A recent YouTube video has gone viral after a VTuber popped a mysterious, label-less Game Boy Advance (GBA) cartridge into her console, only to discover it was none other than the 20-year-old classic, "Pokémon FireRed."
The star of the show is Yomogi, a VTuber known for her lively streams featuring retro Nintendo games.
In the viral clip, Yomogi showcases the label-less GBA cartridge she snagged from a used game store for a mere 1,980 yen (about $12 USD). The moment she booted it up and saw the iconic "Pokémon FireRed" title screen, she let out a delighted "Yay!" – clearly stoked to have stumbled upon such a legendary title.
But here's where things got weird. Diving into the save data, Yomogi discovered the game had only been played for a measly 23 minutes. The Pokédex was practically empty with just one entry, and the Pokémon storage boxes were barren. The biggest head-scratcher? The starter Pokémon, which should have been a trusty Charmander, was instead named "ヒトデナシ" (Hitodenashi), which translates to "Heartless" or "Scoundrel." Yomogi couldn't help but quip, "That name is just too sad..."
The bizarre state of the cartridge — barely played yet sold off — left many netizens scratching their heads. Some speculated it was a ROM dump quickly offloaded by a player, while others wondered if there were underlying issues with the game itself, sparking a flurry of theories about its mysterious past.