Pet fish discovers major bug in Pokemon Sapphire

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Matt Bassil
October 13, 2020
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Lala, a Siamese fighting fish, has discovered a previously unnoticed bug in the decades old Gameboy Advance classic Pokemon Sapphire. Yes, a fish did it. You did read that correctly.

Inspired by the popularity of well-known feats like Twitch Plays Pokemon, streamers have long experimented with new ways to experience the Pokemon series.

Japanese streamer, Mutekimaru, devised a way for his pet betta fish, Lala and Maurice, to play the games (he’s not the first to do so, either). He mapped out his fish tank so that each section corresponded to a different button press and set up a tracking camera to follow his pets’ movements. Simply by swimming around, the fish could (somewhat) successfully take on the Pokemon challenge. In July alone they bested two gym leaders – Roxanne and Brawly should feel bad.

But it was while bumbling around in the Seafloor cavern area that Lala came across a glitch. Typically the player must use the HM Strength to push boulders around this cavern, clearing a path. But while Lala was heaving rocks around, something strange occurred. They began to duplicate, the number of copies growing until eventually progress became impossible.

The bug was so out of left field that Mutekimaru took control in order to investigate. By replicating the fish’s button inputs precisely, he was able to recreate the bug, proving that it was not a one time fluke but something that could happen to any Pokemon Sapphire player.

No one has come forward to say they’ve experienced the same thing before, however, so right now Lala is credited with the discovery. No doubt she has a long career in QA testing ahead of her.

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