Pokémon Lottery Corner

This article is incomplete. Please feel free to edit this article to add missing information and complete it.

The ID Number Lottery is a periodic opportunity in the Pokémon games for the player to receive a reward for owning a Pokémon with a certain OT ID number. Each day (or each week in Generation II), a random ID number is generated; if the player has a Pokémon with the same or similar ID, they can talk to an NPC in a certain location to receive an item. In order for a Pokémon's ID to match the random ID, one or more consecutive digits of the IDs must be the same, starting from the rightmost digit. Thus, if the current lottery number is 12345, a Pokémon with the ID 12340 will not match, but one with the ID 00005 will (except in Generations II and III, which do not give rewards for matching only one digit), and another Pokémon with the ID 12045 will win for matching the last two digits only.

Generation II

In Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal, the ID lottery is part of the Lucky Number Show, a radio program broadcast on channel 8.5 of the Johto airwaves. Each Friday, a random ID number is generated and then broadcast on the Lucky Channel throughout the following week. The player can bring a Pokémon with an ID number matching that week's lucky number to a receptionist on the ground floor of the Goldenrod Radio Tower to receive a prize. When the receptionist is spoken to, the IDs of all Pokémon in the player's party and in the currently selected box of Bill's PC are checked for matches, and a prize is awarded if one is found. The player can speak to the receptionist to check for matches multiple times in one week, but once a prize has been received, the player will not be able to participate any more until the lucky number changes at the start of the next Friday.

Generation III

In Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald, the lottery is conducted by a receptionist on the ground floor of the Lilycove Department Store, and the winning number changes daily.

Generation IV

In Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, the lottery is part of the Pokémon Lottery Corner on the ground floor of the Jubilife TV building and is conducted by a receptionist named Felicity. The winning ID number changes daily, and the game looks for matches by examining the IDs of all Pokémon in the player's party and in all PC boxes. In Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, the player may only check for matches once a day, and this occurs at the same time that they are told what the winning ID is. This is changed in Pokémon Platinum so that the player may check for matches multiple times in one day, though, after winning a prize, they may not participate for the rest of the day.

In Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, Felicity and the Pokémon Lottery Corner appear on the ground floor of the Goldenrod Radio Tower; the lottery in these games works the same way that it does in Platinum.

Prizes

In Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, once all of the Backdrops have been won, the player will no longer be able to win for matching only one digit.

Aspects in Need of Investigation

• Is there a better, non-generation-specific name for this feature than "ID number lottery"?
• Does the lottery exist in Generation V?
• The note about matching four digits in GSC is purely hypothetical and needs to be confirmed.
• It is assumed that, if a player has more than one Pokémon with a matching ID, the game will select the one whose ID has the most matching digits, and if there is still a tie, it will use whichever comes first in the player's party or PC system. However, none of this has been rigorously tested.
• In Diamond & Pearl (and possibly other versions), it seems that, if the player saves the game the day before and then resets the game multiple times, the lotto number will always remain the same. If the day's number is indeed predetermined, it might also be shared among members of the same group, like swarms and Great Marsh Pokémon. Whether any of this is true requires investigation.
• In Generation III, can you attempt to win only once or more than once per day?