How a pet fish discovered a game-breaking glitch in Pokemon Sapphire

Siamese fighting fish also managed to beat two of the game’s bosses

A previously unknown game-breaking glitch was been discovered in the decades-old video game Pokémon Sapphire by a pet fish belonging to a fan.

The game, part of the best-selling Pokémon RPG franchise, was first released in 2002 on the Game Boy Advance handheld consoles.

Last year, a Japanese Pokémon fan achieved viral fame by devising a means for his Siamese fighting fish, Maurice and Lala, to play the game.

Mutekimaru’s set-up involves a grid of inputs overlayed on the fish tank, which is then connected to the game (Mutekimaru)

The streamer, known as Mutekimaru, mapped out his fish tank so that when the animal entered a certain section of the tank, a button would be pressed in-game.

Through what can only be interpreted as sheer arbitrary luck, the fish proved surprisingly successful gamers, even managing to beat two of the game’s Gym Leaders.

Footage of the fish playing the game has been streamed online, which is how people were able to witness the fish swim into a previously undiscovered glitch.

While streaming last October, the player fish was exploring Pokémon Sapphire’s Sea Cavern area, when it used the “Strength” ability, which ought to have moved a boulder and cleared a path.

Instead, it created a duplicate rock, which crashed the game.

Mutekimaru later revisited the location himself and repeated the fish’s movements exactly, which re-triggered the glitch.

With no-one in the comments or fan forums believing they had encountered the glitch before, credit has been given to the Siamese fighting fish.