How To Spot A Fake Pokémon Game

With all the Pokémon games on the market, there are bound to be a few fakes out there. These are unknowingly bought and sold constantly. There are, however, some very easy methods to determine the authenticity of one of these games. Here I will be explaining these methods in detail. This guide primarily addresses Game Boy Advance games, but several points are applicable to Game Boy Color titles as well.

What to Look for In the Seller

Retail Store

Online
  • Look at the products they sell, not just the games.
    • Many retailers also sell knockoff shirts, shoes, toys, trading cards, etc.
  • Are they knowledgeable about what they sell?
    • It will be immediately obvious if their business primarily deals with games. Many people who buy large lots of items to sell often take a chance with authenticity. If their primary business is games, they should be smart enough (hopefully) to weed out fakes. Even professional retailers are duped once in a while, so keep that in mind.
  • Where is it being sold from?
    • Counterfeit games are often made overseas and imported to North America and Europe. When reading a listing, be cautious if it's being sold directly out of China, Hong Kong, or anywhere in southeast Asia. These regions are notorious for producing counterfeit merchandise of all kinds. As with any purchase, it will be very hard to get a refund if it is sold from out of the country.
  • What is their feedback like?
    • Are people commenting about the authenticity of a game when writing a review? If there are a fair amount of reviews addressing this in a negative way, look elsewhere. At the very least, make sure the seller has a history of promptly refunding those who were unknowingly sold a fake.

What to Look for In The Game

The Label

  • The paper alone is a good indicator. Real Pokémon games for GBA will have a foil label. It should be metallic, not glossy. Some fakes, however, mimic this; usually very poorly.
  • The lettering should be clear and visible. There will be no fuzziness, smudging, or ink run besides normal wear and tear.
  • The Nintendo seal of quality will be present. This too is often faked, but surprisingly, many omit this.
  • There will be a few tiny letters and numbers embossed onto a real label. Angle the label to the light to see these.
  • Fake labels are usually off-center from the cartridge and/or have overly rounded corners.

The Cartridge

  • The cartridge color will correspond to the name of the game. E.g, FireRed will be an opaque light red, Emerald will be transparent green, and Sapphire will be transparent blue. GBA Pokémon cartridges never use the standard grey color. A few GBC Pokémon games broke from this norm, but I will list those below.
  • The back of fake cartridges are sometimes held together with a Philips screw instead of the standard Nintendo Y screw.
  • An official GBA game will always have the Nintendo logo near the contacts. It is visible when tilting the cartridge upside down and looking in it.

Examples

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Top Two Counterfeit Bottom One Authentic
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Top Two Counterfeit Bottom One Authentic
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Top Two Counterfeit Bottom One Authentic
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Top Two Counterfeit Bottom One Authentic

Cartridge Colors

Game Boy Advance

  • FireRed - Opaque Red
  • LeafGreen - Opaque Green
  • Ruby - Clear Red
  • Sapphire - Clear Blue
  • Emerald - Clear Green

Game Boy Color

  • Red - Red
  • Blue - Blue
  • Yellow - Yellow
  • Silver - Silver
  • Gold - Gold
  • Crystal - Sparkly Translucent Light Blue
  • Pokémon Pinball - Black (Exception)
  • Pokémon Trading Card Game - Black (Exception)

Unlicensed Games

Legitimate game ROMS are sometimes hacked and sold as genuine Pokémon games. These home-brews are unlicensed and are never endorsed or allowed by Nintendo. Furthermore, they are often very buggy and prone to crashing.
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Nonexistent Pokémon Jade
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Nonexistent Pokémon Diamond
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Nonexistent Pokémon Jade Cartridge
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Nonexistent Pokémon Diamond Cartridge

Partial List of Nonexistent Games

  • Combo-System Pokémon Games (hacks of old legit NES titles)
  • Fake Pokémon Crystal (hack of Pokémon Crystal)
  • Pocket Monsters Go Go! (hack of Smurfs)
  • Pokémon Adventure (hack of Sonic)
  • Pokémon Arcoiris
  • Pokémon Blue Diamond
  • Pokémon Chaos Black (hack of FireRed)
  • Pokémon Cyber (hack of Pokémon Red)
  • Pokémon Dark Cry
  • Pokémon Friggo Returns
  • Pokémon Green Diamond
  • Pokémon Jade
  • Pokémon Jade and Pokémon Diamond GBC & GBA (hacks of Telefang Speed and Telefang Power)
  • Pokémon Metalic/Metallic
  • Pokémon Naranja (hack of FireRed/LeafGreen to include Orange Islands)
  • Pokémon Perla (hack of Ruby/Sapphire)
  • Pokémon Pocket Monsters
  • Pokémon Pocket Monsters Diamond
  • Pokémon Pocket Monsters Jade
  • Pokémon Poké-Mon
  • Pokémon Quartz (hack of Ruby/Sapphire)
  • Pokémon Sapphire for GBC (hack of Pokemon Blue)
  • Pokémon Shiny Gold
  • Pokémon Special Edition 2 in 1