Pokemon Crystal Had Long Distance Trading Years Before The Nintendo DS

thegamer.com:

Connecting to the internet is as vital a part of modern day Pokemon as catching ‘em all and becoming the Pokemon League Champion. Sure, it’s not as much of an achievement, but it’s vital to the overall experience. The Wild Area was filled with other players exploring the open-world section of Sword & Shield (who tanked the frame rate, but they were definitely there). The series is emphasising Raid battles in Pokemon Go, Sword & Shield, and continuing the trend in Scarlet & Violet, where they seem to be one of the best ways to catch Terastallised Pokemon, which could be a revolutionary new mechanic.

You can’t complete the PokeDex without the internet these days, as it’s required to trade. Version exclusives continue to plague the solo player’s experience – something set to continue in Scarlet & Violet – so you can only get that lovely ‘completed PokeDex’ certificate if you connect to the internet. Mine’s framed on the wall.

Related: I Hope The Hot Rod In Pokemon Scarlet & Violet Is A New Rotom Form

But that wasn’t always the case. Before the release of Diamond & Pearl on the Nintendo DS hardware, internet trading just wasn’t a thing. FireRed & LeafGreen gave players the ability to purchase a Wireless Adapter that did away with the messy link cables of the past, but you still had to be within about 10 feet of your trading partner. Surprisingly, though, a Game Boy Color peripheral granted Pokemon Crystal players long distance trading years before the Nintendo DS arrived with its wireless capabilities.

The Mobile Adapter GB was only released in Japan, but connected your Game Boy Color to your mobile phone, and used it as a sort of modem to connect to other players. There were plenty of stipulations – this was 2001, of