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Do Cheats in Pokémon Ruby Delete Your Pokémon? Myth vs. Reality

No. Using cheats (Action Replay, GameShark, CodeBreaker) in Pokémon Ruby will not spontaneously delete your Pokémon. This is a persistent myth.

Where the Myth Comes From

Bad Codes (2000s): Poorly coded "Wild Pokémon Modifier" or "Walk Through Walls" codes wrote to wrong RAM addresses → corrupted save → "Bad Egg" or wipe.
Hardware Failures: Cheap 3rd-party carts (Action Replay Max, GameShark SP) had unstable firmware → random save corruption.
User Error: Turning off mid-save, removing cart while writing, using too many codes at once.

Modern Reality (Emulators / Flashcarts)

mGBA / VBA-M / RetroArch: Cheat engines are mature. Codes from GameHacking.org are tested.
Flashcarts (EverDrive, EZ-Flash Omega): Real hardware, stable cheat support (.cht databases).
Save States: Emulators let you snapshot *before* enabling cheats — zero risk.

Real Risks (Still Exist)

Risk	Cause	Prevention
Bad Egg	Invalid PID/IV/Encryption from wild mod codes	Use "Marking" codes instead of direct PID edit
Save Corruption	Code writes to protected sector (Hall of Fame, Box)	Backup .sav before cheats; use "Master Code" if required
Trade/Battle Ban	Modified Pokémon fail legitimacy checks (checksum, met data)	Don't trade hacked mons; use for solo only
Event Flags Broken	Flags set/cleared incorrectly (e.g., "Mew obtained")	Use "Event Enabler" codes, not "Give Item"

Best Practice

**Backup .sav** (emulator: File → Export Battery; flashcart: SD card copy).
Enable **one code at a time**, test, save, disable.
Use **Master Code** if listed for your version (USA/EUR/JPN).
Prefer **item/stat codes** over **wild encounter rewrites**.
For "perfect" Pokémon: Use **PKHeX** (PC save editor) — safer, cleaner, exports legal .pk3.

Verdict: Cheats won't *magically* delete your team. Bad codes + no backup = lost progress. Be surgical, backup always, consider PKHeX for complex edits.

Game Cheats & Cheat Codes