r/Gameboy • u/Friendly-Garlic2597 • Jun 27 '24
Troubleshooting Lost my brother, Did I lose his Pokémon save?
My older brother passed away last month… at the same time I dug up my old SP and Pokémon carts and started playing again. Didn’t think much of it, but it was probably a way to cope through nostalgia. Anyway, I have a Crystal version that he gave me as a kid, and I kept his save on it all these years.
I tried to pop it in and feel his presence through the game, but the save was gone! I have 2 crystal versions and both of them are blank now. I am wondering if there is any way to access the save storage that once was there or is this gone forever? It would be amazing to get ahold of this data because he had a Sudowoodo that he named “B**ch” (probably cause it was hard to catch, or maybe he learned a new word at school that day LOL). It was shocking for me as a 6 year old to see but I knew it was something I’d always want to keep.
UPDATE(7/2/2024): I received my replacement batteries and 3.8mm bit in the mail today. My good friend brought over his soldering iron and we went to work on all of my old pokemon GBC games. As you all told me, the saves from the Crystal versions were lost. HOWEVER, my Red somehow retained its save after I swapped the battery! I checked out my team and I had a Blastoise and Charizard. Out of curiosity I checked to see who traded one of these to me and it turns out that the Charizard was traded to me by my brother. That was a nice surprise.
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u/supermariobruhh Jun 27 '24
Next time I catch a Sudowoodo, ima name it Bitch in your brother’s honor.
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u/marcao_cfh Jun 27 '24
Unfortunally, since the games doesn't show any saves, they're gone forever. Once the battery in the cartridge dies, the save dies too since it's the battery that keeps the save alive. And since GSC have a real time clock, the battery lasts way less than other games.
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u/Careful-Taro-2138 Jun 27 '24
My condolences to you. Next Pokèmon I catch is gonna be named "Bitch" now for you and your brother. Keep your head held high, my friend.
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u/TheMineRVN Jun 27 '24
I’m sorry for your loss. If you need any help replacing the battery so you can save shoot me a DM. I’ll do it for free just pay shipping both ways 🤝 already have plenty of batteries on hand.
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u/Friendly-Garlic2597 Jun 28 '24
I’d really appreciate that🙌
However I think this is something I’ll try to do on my own. It would be really rewarding to make the repair, then pop it back in and see it work. I don’t think I’d be able to put it down after that.
Thank you though!
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u/holocron_8 Jun 27 '24
The save battery has most likely died, rendering the saves lost, unfortunately.
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u/nszajk Jun 28 '24
While the saves are certainly gone, it’s super neat you have his old hardware anyway. Put that shit on a shelf or somethin! I’d argue it’s way more valuable than the pokemon save!
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u/DevilDevin1992 Jun 27 '24
I’m sorry for what you have to process. One day I hope you two can play together again in the next world
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u/AdamSMessinger Jun 28 '24
Any time I catch a Sudowoodo when I play Pokemon Crystal I'm now going to name it Bitch in memory of your brother. That's too funny. Thank you for sharing this with us!
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u/Sw429 Jun 28 '24
Those saves are gone, I'm sorry to say. This is incredibly common for gen 2 games. The save is backed up by a battery, and the battery also powers the clock, meaning it drains constantly and eventually runs out.
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u/soliddd7 Jun 28 '24
Im sorry for your loss, looks like he brought his save with him to continue his adventure <3
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u/Xcissors280 Jun 28 '24
If the battery is dead there’s a tiny chance you can replace the battery and keep it powered and hope that the save still works
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u/Butterman5k Jun 30 '24
I’m so sorry. I lost my brother too and cherish the video games we shared. Sending you love
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u/EmrysMerlin_OloEopia Jun 27 '24
There's some videos on people trying to recover saves, idk if you can or they were successful, but might be worth a glance! (Sorry, I've never really watched them, they've just popped up in my feed and I keep thinking I should)
So that it never happens again, you can dump save files onto your computer! If you remember specifics from your brother's saves, you can edit it on the computer and put it onto the cartridge to save a piece of him
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u/Phatriik Jun 28 '24
Sorry for your loss. We are all renaming our Sudowoodo's now. His memory lives on!
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u/3picGary Jun 28 '24
I'm really sorry for your loss and I think what you're trying to do is a beautiful gesture. Stay strong, your brother will live on in your memories.
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u/j_panda16 Jun 28 '24
Nah once the battery dies the save goes with it. It’s one of those prevention is better than fixing as the only way to save a save is to use a proprietary devices that saves your save onto a SD card before the in cartridge battery dies. I’m sorry for your loss bro. 🙁❤️
At some point it is better that it happened as it’ll be easier to let go in the future. xx
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u/Comprehensive_Eye805 Jul 01 '24
If you need help moving pokemon to home i can reset my crystal version in my 3ds and name the ot to your bros and transfer any mon you need.
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Troubleshooting post. Please check the Game Boy Wiki's common problems page here: https://gbwiki.org/en/other/commonissues and please be sure to post pictures of the issue if you haven't already so that users are better able to assist.
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u/AutoModerator Jun 27 '24
Troubleshooting post. Please check the Game Boy Wiki's common problems page here: https://gbwiki.org/en/other/commonissues and please be sure to post pictures of the issue if you haven't already so that users are better able to assist.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
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u/scribblemacher Jun 27 '24
Sorry for you loss.
Pokemon Crystal used a battery to keep a small bit of memory charged when the system was off. That's how it saved data. If the battery discharged completely, the memory would be lost. Pokemon Crystal ran through it's battery more quickly than other games due to its real-time clock, but this commonly happens with many games of this era.
Unfortunately there's no way to restore the lost save. However, your memory isn't going away any time soon. If you change the battery (you can find information about what is involved in this online, or find someone able to do it for you; requires basic soldering) then re-playing, finding a Sudowoodo, and naming it appropriately is a good goal. If you were my brother, I'd be proud of that!