You're standing in front of that one gambler on Route 8. You know the one. He’s just east of Saffron City, standing there with his back to the wall, waiting to ruin your day with his Growlithe. But you aren't here for a fair fight. You’ve got your finger hovering over the Start button, ready to exploit a coding oversight that’s been part of playground lore since 1998. This isn't just nostalgia. It’s about the fact that Pokemon Yellow cheat codes and glitches are basically baked into the DNA of the Game Boy experience.
Let's be real: Pikachu following you around is cute, but having a Level 100 Mew before you even hit the third gym is better.
Back in the day, we didn't have sophisticated mod menus. We had GameSharks—those chunky grey bricks you'd snap into the back of your handheld—and we had "glitch hunting." If you're playing on original hardware, a 3DS Virtual Console, or an emulator in 2026, the logic remains identical. The game is a fragile stack of cards. One wrong move and your save file is toast, but the right move makes you a god.
The Mew Glitch: Why it’s the only Pokemon Yellow cheat code you really need
Most people think you need a GameShark for Mew. You don't. Honestly, the "Mew Glitch" (or the Trainer Fly glitch) is the most famous exploit in gaming history for a reason. It works because the game’s memory can’t handle certain transitions when a trainer’s line of sight is triggered simultaneously with a menu command.
Here is how it actually goes down. You need a Pokemon that knows Fly or Teleport. Head to Route 24, just north of Cerulean City. There’s a Junior Trainer hiding in the grass. You have to walk into his line of sight and hit Start at the exact same micro-second. If you do it right, the menu pops up before he can challenge you. You Fly away to Lavender Town. Your Start button won't work now—don't panic. That’s just the game being confused. Go fight the Slowpoke trainer on Route 25. Then, walk back toward Route 24. The menu will jump open on its own. Close it, and boom: a Level 7 Mew appears.
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It feels like magic. It’s actually just a memory pointer error. The game looks at the "Special" stat of the last Pokemon you fought and uses that hex value to determine which wild Pokemon to spawn. Since that Slowpoke has a Special stat that corresponds to Mew's index number (21 in hex), the game just hands him over.
Why does this keep happening?
The Game Boy had 8KB of Work RAM. That is nothing. To save space, Game Freak reused memory addresses for multiple things. The "Long-Range Trainer" glitch works because the game "locks" your buttons when a trainer spots you to prevent you from running away. By Flying away, you keep that lock active until you trigger another battle to reset the "in combat" flag. It’s messy. It’s beautiful. It’s why we love these old cartridges.
GameShark Codes: The "Heavy Duty" Way to Play
If you aren't into the technical gymnastics of the Mew glitch, you probably want the actual Pokemon Yellow cheat codes for a GameShark. These work by directly overwriting the values in the RAM. Instead of the game deciding what should happen, the GameShark forces it.
Infinite Money 019946D3
019947D3
019948D3
You input these, and your wallet hits 999,999. No more grinding for Poke Balls. No more choosing between a Potion and an Escape Rope.
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Walk Through Walls 010138CD
This one is dangerous. It’s the ultimate "break the game" tool. You can walk straight past the guards into Saffron City without giving them a drink. You can skip the entire Rock Tunnel. But listen—if you walk off the map boundaries, the game will crash. Hard. You’ll see a screen full of "glitch soup" (random tiles and sprites) and you might lose your save. Use it to skip the annoying puzzles in the Seafoam Islands, but don't try to walk to Johto. It’s not there.
The Truth About MissingNo in Yellow
If you played Pokemon Red or Blue, you remember the "Old Man Glitch" in Viridian City that gave you 128 of any item. You'd fly to Cinnabar, surf on the coast, and find MissingNo.
It doesn't work in Yellow.
Nintendo "fixed" it. Sort of. They didn't fix the underlying memory issue; they just moved the data around so the specific sequence of events wouldn't trigger the same way. If you try to force a MissingNo encounter in Yellow using GameShark codes (01B6D7CF), you’re playing with fire. Unlike in Red/Blue where it just scrambles your Hall of Fame, in Yellow, it can actually corrupt your sprite data permanently. Your Pikachu might turn into a jumbled mess of pixels for the rest of eternity.
Is it worth it for infinite Rare Candies? Maybe. But you've been warned.
Rare Candy and Master Ball Exploits
If you want the items without the risk of a dead save, you’re looking for the item slot modifiers.
- Master Balls in Slot 1: 01017CCF
- Rare Candies in Slot 1: 01287CCF
Basically, the "7CCF" part of the code tells the game "look at the first item slot." The "01" or "28" tells it what item should be there. If you change those first two digits, you can get anything in the game. You want a Moon Stone? Change it to 0A. You want a Secret Key? 08.
The "Surfing Pikachu" Myth vs. Reality
One of the biggest frustrations in the original Pokemon Yellow was that you couldn't play the "Pikachu’s Beach" minigame unless you had a Pikachu that knew Surf. But Pikachu can't learn Surf.
Originally, you had to win a specific tournament in Pokemon Stadium on the N64 and transfer your Pikachu back. It was a massive hassle. Most "cheat codes" you see online for Surfing Pikachu are actually just GameShark codes to teach the move Surf to Pikachu (013972D1).
Does it work? Yes. Does it feel like cheating? Absolutely. But honestly, the minigame is one of the coolest parts of Yellow, and it’s a shame it was locked behind so much hardware back in the 90s.
How to Avoid the "Blue Screen of Death"
When you’re messing with Pokemon Yellow cheat codes, you’re essentially poking a sleeping giant. The game’s engine is held together with digital duct tape. Here is how to stay safe:
- Save often, but not while a code is active. If you use a Walk Through Walls code, turn it off before you save. If you save while standing inside a tree, you might never be able to move again when you reload.
- One code at a time. Don't try to give yourself infinite money, all 151 Pokemon, and max stats all at once. The Game Boy’s processor will choke.
- Check your Pokedex. Some encounter codes screw up your Pokedex data. If you care about "Catching 'em All" legitimately, don't use the "Encounter Wild Pokemon" codes until you've finished your main quest.
The Technical Reality of 8-Bit Cheating
We often talk about these as "cheats," but they're really just memory overrides. When you put in a code like 010186CF, you are telling the Game Boy: "Hey, ignore what the ROM says. Right now, at memory address 86CF, the value is 01."
This is why some codes don't work on certain emulators. If the emulator isn't perfectly replicating the memory timing of a 1998 Game Boy Color, the pointers might be slightly off. If a code isn't working for you, check if your emulator supports "Raw" or "GameShark" formats specifically.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Playthrough
If you're starting a new game today and want the "power user" experience, do this:
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- Get the Mew early. Use the Trainer Fly glitch before you leave Cerulean. It’s the most stable way to get a legendary without a GameShark.
- Use the Rare Candy code only after you reach Fuchsia City. By then, the game’s level curve spikes, and grinding against Tentacool is just boring.
- Don't mess with MissingNo. Seriously. In Yellow, it’s a save-killer.
- Fix the Pikachu problem. Use the GameShark code to teach your starter Surf. It unlocks the beach minigame and makes Pikachu actually useful against Rock-type trainers.
Cheating in Pokemon Yellow isn't about skipping the game. It’s about experiencing the parts of the game that were hidden behind paywalls or impossible distributions twenty-five years ago. You’ve already beaten the Elite Four a dozen times. You’ve earned the right to break the rules.
Just make sure you back up your save file before you start walking through walls.
Next Steps:
If you're ready to start, verify your hardware version first. European and North American versions of Pokemon Yellow are almost identical, but some Japanese v1.0 cartridges have different memory offsets. Once you've confirmed your version, start with the Infinite Money code to ensure your GameShark or emulator is communicating correctly with the game's RAM. If that works without a crash, you’re clear to start experimenting with the more complex encounter codes.