Berry glitch

The berry glitch is the nickname for a glitch in the coding of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire which seems to stop the game's day counter and freezes the growth of any berries which have been planted but not harvested. The glitch typically occurs after about a year of owning either game. It also seems to happen to games that have been played over 100 hours.

When the game is opened and has the glitch, there will be a message saying: "The internal battery has run dry. The game can be played. However, clock-based events will no longer occur."

Although the glitch prevents berries from growing, it does have one upside. The Pokérus is supposed to disappear after a certain amount of time, but this glitch prevents it from going away.

Other affected areas

As the Berry glitch affects the game's day counter and timer, other areas of the game are affected by the glitch. These can also be signs that the game has contracted the berry glitch.

• Trainers stop wanting to re-battle
• Lilycove Dept. Store never has any sales
• Lilycove Dept. Store stops allowing the player to draw a Lotto Ticket
• The Mauville Game Corner never has any service days
• The Energy Guru never sells vitamins cheap
• The tide in Shoal Cave never changes
• The man who gives out TM27 (Return) and TM21 (Frustration) in Pacifidlog Town stops giving out TMs
• Those that hand out free berries stop handing them out
• Mirage Island's random number is the same

Fixing the glitch

The glitch can be fixed by downloading a patch from Pokémon FireRed, LeafGreen, Emerald, Colosseum, Pokémon XD, Pokémon Channel, or Box, or by sending the affected game to Nintendo.

Pokémon FireRed, LeafGreen and Emerald Patch

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 the FireRed, LeafGreen or Emerald game is connected to the Player 1 cable port and the Ruby or Sapphire game is connected to 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 FireRed, LeafGreen or Emerald game display for further instructions. The patch should be transferred at this time.

Pokémon Colosseum and XD Patch

Linking an affected game to Colosseum or Pokémon XD for trading or battling will automatically download the patch. In addition, the Bonus Disc that came with pre-orders of Colosseum can be used to download Jirachi into a game; when this happens, the patch is downloaded as well.

Pokémon Channel Patch

Downloading Jirachi from a PAL version of Pokémon Channel will automatically download the patch.

Pokémon Box Patch

Linking an affected game to Box, accessing the Go To Adventure mode, and then saving the game whilst playing will also automatically fix this glitch, with the message "The Berry Program was updated" appearing with the save confirmation. (Note that this option is not available for Japanese versions.)

e-reader Patch

For Japanese versions, a special set of e-Reader cards (ID# 16-A001 & 16-A002) were distributed with Pokémon Scoop's Winter 2004 issue to allow players to fix this glitch by using e-Readers.

Interactive Demo Patch

Specially-marked demo discs were released to selected stores across U.S. and Japan, so players can visit these stores and download the patch from the disc. By downloading the patch from a demo disc, player will also receive a Template:Shiny2 Zigzagoon as a bonus. However, since the program does not block fixed games, players can receive multiple Zigzagoon by downloading to the same cartidge again.

Sending Game in to Nintendo

If the player had no opportunity to download the patch, he or she could always send the game in to Nintendo to have it fixed.

Glitches in the Pokémon games Multiple generations Transform glitches • Glitch Trainers • Cloning glitches • Error messages • Arbitrary code execution Generation I Glitches • Battle glitches • Overworld glitches -- • 0 ERROR • Broken hidden items • Cable Club escape glitch • Dual-type damage misinformation Experience underflow glitch • Fight Safari Zone Pokémon trick • Glitch City • Item duplication glitch • Item underflow Mew glitch • Old man glitch • Pewter Gym skip glitch • Pokémon merge glitch • Rhydon glitch • Rival twins glitch Select glitches (dokokashira door glitch, second type glitch) • Super Glitch Time Capsule exploit • Walking through walls • ZZAZZ glitch Generation II Glitches • Battle glitches Bug-Catching Contest glitch • Celebi Egg glitch • Coin Case glitches • Experience underflow glitch Glitch dimension • Glitch Egg • Teru-sama • Time Capsule exploit • Trainer House glitches • GS Ball mail glitch Generation III Glitches • Battle glitches • Overworld glitches Berry glitch • Dive glitch • Pomeg glitch • Glitzer Popping Generation IV Glitches • Battle glitches • Overworld glitches Acid rain • GTS glitches • Pomeg glitch • Rage glitch Surf glitch • Tweaking • Pal Park Retire glitch Generation V Glitches • Battle glitches • Overworld glitches Charge Beam additional effect chance glitch • Charge move replacement glitch • Choice item lock glitch Frozen Zoroark glitch • Sky Drop glitch Generation VI Glitches • Battle glitches • Overworld glitches Charge Beam additional effect chance glitch • Charge move replacement glitch • Choice item lock glitch Lumiose City save glitch • Symbiosis Eject Button glitch • Toxic sure-hit glitch Generation VII Glitches • Battle glitches Charge Beam additional effect chance glitch • Charge move replacement glitch • Choice item lock glitch Toxic sure-hit glitch • Rollout storage glitch Generation VIII Glitches Charge Beam additional effect chance glitch • Charge move replacement glitch • Choice item lock glitch Toxic sure-hit glitch • Rollout storage glitch • Party item offset glitch Generation IX Glitches Glitch effects Game freeze • Glitch battle • Glitch song Gen I only: Glitch screen • TMTRAINER effect • Inverted sprite Gen II only: Glitch dimension Lists Glitches (GO • Mystery Dungeon • TCG GB • Spin-off) Glitch Pokémon (Gen I • Gen II • Gen III • Gen IV • Gen V • Gen VI • Gen VII • Gen VIII) Glitch moves (Gen I) • Glitch types (Gen I • Gen II)

This glitch Pokémon article is part of Project GlitchDex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on glitches in the Pokémon games.