hello, fellow Pokémon fans

I'm new to this forum. I've been a fan of Pokémon since it came out in the US in 1998. I watched the show every time it was on, mostly while I was at my babysitter's house. I collected the cards and played all the games too. I had watched Pokémon up until the ending of the Johto series. I didn't mean to miss out on so much but I had entered high school around that time and was caught up with a bunch of personal issues. I reintroduced myself to Pokémon sometime around 2009-2010 when the Unova series started. I hadn't watched the show or done anything Pokémon-related since early 2008 because I had gotten upset about one of my games getting erased. That is one reason why I am actually here, I need someone's expert advise/help on this.

Back in 2002 I believe, my dad had bought me the Pokemon Crystal game for my GameBoy Color, which I've had since 1998. I played that game for many years after, and had almost gotten all 251 Pokémon at that time, but the unexpected happened. One day in early 2008 when I went to play it again after having not played it since the year before, I discovered that all the saved game data was gone, only "new game" and "options" showed up on the screen. I was upset. I had worked so hard for years on that game and had gotten so far. I went to start a new game and after saving that, it erased that too. I had left the cartridge in my GameBoy Color the whole time I wasn't using it and I wondered if my GameBoy Color, then 10 years old, somehow sucked the data out/corrupted it or if the cartridge corrupted or dried out. A few weeks ago, I went to see if either were still working after 5 years and they still do but I'm afraid to play it with it not saving anything anymore and with both the console and cartridge being old. Is there a way to fix this? I really want to play my Crystal version again, and more importantly, see if the data I had before can somehow be retrieved. If so, I'd be so happy. If not, I at least want to start over without it being erased over again. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

Wonderful to meet you, Cloyster, and a big welcome to our awesome community yes~!

I'm so sorry about your game data being erased. ): I can really understand where you're coming from since I had lost a few files before myself, usually due to a friend restarting or just losing my game copy in general. It's always pretty tough if you made good progress and makes it hard to want to get into the series again, but a fresh start is never a bad thing, plus Pokemon is too addicting to really drop! Unova is a great generation to start back with since it brought so many new things to the franchise too; the animated battle sprites especially are great. <3; Speaking of newer gens, have you heard about X and Y yet? If so, what do you think about it?

Anyway, there isn't much for me to say in regards to your saved data problem other than it will probably continue to risk being wiped due to the age of the Gameboy. It's a pretty common problem for those who try to play their old games. There might be a way to get the battery working right again, but you're probably better off consulting our Technology & Internet section if you'd like more details since it'd fit better there than in your introduction thread. Or alternatively, try Google. Sorry for not being of much help! I play most of my older games on an emulator nowadays since my GBC has long since stopped working. It's kind of sad to think about since my beautiful see-through purple GBC was my pride and joy as a kid. Kind of wish I still had it even though it was broken...

But yeah, hope you enjoy your stay on PokeCommunity and see you around! Feel free to contact me (or Cid) via private message if you need any help!

Thank you for your help, Cirno :)

Hi, CO!

Welcome to the forums! I am also a fan of the series since it began in the U.S. in 1998. :p I used to watch the show every time it on was on, too, I believe on the weekdays (with new episodes on Saturday), on the WB network! Good times, good times. I also was a collector of the cards and have thousands of them laying around! I've been on and off from the games, too, but I always seem to come back to relive the memories with the new games that are released. Pokémon is seriously one of those game series that you just cannot escape no matter what age you are.

& about your game! I'm sorry that happened to you! The feeling is mutual because it's happen to me before on my Silver version. I believe what you're experiencing is a "dead battery" in the cartridge, meaning just that, that your battery is dead and needs to be replaced if you want to be able to save the game file. You see, as the years go by, the battery becomes "dried out" from normal usage and also from things in the game (the clock in the game wears out the battery). I am pretty sure this is the issue you're facing, so I think you either have two options. You could manually replace the battery yourself, which I heard isn't too difficult, although you do need to buy some cheap tools (like a soldering iron) and a new battery, which you may have laying around your house anyways, or you need to buy a completely new game (either used with a new battery, or a brand new one). Just to make sure that the dried out battery is the issue, you should still ask in the Technology & Internet forum (link provided to you by Cirno). There are plenty of tutorials on YT on how to change the batteries from Pokémon games specifically, so you should check those out, too, if you decide to change the battery yourself.

Hope I helped, and hope to see you around!