Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection & Generation IV

[Blazing Charmander]

The Wi-Fi service for the Gen IV (and V) games had a run that sadly ended back in 2014. As with the latest Generation and Nintendo Network, this allowed players to battle and trade globally, as well as perform other functions such as receiving special Events through Mystery Gift.

Personally I am sad that the service is no more in DPPt and HGSS, though I was unable to utilise it in later years anyway because the router at home had stricter WPA security, whereas the DS required WEP. This meant I was unable to get the shiny Crown Beast Raikou, having managed to download Entei and Suicune before it.

I especially miss the ability to trade and battle online, as I know there are still some who do play these games to this day. I fondly remember receiving a shiny Japanese Misdreavus in exchange for Murkrow on Diamond as one of my first GTS trades. There's an unexplainably hollow, empty feel to these games now that Nintendo WFC is defunct.

What memories do you have of using this service in Gen IV? Were you sad to see it go?

 

[Lorde]

I first used Wi-Fi to access the GTS in Diamond: I was looking for a Munchlax for my Pokedex. I used Wi-Fi at my grandmother's house though, so I had to wait like a month until I went back to visit her again just to get the Munchlax after I had deposited my Pokemon. Good times.

 

[Mega Altaria]

I missed Wi-Fi horribly back during the times of Gens 4 to 5. I usually use the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection to access the GTS on my Gen 4 games to access more Pokémon, including Manaphy and the elusive Feebas in Platinum. So some time before the service shut down, I got that Manaphy and now, it's transferred all the way to ORAS. It was certainly good back then.

 

[The Pokemon Broadcast]

I only ever did local trading with this service. Say, like if I needed to trade a Pokemon to make it evolve.
Never got the chance/needed to do any global trading.

 

[Aquarelle]

I didn't use the Wi-Fi features on any of my games until 2011, around the time of BW's international release. When Gen IV first started, I had absolutely NO idea as to how the Wi-Fi stuff worked. I thought it was some sort of service that you had to subscribe to and pay some outrageous monthly fee to use.
Also, we had absolutely terrible internet back then.

We got less terrible better internet sometime during Gen IV, but I didn't try using the WiFi features then (still didn't know much about Wi-Fi). Finally, after getting my White (about 2-3 years after upgrading our internet) I decided to try connecting to the internet on it on a whim and it worked! After that, I tried connecting with my Gen IV games for the first time. I made a bunch of online trades on my Platinum and HeartGold until the service was shut down last year. I remember visiting the Wi-Fi Plaza on Platinum a couple times and playing the minigames there.

Overall, I had fun using the Wi-Fi services. However, I remember being really mad at myself when I connected for the first time, because if I'd thought to try connecting a few years earlier, I could have gotten the Wi-Fi events I missed. :/

 

[Kalosian]

I have some memories from using the Wi-Fi connection in 4th gen. While I didn't use the feature as much as I did in 5th gen, or the internet features in 6th gen for that matter, I did get a little use of it at least.

I remember when D/P were first released and it seemed like everyone on these forums had Wi-Fi, while I had not. So I felt like I missed out on quite a lot of the fun during the first 6 months or so after the games had been released everywhere. I did get a Nintendo Wi-Fi USB connection device (not sure what it is called) in early 2008 if my memory serves me right. I didn't use it a lot though. I believe I traded some Pokemon on the GTS in order to get two Piplup that I needed for my Pokedex (as I picked Chimchar in Pearl and Turtwig in Diamond). Later, I did a trade with a person on another forum to obtain Latias and Rayquaza as those were the last non-event Pokemon I needed for my Pokedex in D/P, I didn't feel like transferring over any of my own Pokemon of these species from Generation 3. Which in retrospect was a really weird decision from my side, but that's how it was.

Later in 2008, my family got real Wi-Fi, making the USB device no longer necessary. I remember that I could now easily obtain Events on my own during 2009-2011, this let me get Darkrai and Shaymin on Platinum, as well as the shiny Legendary Beasts on all of my 5th gen games. When I returned to the forums in 2011, I did some more trades, most notably a few ones that allowed me to get all Event legends I was missing and finally get a truely complete Pokedex on D/P/P (and the same will go for HG/SS once I have completed the Pokedex in them). I did several more trades during 2011 and the years following in order to get Pokemon I wanted from others, and to let others get Pokemon they wanted from me.

As for battles, I only really ever had one online battle on 4th gen. It was against a friend during the summer of 2012. He is kind of a Pokemon fan but stopped playing and buying new games after D/P. I battled him and won, but it was a bit unfair as I didn't properly explain the rules to him before, and my interest in Pokemon was very high at this time while his was considerably lower. I had also planned to have another battle against another friend, but it didn't happen and now, it never will. We have afterwards been talking about having a battle on 6th gen instead, but I don't know if that will happen either since I don't have much contact with said friend anymore, and I'm not sure if he even is that interested in Pokemon either these days.

Regarding the Platinum Wi-Fi Plaza, I believe I used it once when the game was relatively new, but didn't try it again afterwards since it didn't really interest me that much.

Overall, I liked the Wi-Fi connection and it was sad to see it go, but it had to happen at some point. I am very thankful for the fact that they told us it would shut down long before it actually did. I might not have that many memories from using Wi-Fi in 4th gen, but the ones I have are definitely positive.

 

[The Pokemon Broadcast]

One thing I forgot to mention, I also traded with my brother for a Kanghaskhan between my SS and his HG so I ad something to beat Whitney's Miltank (At this point I was getting pretty tired of losing to her. I just wanted that battle to end!)

Anyway, that and what i said before are the only things I've used this service for.

 

[Lorde]

Tbh I'm still kind of bummed that the Wi-Fi Member Card and Oak's Letter events were only for Platinum: I wish Diamond and Pearl had gotten those items via the same method. Also, the Azure Flute never getting a Wi-Fi distribution irked me.

 

[Bananarama]

I really don't miss the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection the way that it was back then. I still remember the darn WEP requirement that kept me from connecting for a long time. I think the current Wi-Fi system is a thousand times better.

 

[Sceptrigon]

Tbh I'm still kind of bummed that the Wi-Fi Member Card and Oak's Letter events were only for Platinum: I wish Diamond and Pearl had gotten those items via the same method. Also, the Azure Flute never getting a Wi-Fi distribution irked me.

Same, I dunno why the Azure Flute wasn't an official event at the time. At least some still had access to Arceus for the HG/SS event, but still.

I really miss Wi-Fi connection. I used to go on the GTS a lot in Pearl, and I remember getting a shiny Bagon on there. I've been really considering completing my Pokedex for at least on of these games, but now that Wi-Fi's been down, I'll never be able to accomplish it the harder way, lol.

 

[Mega Altaria]

Same, I dunno why the Azure Flute wasn't an official event at the time. At least some still had access to Arceus for the HG/SS event, but still.

From what I've heard, in an interview with Masuda, he said that the method of use of the Azure Flute was too complicated for players, so Nintendo/GF decided against distributing it.

 

[Lorde]

I really don't miss the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection the way that it was back then. I still remember the darn WEP requirement that kept me from connecting for a long time. I think the current Wi-Fi system is a thousand times better.

I disliked the security settings back then as well, but I was just glad that Wi-Fi existed since it made trading/battling so much easier than it was in Gen 3 and prior to that.

 

[Mrs. Oreo]

My first time using wi-fi in the gen 4 games was when I wanted to get Dialga via trade in Pearl. I only did a few trades back then but I did like the convenience of wi-fi trading. :3

 

[Feline]

I remember getting Pearl in college, and there was no wi-fi there till I went home for a few days, and discovered it there. Good times.

I also remember using it in, well I forgot the year, but I posted somewhere on the internet all the Pokes I needed to fill the national dex. I completed it...for FREAKIN' NOTHING! Oak didn't give me a darn thing, just a thank you. I thought there was a prize or something. I was so pissed off. HAHA! Oh well.

I recently re-visited my old file in Pearl about a month ago and boy was that a nostalgia trip, but with all 493 Pokémon and no more wi-fi, it was a slight let down. I miss wi-fi. *sigh*