'Pokémon Ultra Sun And Moon' Have Been Broken For Months Due To A Lone Hacker

If you've attempted to play Pokémon Ultra Sun and Moon over the past year, you've likely encountered a game-crashing glitch that will occur when trying to trade Pokémon through the game's GTS system. When searching for Pokémon in the GTS, if a player so much as passes by a Pokémon uploaded by a user named "Japan.Kebuju," they will have to shut down their 3DS.

The GTS, introduced in Generation VI, is a vital tool for even the most casual Pokémon players. If a player wants a Pokémon, they simply submit one of their own into the GTS and request someone trade their desired Pokémon in return. It's a very useful feature for getting version-exclusive Pokémon, as well as acquiring Pokémon who evolve through trading (for example, a "Graveler-for-Graveler" trade is a common sight in the GTS).

Hacker Japan.Kebuju has essentially bricked US/UM's GTS for a year by submitting hacked Pokémon into the GTS. Players first started noticing the issue in April, and it's persisted throughout 2021, with the hope that Nintendo could fix the glitch all but gone. Most players feel that because US/UM are four years old now, the games may as well be completely off Nintendo's radar.

"Gamefreak isn't going to do anything if it's not affecting current-gen games. The community is just going to have to figure something out. I saw one post suggesting we contact one of the other hackers like adventuresnivey to try and recruit them to help solve the issue somehow," wrote one Redditor in May.

While it's natural Nintendo would want to focus on current Pokémon releases (which already have their fair share of technical issues), Pokémon fans are well known for restarting runs of old games years after they're released.

Kotaku covered the issue yesterday, which may give players a glimmer of hope since the issue has finally received mainstream media attention after eight months. However, given Nintendo's attitude towards older games and online play historically, Ultra Sun and Moon players shouldn't hold their breath.