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Save

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Saving in Pokémon Black and White

Saving (Japanese: レポート Report) is a function used in the games which allows the player to resume their adventure from where they left off the last time the game was booted. Saved game data is stored in RAM. It is required when using certain in-game features, such as going to the Global Terminal and entering a Battle Tower. Since Generation II, an automatic saving process is performed after defeating the Elite Four.

If there is already saved game data stored in RAM, the player must first overwrite the existing data with the new data. A new saved game can be started if saved game data is present; however, the new data cannot be saved unless it overwrites the existing data. From Generation IV onwards, as a precaution against unintentional loss of data, any existing saved game data must be manually deleted by pressing Up + B + Select (Up + X + B in Generation VI) on the title screen before new data can be written. Saving also plays a role in several glitches and in obtaining glitch Pokémon.

In the event that the saving process is interrupted, the saved game data risks corruption, effectively removing the player's chance of resuming from where they left off, thus forcing the player to start their adventure from the beginning again. The game will prompt the player when this happens the next time they access the title screen menu. Starting in Generation III, there is backup saved game data. This means that if the saving process is interrupted and the saved game data becomes corrupted, then the previous data will be loaded from the backup. Interrupting the saving process in the Generation I and II games may result in saved game data loss or corruption.

Saved game data of paired versions is compatible with either version.

The process of saving

Generation I

The saving process in the Generation I games is very basic in that it only has a single confirmation prior to saving:

Would you like to
SAVE the game?

If the saved game data that is about to be written differs from the saved game data already stored in RAM, an additional prompt displays:

The older file
will be erased to
save. Okay?

Choosing YES overwrites the previous saved game data in both cases. During the saving process, the messages Now saving...RB or Saving...Y and, upon completion, {Player} saved the game! are printed on-screen.

Generation II

In Generation II, the saving process is always executed in two steps, with the exception of the player's very first save.

The first step is to confirm the same prompt from Generation I:

Would you like to
save the game?

The second step is to confirm the overwriting of the current saved game data:

There is already a
save file. Is it
OK to overwrite?

An additional message also displays during the saving process, advising the player not to turn off the power.

SAVING... DON'T
TURN OFF THE POWER.

If the saved game data that is about to be written differs from the saved game data already stored in RAM, the prompt in the second step instead displays:

There is another
save file. Is it
OK to overwrite?

It is important to note that it uses very similar wording to the regular prompt from the second step.

Generation III

Generation III attempted to better secure the saving process with the addition of backup saved game data, which is loaded if the primary data becomes corrupted. The regular saving prompts are the same as in Generation II; however, in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, if the saved game data about to be written is different from the saved game data already stored in RAM, a more detailed prompt is displayed:

There is a different game file that is
already saved.

Is it okay to overwrite it?

Pokémon FireRed, LeafGreen, and Emerald display a more severe prompt:

WARNING!

There is a different game file that
is already saved.

If you save now, the other file’s
adventure, including items and
POKéMON, will be entirely lost.

Are you sure you want to save now
and overwrite the other save file?

WARNING!

There is a different game file that
is already saved.

If you save now, the other file’s
adventure, including items and
POKéMON, will be entirely lost.

Are you sure you want to save now
and overwrite the other save file?

In Pokémon Colosseum and Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness

Pokémon Colosseum requires the player to use the PC for saving, as opposed to the handheld core series games, which allow the player to save anywhere. The "save anywhere" feature was restored in Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness.

Generation IV

In Generation IV, the two-step saving process and prompts from Generation III remain, as does the backup saved game data feature. In Pokémon Diamond and Pearl and Pokémon Platinum, the usual Saving... prompt will read Saving a lot of data... if the player has used the Pokémon Storage System at all during their session; this includes capturing a Pokémon and sending it automatically to a PC box, using a PC directly, and saving when there is no save data present. When this happens, the process will take significantly longer. In Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, the message appears after a GTS trade or if the save data was corrupted and player is saving with a backup savefile.

In this generation, the player is prevented from saving the game if there is already saved game data present. If the player selects NEW GAME from the title screen while saved game data remains, the player is cautioned: WARNING! There is already another saved game file. If you start an adventure now, you will notDPPt/won'tHGSS be able to save it. If the player starts a new game anyway, and tries to save, the game will prevent the process, displaying the message There is already a saved game file. It is impossible to save. Please refer to the Instruction Booklet for details. The instructions for how to delete saved game data are Press Up + SELECT + B Button on the title screen if you want to erase the current saved game file. and appear both on the first warning message and when the player forces a saving process with saved game data currently stored in RAM; however, they are absent from the first warning message in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, probably due to space constraints as the GUI is presented on the touch screen, option buttons included.

If the player decides to delete the previous data by pressing Up + Select + B on the title screen, they will first be asked to confirm the deletion, and is warned of the consequences, which will print at the lowest speed and cannot be skipped: Once data has been deleted, there is no way to recover it. Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver display an additional message: Furthermore, Pokéwalker registered data will also be erased. The player is then asked to confirm the deletion once more before the saved game data is finally deleted.

Generation V

In Generation V, the saving process is similar to that of Generation IV, but with two differences. First, there is now only one step again, like in Generation I. Second, while saving, there is a progress bar at the bottom of the screen to indicate the current progress of the data being written. The long saving periods of Generation IV have been rectified by giving the player only eight boxes in the Pokémon Storage System until each one of the eight has at least one Pokémon in it, avoiding the need to encrypt empty box data. If major changes are made to the box system after all the boxes are available, the Saving a lot of data... message appears, and the saving will take significantly longer like when the message appears in Generation IV.

Generation VI

050Diglett.png This section is incomplete.
Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it.
Reason: When does the "Saving a lot of data..." message appear in Generation VI?

In Generation VI, the saving process is similar to that of Generation V, but the progress bar is removed, and the saving in progress text now says Now saving your adventure... Don't turn off the power.. Saving takes a significantly shorter amount of time (especially when saving via the save option) compared to earlier generations.

In unupdated versions of Pokémon X and Y, there is a save glitch in areas of Lumiose City that will cause the game to not respond to user input when the save is loaded. Nintendo acknowledged the existence of this glitch and subsequently released a patch to fix it.

List of activities

This is a list of activities which require saving before they can be used.

Generation I

Generation II

In all games

Crystal only

Generation III

In all games

Ruby and Sapphire only

Emerald only

Generation IV

In all games

Diamond, Pearl and Platinum only

Platinum only

HeartGold and SoulSilver only

Generation V

Generation VI

Corruption

Saved game data can become corrupted due to various factors:

Physical damage to the game cartridge, such as from dropping it, may result in corruption of the saved game data in games of the first three generations. Improperly set cartridges (and memory cards in the case of games for the Nintendo GameCube) may cause data to be read as corrupt; in such instances, turning the system off and reinserting the cartridge properly will cause the data to be read correctly.

In side games

In the Pokémon Ranger series

In Pokémon Ranger, Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia and Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs, saved game data may be written using terminals known as save machines. Save machines are typically located in Ranger Bases and Ranger Depots, although there are many located in areas all over the Fiore, Almia and Oblivia regions, both indoors and outdoors.

When no save machine is available, players may use a "quick save" feature, which temporarily saves their progress if they are unable to reach a save machine. However, quick save data is deleted when loaded, whereas progress saved via save machines will remain stored in RAM permanently.

In the many Ranger Net missions, if the player attempts to use a save machine, it will be out of service.

In the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series

Saving typically happens in the player's bed or at Kangaskhan Rocks. However, if the player wishes to save (and immediately return to the main menu), they may use a "quick save" option found in the in-dungeon menu's Options section, and then selecting Quicksave or Give Up.

In Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time, Darkness and Sky, the menu is expanded, and the button is relocated to a new section known as the Rest section.

In Pokémon Conquest

To delete saved game data in Pokémon Conquest, press and hold A, B, X, and Y simultaneously on the company logo screen (before the title screen).

Trivia

  • In the Generation I and II games as well as in Pokémon Emerald, there are cloning glitches which exploit the use of saving.
  • The question for double-checking a save, i.e., the information given to the player that saving will cause the previous saved game data to be overwritten (assuming that there is already saved game data present), was made official internationally in Generation II. However, the question is present in Pokémon Red and Green as a one-time reconfirmation and it is implemented in a very unusual manner, since it is only made when the player performs their first save. This was changed in Pokémon Blue, where the saving process will only involve a confirmation request and a message of a successful save. The Japanese version of Pokémon Yellow performs exactly like the international releases of all Generation I games.
  • In the Japanese version of the Generation I games, only Pokémon Yellow included a message similar to the Now saving...RB or Saving...Y messages found in the international releases. In the Japanese Pokémon Yellow, this message read :ポケモンレポートに かきこんでいます Writing Pokémon report...

Related articles

Project Games logo.png This game mechanic article is part of Project Games, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon games.
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