Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s newest Mystery Gift freebie has very controversial lore

The latest Mystery Gift in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet features one of the most powerful Paradox Pokémon, Flutter Mane, and the backstory is deeper than you think.

To celebrate South Korea’s national tournament, the 2024 Pokémon Trainers Cup, there’s a special Mystery Gift code to receive the 2023 senior champion’s Flutter Mane. All players can redeem this code in the Mystery Gift section of the Poké Portal by Tuesday, May 7 at 9:59am CT; this special event is not exclusive to South Korea either.

The code is: 987W1THSPECS

This Flutter Mane comes EV-trained and has the following build:

At big tournaments, Mystery Gift giveaways are usually based on the previous champions’ Pokémon from the masters division. However, this Flutter Mane comes from last year’s senior division winner, Shin Yeo-myeong, instead of masters. Why? Because there was no master’s division winner. All four finalists in the masters division were disqualified from the 2023 Pokémon Trainers Cup and banned from the circuit.

The disqualifications and bans came after the four finalists all agreed to bring Metronome-only teams to the event to protest the circuit structure in Asian regions. And had they not all been disqualified, the masters division winner would’ve been decided at random due to the nature of how the move Metronome works. This outcome would’ve also given us a different Mystery Gift Pokémon instead of the Flutter Mane.

For example, one of the finalists, Nash, was set to bring a team featuring Metronome users like Florges, Arboliva, and Polteageist. None of these ‘mons were viable in the VGC format at the time unlike Flutter Mane, but they would’ve made really unique Mystery Gifts to giveaway at this year’s event. Imagine receiving a Mystery Gift Arboliva, who resembles a peaceful olive branch. It would’ve been the perfect way to remember the Korean Metronome protest—if it had ended on a positive note. Instead, those four players were disqualified, banned, and stripped of their 2023 Worlds invites for attempting to bring attention to the issue.

Regardless, the Mystery Gift Flutter Mane is a collectible that comes in an event-exclusive Cherish Ball. So if you’re a VGC player or fan, go ahead and scoop the freebie up before May 7.