Pokémon Silver Cheats: Emulator Setup And Fixes

If you’ve ever carefully typed in a GameShark code, hit “Enable,” and then… nothing happened? Welcome. You’re among friends.

It’s genuinely one of the most annoying feelings in emulator land like yelling “OPEN SESAME” at a door that simply gaslights you in silence. The good news is: most “broken” Pokémon Silver cheats aren’t broken. Your setup is just being fussy. (Which, honestly, same.)

So let’s fix the boring stuff once so you can get back to the fun stuff like catching a shiny without offering your soul to the RNG gods.

The only checklist you actually need (do it in this order, I’m begging)

1. Make a save state (your emergency exit)
2. Check your ROM region (yes, it matters, yes, it’s annoying)
3. Make sure you’re using the right cheat type (GameShark, not “whatever looks cheat-y”)
4. Enter the code the way your emulator wants it
5. Test one cheat at a time (you are not a chaos wizard… yet)

Do those five and cheats stop playing hard to get.

Step 1: Make a save state before you poke reality with a stick

Before you do anything spicy: make a save state.

A save state is your emulator’s little snapshot of everything game memory, your location, your party, the whole vibe. If a cheat freezes the game, you can rewind instantly like you’re in some kind of nerdy time machine.

This is not the same as an in-game save. In-game saves write to a .sav file and they do not always save you from cheat related chaos.

Ask me how I know. (Actually don’t. It involves me staring at a frozen screen and whispering “no no no no no” like a haunted Victorian child.)

Do this: Find Save State in your emulator menu (File/Emulation/Quick Menu). Make one. Label it something like “Before I ruin everything.” Perfect.

Step 2: Your ROM region has to match your cheat code (cheats are picky eaters)

Here’s the thing nobody wants to hear: a lot of GameShark codes are region specific.

A US code targets specific memory addresses in the US version of Pokémon Silver. If you’re running a European or Japanese ROM, the code may do absolutely nothing… or it may cause glitchy nonsense that makes you question every decision that led you here.

What to check:

• Your ROM file is usually a .gbc
• Often around 1MB ish
• Filename frequently includes USA / US / Europe / JP (not always, but often)

If your cheat is doing the silent treatment thing, region mismatch is suspect number one.

Step 3: Make sure you’re using the right code format (Silver wants GameShark)

Pokémon Silver (Game Boy Color) uses GameShark codes. They look like an 8-character hex string (numbers 0-9 and letters A-F), like:

019973D5

Two common “oops” moments:

• 6 characters = that’s usually Game Genie (wrong party, wrong decade)
• Two long chunks like 94000130 FCFF0000 = Action Replay DS (that’s for DS games, not GBC)

So if your emulator asks for the cheat type, pick GameShark. Every time. No freelancing.

Step 4: Where to enter cheats (aka “click this, then this”)

Emulators all hide the cheat menu in a slightly different place, because they enjoy watching us struggle.

Here are the usual paths:

• VBA-M (PC): Tools → Cheat List → Add Code
• mGBA (PC): Cheats menu → add code (it’s pretty straightforward)
• RetroArch: Quick Menu → Cheats (and yes, you often need Apply Changes or it won’t do anything)
• My Boy! (Android): Menu → Cheats → Add (solid and dependable)
• Delta (iOS): Long press game → Cheats → Add (also: import an unzipped .gbc if it complains)

Copy/paste your code if you can. Typing is how we accidentally add invisible spaces and then blame the universe.

Step 5: Test ONE cheat first (you are not allowed to enable 12 at once)

I know. You’re excited. You’ve got power. You want to go full god mode buffet.

Don’t.

Here’s the “I would like my save file to survive” protocol:

1. Load the save state you made (the safety net)
2. Add one low risk cheat (money or items are usually safe bets)
3. Enable it (RetroArch people: Apply Changes)
4. Check in-game to confirm it worked
5. Turn it off after you confirm (especially encounter/battle stuff)
6. Soft reset or restart if needed

Cheats are like hot sauce. A little is fun. Dumping the whole bottle in is how you start sweating and regretting your choices.

A few Pokémon Silver cheats that are fun without immediately summoning chaos

These are generally good “test codes” high reward, low drama GameShark picks for Johto.

Low risk item ish cheats

Max money (use all three together):

• 019973D5
• 019974D5
• 019975D5

99 Rare Candies:

• 0120E2D5

Master Balls at Poké Marts:

• 0101F1D0

The “okay, now we’re getting spicy” cheats

Enemy Pokémon at 1 HP:

• 010000D1

Shiny wild encounters:

• 010719D1

Turn it off after you catch what you want unless you want Johto to look like it’s wearing a glitter filter forever.

Wild Pokémon modifier:

• 01XXDCD0

Replace XX with the Pokémon’s hex ID. (This is where people mess up, so don’t skip the “replace XX” part unless you enjoy disappointment.)

The “I am bending space time” cheat

Walk through walls (requires both):

• 0108A3CE
• 0108A4CE

This is useful… and also a fantastic way to walk into unloaded areas and softlock the game. Keep a save state ready like you keep a fire extinguisher near the stove. Same energy.

Troubleshooting: when cheats do nothing, freeze the game, or haunt you

Cheat enabled but nothing happens

• Confirm it’s set to GameShark
• Toggle it off/on, then soft reset
• Double check your ROM region

Game freezes

• Load your save state immediately
• Disable that code
• If it keeps happening, it’s usually a mismatch (region/version/code type)

Effect won’t go away

Some cheats change flags that stick.

• Fully close the emulator
• Reopen and load your pre-cheat save state

“Invalid code”

• Make sure it’s exactly 8 characters
• Paste into a plain text note first (to strip weird formatting)
• No spaces, no extra lines, no mystery characters

And if you’re thinking, “Honestly, I don’t even want codes,” I have a little vintage chaos for you…

The classic Pokémon cloning trick (no codes, just ✨timing✨)

This isn’t a code it’s a glitch and it duplicates both the Pokémon and its held item. It’s basically the original buy one get one deal, except it’s for Master Balls and your conscience.

Here’s how:

1. Go to a Pokémon Center and access Bill’s PC
2. Deposit the Pokémon you want to clone into an empty box
   (Have it hold the item you want duplicated)
3. Choose Change Box and switch to another empty box
4. Watch the save message: when it says
   SAVING...DON'T TURN O
   (yes, mid word), shut the game down immediately

Restart the game and if your timing was right you’ll have one copy in your party and one in the PC box, both holding the item.

On an emulator, this is way less stressful because you can use save states to retry. Which is great, because if you blink at the wrong moment, you’re doing it again.

Final pep talk: break Johto, not your save file

If you take nothing else from my rambling: save state first, one cheat at a time, match your ROM region, and pick GameShark.

Do that and you can play Pokémon Silver however you want no grinding, no endless resets, no wandering around wondering why codes get ignored while that “99 Rare Candies” code is ignoring you like an ex.

Now go open that cheat menu and make the game regret underestimating you.