Mystery Gift
Mystery Gift (Japanese: ふしぎなおくりもの Mysterious Gift) is a feature found in all Pokémon games from Generation II onward.
Generation II
In Generation II, Mystery Gift is used in conjunction with the infrared port on top of the Game Boy Color to communicate with other Mystery Gift-enabled games to give other players room decorations or items. It can also be used with Pokémon Stadium 2 and Pokémon Pikachu 2. Mystery Gift can be used a maximum of five times a day, with no more than one gift per user.
To activate the Mystery Gift feature in the Generation II games, players must talk to the girl in green on the fifth floor of the Goldenrod Department Store. After this has been done, it can be accessed from the start-up menu. Though the Generation II games are playable on a Game Boy Advance, Mystery Gift cannot be used as these systems have no infared ports.
Items Accessible by Mystery Gift in Generation II
| Common | Uncommon | Rare | Very Rare | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berry | Jigglypuff Doll | Miracleberry | Water Stone | HP Up |
| Przcureberry | Poliwag Doll | Gold Berry | Fire Stone | PP Up |
| Mint Berry | Diglett Doll | Revive | Leaf Stone | Big Lapras |
| Ice Berry | Staryu Doll | Great Ball | Thunderstone | Surf Pikachu Doll |
| Burnt Berry | Magikarp Doll | Super Repel | Max Ether | Pikachu Bed S |
| Psncureberry | Oddish Doll | Max Repel | Max Elixer | Unown Doll S |
| Guard Spec. | Gengar Doll | Elixir | Max Revive | Tentacool Doll S |
| X Attack | Shellder Doll | Ether | Scope Lens | |
| X Defend | Grimer Doll | Magna Plant | Red Carpet | |
| Bitter Berry | Voltorb Doll | Tropic Plant | Blue Carpet | |
| Dire Hit | Clefairy Poster | NES | Yellow Carpet | |
| X Special | Jigglypuff Poster | Nintendo64 | Green Carpet | |
| X Accuracy | Super NES | Bulbasaur Doll | Jumbo Plant | |
| Eon Mail | Weedle Doll | Squirtle Doll | Virtual Boy | |
| Morph Mail | Geodude Doll | Pink Bed | Big Onix | |
| Music Mail | Machop Doll | Polkadot Bed | Pikachu Poster | |
| An S means that the item can only be obtained from Pokémon Stadium 2. | ||||
Generation III
In Generation III, Mystery Gift's primary use is to receive special items at Nintendo events. It is language dependent, so players will not be able to receive items with a foreign copy of the game. A link cable or wireless adapter must be used.
To activate the Mystery Gift feature in the Generation III games, players need only to walk up to the clipboard found at any Poké Mart and enter the phrase below, based on the language of the game. The clerk behind the counter will then inform them that the Mystery Gift feature has been activated, and it will be available on the main menu from that point on. However, there is no such feature in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire Versions.
| Language | Top Left | Top Right | Lower Left | Lower Right |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ともだち | いっぱい | ふしぎ | つうしん |
| English | LINK | TOGETHER | WITH | ALL |
| French | CONNEXION | AVEC | LES | DRESSEUR |
| German | LINK | MIT | ALLE | ZUSAMMEN |
| Spanish | CONEXIÓN | CON | TODOS | (Blank) |
| Italian | INSIEME | IN | LINK | ! |
In Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire and the Japanese version of Emerald, there is an similar option called Mystery Event. To access this feature, players should talk to the NPC near the PC in the Pokémon Center in Petalburg City, and enter the phrase below while being interviewed (also based on the language of the game). The NPC will then inform the player that the Mystery Event has been activated. It will then be on the main menu after saving the game from that point on.
| Language | Top Left | Top Right | Lower Left | Lower Right |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ふしぎ | できごと | わくわく | ドキドキ |
| English | MYSTERY | EVENT | IS | EXCITING |
| French | EVENEMENT | MYSTERE | EST | PASSIONNANT |
| German | GEHEIM | GESCHEHEN | IST | JIPP!JIPP! |
| Spanish | EVENTO | MISTERIOSO | ES | DEMASIADO |
| Italian | EVENTO | SEGRETO | È | FANTASTICO |
Generation IV
Mystery Gift can only be activated at the Jubilife City TV station in Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum. In the station, there is an interviewer on the third floor who will activate the Mystery Gift function if players answer his questions with the correct keywords shown below (again, based on the language of the game). However, if the player receives a Wonder Card via a Nintendo Event or a Pokémon game, Mystery Gift would be activated whether or not the player has done so beforehand.
In Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, Mystery Gift is automatically unlocked after starting a New Game and saving. Unlike the first three games of the Generation, it is the fourth option seen after pressing Start at the title screen. This is because an option for connecting to the PokéWalker is added after the New Game option.
In this generation, Mystery Gift can be used to transfer Pokémon from Pokémon Ranger, Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia or receive items and Pokémon from Pokémon Battle Revolution. Players are able to receive gifts wirelessly, from the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection or from a friend. The Mystery Gift feature will only allow a specific gift to be received once. As a result, a player can only get one of each item and Pokémon from the said games and also only one of Pokémon from the Events. Gifts are sent with a Wonder Card, which players can store up to three of. This is why players should choose to discard used Wonder Cards so that they will have no more than two cards before receiving another Mystery Gift.
| Language | Answer 1 Left | Answer 1 Right | Answer 2 Left | Answer 2 Right |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | みんな | ハッピー | Wi-Fi | つうしん |
| English | EVERYONE | HAPPY | Wi-Fi | CONNECTION |
| French | TOUS | HEUREUX | CONNEXION | Wi-Fi |
| German | ALLE | GLÜCKLICH | Wi-Fi | CONNECTION |
| Spanish | CONEXION | Wi-Fi | TODOS | FELICES |
| Italian | CHIUNQUE | FELICE | Wi-Fi | CONNECTION |
| Korean | 모두 | 두근두근 | Wi-Fi | 통신 |
Trivia
- Not only was the Secret Key the first item to be released via a Wi-Fi event, but it was also the first to allow sharing or obtaining from friends (although sharing is only available with the Japanese version).
- It is impossible to get a shiny Mystery Gift Pokémon, unless it is meant to be shiny like the Pikachu-colored Pichu. This is because in the game's coding, there is a shiny check function which prevents Mystery Gift from being shiny by regenerating a new PID until the Pokémon isn't shiny.
- There is a girl in Pewter City in Pokéon Firered & Leafgreen who asks for your trainer profile, if you enter the words "Mystery Event is exiting" she'll say she heard that phrase before from her cousin who lives far away, who is most likely the boy from the Petalburg City Pokémon Center in Hoenn.
