A recent arrest in Japan shed light on the illegal trade in hacked Pokemon save data. A 36-year-old seller was arrested for selling manipulated rare Pokemon save files for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, for as much as $90. The arrest, reported by NHK News and translated by Automaton Media, reveals that the seller was offering hacked Pokemon save files from December 2022 to March 2023. The files allegedly contained rare Pokemon and were sold for approximately ¥13,000, the equivalent of 90 dollars.
Japanese police caught a seller in the act of selling these manipulated save files, with one example involving six rare Pokemon being offered for $30. After being arrested earlier this week, the accused confessed to the crime, saying they were doing it for a living. The investigation continues as police suspect that the potential earnings from the hacked Pokemon could be in the millions of yen. Interestingly, Japan’s Unfair Competition Prevention Act, established in 2019, makes it illegal to hack and edit save file data. Violators can face severe penalties, including up to five years in prison or a hefty fine of more than five million yen. This is a sharp contrast to the defendant’s reported income.
Although the sale of hacked save data is not illegal in regions such as America and the United Kingdom, The Pokemon Company and Game Freak, the developers of the Pokemon games, strongly disapprove of such practices. This incident serves as a reminder of the ramifications and legal ramifications associated with the manipulation and sale of hacked Pokemon within Japan’s strict legal framework.
