating and the harshness of the punishment will be welcomed by most of the community.
The majority of the Pokemon community detests cheating, so hopefully this news will deter others to follow suit. Cheating, and more specifically hacking, has been found in Pokemon games ever since Red and Blue.
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Older fans of the franchise will remember the days of the GameShark cheat code system and that has now evolved into spoofing on Pokemon Go, and regrettably, disconnects on Sword and Shield.
It’s one thing to manipulate the game to spawn a particular species, although many trainers will be avidly against that practice, too. It becomes a little more serious, however, when a cheat is ruining another player’s experience, especially in a competitive scenario such as Ranked Battles.
We’ll have to wait and see whether these bans come over to the West as well. Many will be hoping they will.
