Every year, Pokemon fans organize Operation Delibird. The goal is for more experienced Pokémon trainers to send off good Pokémon through Surprise Trade for newcomers to use in their games on Christmas day. This year, with the release of Pokémon Sword and Shield, I decided to take part in the operation. I prepared boxes of my Dreepy breedjects. I sent off 100 5IV Dreepys. In return, I received a range of Pokémon and thought it would be interesting to record the types of Pokémon I received and their attributes. So, have Pokémon players been naughty or nice this year? Generous or greedy?
Overall: Nice Surprise Trades
In sum, I received very few “crappy” Pokémon. Presumably, far fewer beginners were taking part in Operation Delibird than experienced players. As a result, most of the Pokémon I received were rarer or had good stats.
The Pokémon
Here is a list of which Pokémon I received out of the 100 I got back.
| Pokémon | Quantity |
| Ponyta | 7 |
| Dreepy | 6 |
| Charmander | 5 |
| Grookey | 5 |
| Sobble | 5 |
| Scorbunny | 4 |
| Meowth | 3 |
| Rookidee | 3 |
| Skwovet | 3 |
| Corsola | 2 |
| Duraludon | 2 |
| Jangmo-0 | 2 |
| Magikarp | 2 |
| Riolu | 2 |
| Stufful | 2 |
| Zigzagoon | 2 |
| Blipbug | 1 |
| Chewtle | 1 |
| Cramorant | 1 |
| Deino | 1 |
| Delibird | 1 |
| Ditto | 1 |
| Dracovish | 1 |
| Drilbur | 1 |
| Eevee | 1 |
| Eiscue | 1 |
| Electrike | 1 |
| Farfetch’d | 1 |
| Ferroseed | 1 |
| Flour | 1 |
| Gardevoir | 1 |
| Gengar | 1 |
| Goldeen | 1 |
| Goomy | 1 |
| Grubbin | 1 |
| Gyarados | 1 |
| Hatterene | 1 |
| Honehedge | 1 |
| Impidimp | 1 |
| Indeedee | 1 |
| Metapod | 1 |
| Morpeko | 1 |
| Mr. Mime | 1 |
| Nickit | 1 |
| Nincada | 1 |
| Noivern | 1 |
| Phantump (evolved after trading) | 1 |
| Pidove | 1 |
| Ralts | 1 |
| Rotom | 1 |
| Sinistea | 1 |
| Snorlax | 1 |
| Stonjurner | 1 |
| Stunfisk | 1 |
| Swinub | 1 |
| Trapinch | 1 |
| Unfezant | 1 |
| Vanillite | 1 |
| Wynaut | 1 |
| Yamask | 1 |
| Yamper | 1 |
Stats
While I did receive more than enough Pokémon that had relatively poor IVs, these Pokémon were usually starters or rarer Pokédex entries. In all, a disproportionate share of the Pokémon I received had “Amazing” attributes. Moreover, many of the Pokémon I received through Surprise Trade had multiple “Perfect” IV values.
| Type of Stat | Number of Pokemon received |
| Amazing | 27 |
| Great | 19 |
| Good | 28 |
| Ok | 26 |
| Number of Perfect IVs | Number of Pokemon |
| 6 | 0 |
| 5 | 12 |
| 4 | 16 |
| 3 | 6 |
While I did not receive any perfect 6 IV Pokémon, I was surprised that over a third I received had at least three perfect IV values and more than a quarter had at least four perfect values.
Unfortunately, despite the kindness of the Pokémon community, nobody sent over a shiny Pokémon or a Legendary. Oh well, maybe next year! Have you gotten any cool Pokémon through Surprise Trade so far? Let us know in the comments!
