When playing with cheats for Pokemon Game Boy Advance games can sometimes be tricky.
Some readers complain that our listed cheat codes don’t work for them, while others say it works, however, they noticed some weird glitches.
What could be the main reasons for this? In my over ten and counting years of experience playing different Pokemon game titles and Pokemon ROM hacks using many emulators across several devices, there are several possible reasons why a particular cheat cannot work.
And what we are going to discuss in this article. I made a list of common problems players may have when using cheats and created guides to help them fix these problems.
Table of Contents
Reasons Why Cheats Don’t Work as Expected and How To Fix Them
Note: This article applies to Pokemon GBA games but can also be applied to other related games on Game Boy Advance.
You Missed Entering and Activating the Required Master code
Solution: Some cheats need to have a master code enabled before the main cheat, so when a cheat requires a master code, add it first before the main cheat. You can find more information by reading this guide.
The Cheat Isn’t Compatible with your Pokemon Game Version
Solution: Double-check your game title. See our collection of Pokemon game cheats.
You Have 1.1 ROM Version
Solution: Look for the V1.0 ROMs, as this version s most of the cheats. You can easily find able ROMS by a simple Google search, but most ROMs have version 1.1.
Unfortunately, most cheats will not work for this version. Please keep in mind that we don’t share rom files or give out information about roms. Sharing rom files is considered piracy.
Your Emulator Does Not GameShark Code, Action Replay, or CodeBreaker
Solution: Use Visual Boy Advance for Windows (Use this version), Delta Emulator for iOS s, or mGBA for Mac s.
You entered the cheat code in the wrong format
Solution: Some emulators, such as open emu, require “+” to be entered to separate a line of code. Read FAQs, Instructions, and Help articles regarding your emulator.
You have the Free version of Emulator
Solution: The popular GBA emulator for Android – My Boy, offers a paid and free version of the app. The free version works perfectly, but you may need to pay for the version if you use cheats.
But if paying for the app is not an option now, the simple trick of adding multiple-liner codes as a separate cheat works well in many cases.
Too Many Enabled Cheats
Your ROM will get confused when too many cheat codes are activated at once, and this could result in various bugs, glitches, random crashing, and game freezing.
Solution: Disable unused cheats and activate only the cheat you need.
You Have Chosen the Wrong Cheat Type
This problem is prevalent in emulators that don’t have “auto cheat type” detection feature, and chances are, you have chosen the wrong cheat type.
Solution: The quick solution for this is knowing the appropriate type for your cheat; it could be GameShark/Action Replay, or Code Breaker.
Common Cheating Problems
Question Mark Sprite on Encountered or Caught Pokemon?
This is a common issue for two possible reasons; First, more likely that you entered the wrong Pokemon encounter code. Second, the Pokemon code and sprite don’t exist in the game.
This issue happens a lot when playing ROM hacks. Solution? Double-check if the code or the Pokemon exists in the game.
Glitchy Name for Captured Pokemon
This bug usually happens when using the shiny Pokemon cheat, and the possible reason it occurs is that cheating is not fully ed in Pokemon GBA games.
But there is an effective fix for this problem that has been tested for many players.
Solution: To fix the glitchy Pokemon name, you must disable the shiny cheat just before capturing a Pokemon or give your it an empty name.
Item Not Appearing in the PokeCenter?
You entered the item cheat, and after checking your PC, there’s nothing in there. Or perhaps your chosen item is not on the list. There are a few possible reasons for that.
- You have v1.1 rom version. Solution: Find and use v1.0 rom version.
- Emulator or the game not recognizing the item cheat. Solution: Go in and out of the PokeCenter at least five times, and recheck your PC.
Invalid Cheat Messages
There are three possible reasons why this error message pops up.
- Wrong cheat type
- Wrong cheat code
- Empty spaces before or after the code
Solution: Select the correct type for that cheat; the majority of cheats are either CodeBreaker or Action Replay codes type, so if the first one didn’t work out, switch to the other one.
Be sure to check the cheat if it is compatible with your game version. For FireRed-based rom hacks, typical FireRed cheats could work, and for Emerald-based rom hacks, regular Emerald cheats could also work.
Empty spaces could also result in an invalid cheat issue. When copying a cheat, make sure not to include empty spaces. When entering the cheat, make sure to eliminate any empty spaces before and after the code.
Conclusion
It’s frustrating when you can’t activate a cheat, and there are plenty of reasons why this thing is happening.
Hopefully, the solution and information above give you the insights to solve your problem finally.
Just in case the solution above doesn’t work, feel free to drop your comments below, and I will do my best to help you as humanely as possible.
Hi
I had the problem with not finding any items after I used rare candy and master ball cheats . I have already done what you have suggested but nothing happened
The moves code keeps giving me blank moves to add after I run from the wild battle and press yes.How do I fix it to get the right move?
I found a code to make pokemon shiny when mark. It makes them
Shiny but buffs level to 250
Hi there, thanks for ing us here. May I know which Pokemon game you are referring to?
Hi after o used the cheat codes for hm and master ball I waited then whenever I try trainer for next town it shows this blank message and can’t go any further
Hey Show, make sure to activate only one cheat at a time. Enabling too many cheats at once can cause various issues—like the one you’re currently experiencing. Keeping it to a single active cheat helps the game run smoothly, and don’t overuse cheats. Hope this helps.
I have pokemon storm silver on delta emulator.
My shiny code keeps freezing my game soon as an encounter starts. There was one point where I encountered shiny’s without the game freezing but can’t the steps I used to do it.
Hi Joey, after disabling the shiny cheat, try saving your game and restarting your emulator to fully remove the shiny effect.
Found solution to previous post , when using shiney+wild encounters and getting bad egg/ wrong sprite:
be sure to disable ALL cheats, save the game after battle starts (I used the quick save slot as I only run one game at a time), close the app(MyBoy paid in my case), then reload save, capture pokemon
Reply
Is it a known issue when combining shiny+wild encounters to keep receiving a “bad egg” or the wrong sprite for the pokemon? Used the get a shiny Charizard, caught no issue, then checked and it had the shiney weedle sprite with Charizard name
Hi Towelie, thanks for stopping by! It’s actually not recommended to combine cheats. Doing so can lead to issues like Bad Eggs, random freezing, glitches, and even game restarts. To avoid these problems, enable only one cheat at a time and disable it immediately after using it.
Also, if you’re playing a ROM hack, keep in mind that you might end up encountering different Pokemon than expected — this is common due to how hacks modify the game’s data. Hope this helps!
Is there a fix for the message “box is full” when trying to catch a pokemon using the shiny cheat? Specifically trying to get Mewtwo, none of my pc boxes are full except for box 2. I have every other pokemon out of the first 149, I even tried completely emptying box 1 and it says the same thing.
So I’m playing Pokemon unbound and when I activate the shiny cheat the ralts appearance cheat and the cheat to make the nature modest it always defaults to Rash is there a way to fix this
Hey JC, unfortunately, combining certain cheats doesn’t work. If you enable the shiny cheat along with the nature cheat, the nature cheat won’t take effect. This happens because the shiny cheat locks both the Pokémon’s gender and nature. The only way to change them is by restarting your game to clear the cheat and then trying again—you might get a different shiny Pokemon with a new gender or nature. Give it a shot!
Hello I would like so assistance. I’m playing Pokémon fire red on the R36s emulator and I am getting freezing I am going to walk through what I am doing and hopefully you can help me with what I am doing wrong.
When I first start a game I enter the codes for Infinite Master Balls in the poke mart and the Infinite rare candy in the pc. Everything works fine. I turn both codes off after I use them. I then use the random pokemon in the wild hack I enter the master code and the wild code for a pokemon the pokeman appears in the wild as it should. I catch the pokemon with the master ball. I disable that the codes to catch that pokemon. I wait like 10 mins then I try to catch a second legedary pokemon in the wild. I use the same master code then i enter a whole different code to catch the send pokemon in the wild I make sure I activate the code after I enable it. when I go i the grass to try to catch the second pokemon the game freezes. Is their anything I can do to stop the game from freezing after I go after the second pokemon?
Hey Will, thanks for stopping by! The freezing issue you experienced is likely caused by having multiple cheats enabled at the same time. This is a common reason for freezing, and unfortunately, simply disabling the cheats in your emulator doesn’t always resolve the issue, as the emulator may still detect them.
To fully clear any active cheats, make sure to disable all cheats, then restart your game and reopen it. I always recommend enabling only one cheat at a time and avoiding overusing them to prevent such problems. I hope this helps!
Hey I’m playing radical red and trying some cheats. I encountered some pkmn I wanted with the cheats and caught them. Now when I activate another cheat it isn’t working and I encounter the pkmn from the recent cheat. Pls help :’(
Bro please help me one that’s may main problem this time is dark fire 2.1 version 2024 didn’t work any kind cheats also your cheats and i am searching any possible ways but I don’t have this reach you plz reply me how iam solve this problem
Hi there I’m using a rg405m with gamma os loading fire red into retro arch but can’t seem to get the cheats to work is there any way we could maybe talk on discord and you could give me a hand to get these to work ?
I have been using your website for over 10 years. The only code I use is the ‘Infinite Exp’ cheat. But all this time I have been using modded emulators. But recently I bought John GBA from play store as it is a lot cheaper than MyBoy, I couldn’t activate the master code. There was an option in MyBoy to by that error by pressing ‘ignore’ option. But in John’s case there is no option to ignore the error message. Any help?
Hi Anirban, wow! that’s so sweet! Thank you for always coming back here and to your . To answer your question, sad to say John GBA’s cheating feature isn’t great. I have tried it myself and had the same situation as you. MyBoy is a tried and tested android app when it comes to cheating and emulation, you can’t go wrong with it. For my suggestion, I suggest switching to Myboy if possible.
I’m unfortunately having an issue of the encounter codes not working. ANY of them. I’m on ver 1.4c of Mega Moemon FireRed, using mGBA on my 2dsXL. Any ideas on what to do? I’ve been through your FAQ, and can’t seem to find a solution.
The man-eater bug glitches the game when it evolves.
For which game are you referring? Did you turn the cheat off after using them? If not, make sure to turn off any cheats after using. Also, try not to mix a cheat from another.
I’m sorry, but i tried many times and it’s still not working.
I use FireRed 1.1 and want to input Wild Pokemon code, but the emulator is just like “Cannot Set Code. No cheats will be loaded”
Use recommended GBA emulators such as Myboy for Android, VBA or mGBA for Windows PC. Also, I have updated the codes for Wild pokemon modifier cheat and now includes the cheat for FireRed V1.1, Reply
Hey I used cheats that worked on Pokemon Fire red and now I can’t see my EXP. I used My boy.
I am playing Pokemon FireRed v1.1 on the myBoy app on my phone, and I wanted to get a TM so I looked up a cheat for the specific one. I entered the master code first in the cheats list and then the code for the TM cheat, now a random amount of the TM appears in my bag but when I want to use it nothing happens.
Hey Bogdan, Cheats only work for V1.0 and not for V1.1. To fully enjoy cheats, I recommend finding FireRed V1.0.
Ok, thanks
I’m using My Boy 1.8.0 version (free). Been using the walk through wall cheat mostly and master ball cheat. It’s been fine until the last badge (Leader Blue) coz the match can’t be started even after talking to him in his gym. does anyone know how to fix this? I’m just one badge away from collecting all the 16 badges huhu
i got a glitch in fire red in which shiny pokemon all come with the same nature regardless of being of a difrent specie etc. anyone with the same issue when using the shiny cheat ?
Hi there, unfortunately you can’t change the nature of a Pokemon when used with cheats.
Pokémon AlteRed cheat codes are not working for me I’m using cattn.github.io on verison 1.11.2 of AlteRed I’ve used the previous websites by the same creators and haven’t had problems before
None of the cheats that require you to buy item from pokemart work for me and I’m on version 2.1.1.1
I’m using VBA 1.8.0-beta3 with pokemon fire red (u)(squirrels) and cheats such as those found on this site (Reply
Could you try this VBA version? Reply
What if you have no space before and after and the still doesn’t work
I am using the physical hardware, code breaker for Leaf Green and no codes work but strangely Fire Red works fine. Any reason why leaf green doesn’t seem to work at all… ?
I’m trying to use the pokemon spawn. The cheat some times says invalid and I use all sorts a ways.
I use Pokémon emerald through open emu, and used the codes for wild Pokémon modifier and it worked great and I fought lots of Pokémon. Then I logged off and came back and the codes no longer work. Any suggestions? I did everything the same.
Hi. I tried to use a cheat to get brick break in my pc, it didn’t work and now I have a glitchy tm 31 in my item bag that I can’t get rid of. How would I go about removing it from my bag?
The Max IV’s “shared cheat” doesn’t seem to work on MyBoy, just freezes the game on black screen as soon as a wild pokemon encounter happens, on both V1.0 and V1.1. (Not using free version btw)
Hi GreyMan, thanks for coming here. Do you have any other cheats enabled besides the max IV cheat? If yes, turn it off. Freezing usually occurs when two or more cheats are simultaneously enabled at once. Hope this helps.
Bro how to use dream pill cheat because after getting dream pill when i try to use it the screen freeze
Hey Joy, thanks for coming here. Perhaps the cheat is still activated. After getting the items you need, turn off the cheat immediately. Let me know if this works for you.
The pokedex code is not working
the infinite rare candy cheat isn’t working for EK (emerald kaizo) using VBA emulator and has worked before but isn’t working now.
The spawn cheat will no longer work and instead glitch the name of the normal route pokemon if their is a way to fix this please tell me
Which emulator are you using? VBA (Windows) and MyBoy (Android) work for most of us with cheats.
I’ve encountered a strange glitch after using the Pokeball item codes from psypokes.com for Pokemon Crystal. The Master Ball shows up, but the rest of the list shows ?? x 0. Any time I try to empty the Ball portion of the bag, or a Pokeball is added to my bag and I attempt to go down the list, the game freezes. Not sure if you’ve seen this before or not. Thanks for reading!