Honestly, if you're booting up your 3DS right now to hunt for mystery gift codes sun and moon, I have some news that’s gonna sting a bit. You’re late. About seven years late, give or take. It feels weird saying that because Alola still feels so "new" in the grand timeline of the franchise, but the era of punching in a 16-character string to get a Shiny Tapu Koko or a Marshadow is long gone.
The 3DS servers for Nintendo Network officially bit the dust in April 2024. Before that, the specific "Mystery Gift" servers for Gen 7—the Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon era—were already largely dormant. It’s a ghost town. But that hasn't stopped people from searching for them. Why? Because the Alola games represented the last time Pokémon distributions felt truly massive and, occasionally, incredibly frustrating.
The Reality of Mystery Gift Codes Sun and Moon Today
Let's get the technical stuff out of the way first. There are no "active" official codes from The Pokémon Company for these games. If you see a website claiming to have a "2026 Working Mystery Gift Code" for a Mewtwo in Pokémon Sun, they are lying to you. Period.
Back in the day, these codes were the lifeblood of the community. You’d hike over to a GameStop or a Target, beg the person at the counter for a printed card, and pray they hadn't run out. These were "Serial Codes." They were unique, one-time-use strings. Once someone used it, that was it. The other type was the "Generic Code," things like POKECALENDAR or MULETTCARD, which everyone could use until a certain expiration date.
Those dates have all passed. 100% of them. Even the QR codes for Magearna—which are technically different from Mystery Gifts—work differently because they were baked into the game’s local code rather than a server check.
Why Gen 7 Codes Were a Massive Deal
Generation 7 was a turning point for how Game Freak handled distributions. We moved away from the "Wireless" local distributions at malls (remember those?) and went heavy into the digital code era.
Think about the Ash-Greninja. You didn't even get that through a code in the traditional sense; you had to play the Special Demo Version and transfer it. It was a multi-step process that paved the way for the more complex "connected" ecosystem we have now with Pokémon HOME. Then you had the shiny Silvally distribution or the "Rocky" Lycanroc. These weren't just "free monsters." They were competitive-ready tools that changed how people played on the Battle Spot.
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The QR Code Workaround (The Only Real "Gift" Left)
If you are looking for that hit of dopamine from "unlocking" something in Alola today, your only legitimate, non-modded path is the QR Scanner.
Most people forget that the QR Scanner isn't technically a "Mystery Gift," even though it functions similarly. While the mystery gift codes sun and moon servers are dead, the QR functionality is local. It lives on your cartridge.
- The Magearna Exception: This is the big one. If you have beaten the main story and become the Champion, you can scan a specific QR code (easily found on the official Pokémon website archives) to trigger an event at the Antiquities of the Ages shop in Hau'oli City. An NPC will hand you the Mythical Pokémon Magearna. This still works in 2026 because it doesn't check a Nintendo server to see if the event is "active."
- Island Scan: By scanning 10 random QR codes (literally from a bag of chips or a Google Image search), you earn 100 points. This triggers an Island Scan. Depending on which island you're on and what day of the week it is, a non-Alolan Pokémon will spawn. You can get things like Squirtle, Deino, or Kanto starters.
It's not a "gift" in the sense of it arriving in a delivery man's hands at the Pokémon Center, but it's the only way to get "event" style encounters in a post-server world.
The Tragedy of the Marshadow and Zeraora Codes
The biggest pain point for collectors right now is the "Mythical Gap." Marshadow and Zeraora were the crown jewels of the mystery gift codes sun and moon era.
Marshadow was distributed via serial codes at retailers in 2017. Zeraora followed in 2018 for the Ultra games. Because these Pokémon cannot be caught in normal gameplay in any game to date (with very few exceptions like Pokémon GO events), they have become the most "gatekept" creatures in the series.
If you didn't redeem those codes back then, your save file is effectively locked out of a "complete" National Dex unless you trade with someone who did. This is why people are still searching for codes. They’re hoping against hope that there’s a forgotten stash of unexpired codes. There isn't. Nintendo's 3DS eShop closure was the final nail in that coffin; even if you had a physical card with a scratch-off code today, the console wouldn't be able to "talk" to the server to verify it.
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Can You Still Get These Gifts Through "Other" Means?
We have to talk about the "gray" area. When the official lights go out, the community usually finds a way to turn them back on.
There are "custom servers" or "DNS exploits" that worked wonders for the Gen 4 and Gen 5 games (Diamond, Pearl, White, Black). By changing your 3DS internet settings to point to a fan-made server, you can sometimes trick the game into receiving old Mystery Gifts.
However, for Gen 7, this is significantly more complicated. The encryption used on the 3DS was much tougher than the DS era. While some "injection" methods exist for players with modified firmware (CFW), it’s not as simple as just typing in a code.
Then there’s the "Mystery Gift" injection via save editing tools like PKHeX. This isn't really getting a gift; it's more like writing a line of code into your save file to pretend you were at a GameStop in 2017. Most purists avoid this, but for someone just wanting to experience the Z-Crystal events for Marshadow (Marshadium Z), it’s the only path left.
Lessons from the Alola Era
Looking back, the way mystery gift codes sun and moon were handled was a bit of a mess.
Remember the "Global Missions"? Those were community-wide goals where we all had to catch millions of Pokémon to get Fast Balls or Rare Candies. They failed. Repeatedly. We missed the goals because the barrier to entry—syncing your game to the PGL (Pokémon Global Link)—was a nightmare.
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The transition from those clunky codes to the "Get via Internet" system in Sword/Shield and Scarlet/Violet was born out of the failures of the Sun and Moon era. We learned that physical code cards are a terrible way to distribute digital content because they exclude anyone who doesn't live near a participating retailer.
How to Prepare Your Alola Save Now
Even though the codes are dead, your Sun and Moon save files are still valuable. If you have those old event Pokémon, they are "bankable."
- Move them to Pokémon Bank: While the eShop is closed, if you already had Bank downloaded, it is currently free to use.
- Transfer to HOME: Get those Marshadows and Zeraoras into the cloud. We don't know when the 3DS-to-Switch "bridge" will be cut forever. Nintendo has hinted that Pokémon Bank will eventually shut down too.
- Check your Wonder Cards: In your game menu, you can still view your "Wonder Cards." These are the digital receipts for every mystery gift codes sun and moon you ever redeemed. They don't do anything now, but they’re a cool bit of nostalgia, showing the date and location of your redemption.
The Future of "Expired" Events
There is a loud contingent of fans asking The Pokémon Company to "unlock" these events in future remakes. When we eventually get "Brilliant Sun" or "Shining Moon" (or whatever they call the Alola remakes in 2030), the hope is that Marshadow won't be tied to a piece of cardboard from a store that went bankrupt.
Until then, the Alola region remains a beautiful, tropical time capsule. It’s a place where the sun sets in real-time and where, once upon a time, a 16-digit code could get you a god-like creature in a cherish ball.
If you're still looking for a way to get those specific "gift" vibes, your best bet is to focus on the QR Scanner and the Island Scan. It’s the only legitimate "hidden" content left that doesn't require a time machine or a hacker's toolkit. Stop hunting for codes that expired when the iPhone 8 was new. Instead, go catch that Magearna—it’s still waiting for you in Hau’oli City, provided you’ve got the right QR code and the title of Champion.
Your Next Steps:
Locate the "Magearna QR Code" via the official Pokémon website archives—it is region-locked, so ensure you find the one matching your console (North America, Europe, or Japan). Once scanned, head to the shopping mall in Hau'oli City to claim your level 50 Mythical. This remains the only "event" Pokémon from the Sun and Moon era still obtainable through official, in-game mechanics without external server verification. After that, ensure your Pokémon Bank is updated; moving your existing Alola collection to Pokémon HOME is a priority before the 3DS wireless functions are sunset entirely.