3rd Gen a few questions about glitches in ruby... and the saving (or lack thereof)

[BenjiTheKid]

Okay, to better understand... you might need the full story. If you're an experienced gamer and know about glitches and other such things, feel free to just skim my post and tell me what you think.

Okay, about a month (less than, but about) ago I purchased a Pokemon Ruby game pac from Gamestop for about $30.00. I tested it while I was there to make sure it worked. Everything was fine. I walked around for a minute, saved the game. Everything was okay. Well, when I got home, I went to play it. When I went to Prof. Birch's lab, my person suddenly became invisible. At the time, I didn't know much about the "invisibility glitch" (still don't, really... but more than I did then) so thought nothing of it when my person was visible again. Well, I put the receipt away and continued playing. As I was playing, I noticed that every now and then the game lags. Also, when I plant berries they never grew back. Never. I was also wondering, I thought that certain trainers would want to rebattle? I was wondering if they do in Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald? Because I was trying to figure it out... but couldn't. I talked to everyone. Never received anything that would make them contact me. Never heard anything about it. Nothing. o.O But, I also haven't played it in a while before now... so... Anyway... There were many, many other glitches. So, after about a week... I dug into things. And, I found out that I should be kicking myself in the butt for ignoring the invisible glitch. I found many, many posts online about people who had that glitch... right before the game messed up and were wondering why.

Well, fast-forward to today. I lost my receipt... so was unable to return it when I realized what the glitches meant. Today, I started a new game. I got all the way to the third gym. Saved and turned it off. I thought everything was cool. Until my sister popped the game in my DS and... the file had been deleted. She told me. I was like "WHAT?" I took the DS, turned it off, turned it back on. Sure enough, the file was gone. I restarted, saved, turned it off, back on... the file was gone. I was at this point, mentally beating myself up for not returning it right away. Well, I went up to Gamestop to at least trade it in- they were closed. I asked if I could test it in my brother-in-laws gameboy. It saved. It also kept the file in the DS. But, after a few more tries... it was gone again. So, it's like randomly deleting all my hard work.

Basically, I want to know what it sounds like to you? What do the glitches mean (the invisible character, the non-growing berries, the lagging) and why wouldn't it keep the save file? I googled it and found out that basically it could be fake or the memory is corrupted. But, I thought that advance games couldn't get their memory corrupted? Was I always thinking wrong?? I figured you guys would know more... since the answers I found were.. vague. So, opinions?

Also, if this is in the wrong place... sorry. I wasn't sure where it would go.

Also, I dug deeper again... I think it might be a fake... the sticker isn't "shiny" (which a guide said it should be) and the words are... off.They're misplaced and seem... small. Also, I noticed... it never fit in my Advance right... and, in the DS... it was an even tighter fit. I tried to take decent pictures... but, my moms camara takes horrible pictures... this was the best I could get... if you can make anything out of any of them that it might be fake... PLEASE let me know.

If it IS a fake... I could cry. I mean, I wouldn't even care if I had only spent say... 17 bucks on it. But, that's like... 30 bucks down the drain, right? Ugg... What do you guys think?

I'll try to get better pictures tommorow.

 

[jigglyppuff8]

I don't know anything about the first or last glitches, but I do know that the 2nd one was due to the fact that the game's internal clock stopped working after a year or so. To remedy this, Nintendo released an official patch in the Pokemon Colosseum pre-order disc, FireRed, LeafGreen, Emerald, and some events. You could also send it into them to be fixed.

To access the patch from the GBA games, you'll need 2 GBAs and a link cable. Then follow these instructions:

1. Load FireRed, LeafGreen, or Emerald until the title screen is displayed.
2. Press the Select and B buttons. After the new screen loads, press A.
3. Insert the Link Cable so that the system that has FR/LG/E in it has the Player 1 cable port inserted and the one with R/S has the Player 2 port. Once this is done, press A.
4. Turn on the device with Ruby or Sapphire while holding the Start and Select buttons.
5. Refer to the FR/LG/E display for further instructions. The patch should be transferred at this time.

I'm sorry that I can't help you out with your other glitches.

EDIT: After comparing it to my Sapphire cart, that Ruby doesn't look 100% legit. It should look more like this:

Spoiler:

Note that there's no text on the upper left corner.

 

[BenjiTheKid]

It's okay!

Thanks, though. I think I do have a link... somewhere. I don't have two advances, though. My sister has one on layaway... not sure if I can wait that long. See, I thought they fixed that problem with Sapphire and Ruby. Guess I was wrong?

So, there's a chance that it's fake? Actually, comparing it to that picture... I'm almost 100% sure that it's fake. The text shouldn't be in the one corner.. the code should be below the seal... on mine, it's in the other corner... Mine says Licensed By above Nintendo... I think it's a fake.

 

[SoulRed12]

It's okay!

Thanks, though. I think I do have a link... somewhere. I don't have two advances, though. My sister has one on layaway... not sure if I can wait that long. See, I thought they fixed that problem with Sapphire and Ruby. Guess I was wrong?

So, there's a chance that it's fake? Actually, comparing it to that picture... I'm almost 100% sure that it's fake. The text shouldn't be in the one corner.. the code should be below the seal... on mine, it's in the other corner... Mine says Licensed By above Nintendo... I think it's a fake.

It's a good idea to bring a friend's copy of a game when buying from a place like gamestop, because people can easily trick those people into paying for a fake version. They have so many customers that they don't have time to check it themselves. But if you have a friend's version (someone who bought the game from e.g. target) you can compare it while you're there. Also commit the characteristics of a legit cartridge to memory, if you plan on buying more often from places like gamestop.

As for the berry thing, they never fixed ruby&sapphire aside from providing the patch. Emerald, LG and FR were all fixed though.

As for the deleted save file, it may have something to do with the game's internal battery. I'm not sure of this, but my gold, silver and crystal (which are years and years and years old and undoubtedly have dry batteries) all won't hold a save file once I turn the game off.

 

[Tesshin]

You can actually see if it's fake by looking at the cover?

My pokemon gold also had that bug that deleted savefiles, and it still does :/

 

[BenjiTheKid]

Soulred: Thanks! I don't have friends that have Ruby... but, I have FireRed and so does my brother in law. And, though there are a few changes between the two carts... even comparing those two I'm starting to kick myself for not realizing the game was fake. I wrote down all the ways to tell if it's fake for DS and Advance for future reference. I'm glad I did because now I'll know next time. Right away. I exchanged the game... (found the receipt in my wallet *smacks head*) but... the new one has a dead internal battery. I'm not sure if I'm gonna wait till I can fix that... or just trade it in. Haven't decided yet. But, I found out that it wasn't saving probably because it was a fake. I know this now because the new one, when I turn it on, it warns me that the battery is no longer working and time related things, etc won't happen.

I think I'm just gonna trade it in and put the credit toward Diamond or Pearl. As it is, it's the third one I had... the first one that I exchanged the fake for didn't work. This one has a dead internal battery. This should be a sign that I'm not meant to have Ruby. (LoL) Seriously, though, I'd like Diamond or Pearl better, anyway...

Tesshin: Apparently, there is. :]

I'm not sure how to tell with Gold... but, since Gold was a color generation your battery is probably just dead. However, if you think it might be a fake... there are guides ALL over the internet. If you need help, just send me a message, I wrote down a couple and I can try and help.

 

[slaughter077]

You can actually see if it's fake by looking at the cover?

My pokemon gold also had that bug that deleted savefiles, and it still does :/

Pokemon Gold and Silver usually lose their saving capabilities after about 7 years or so.... its very common.

Both my silver and gold no longer hold a save. :(

Just wait a year until the remakes come out :)