Fail: DSi prototype did have a GBA slot, removed due to size One of the primary complaints people have of Nintendo's new portable, the DSi, is that the Game Boy Advance slot was removed. It has lost the GBA slot. Is that a problem though as the DS games are generally superior to the GBA games? Not only that, you lose some gameplay because some DS games interacts with.

Dual-slot mode (Japanese: ダブルスロットDouble-Slot) is a method of communication between a Nintendo DS game card and a Game Boy Advance game cartridge by inserting both into the same Nintendo DS system. However, due to the removal of the GBA slot, dual-slot mode is not available if the player is using a system from the Nintendo DSi family or Nintendo 3DS family.

• 1In the core series games
  • 1.2Dongle method

In the core series games

Pal Park

Main article: Pal Park

In Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold, and SoulSilver, Pal Park allows the player to transfer Pokémon from Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, FireRed, and LeafGreen, using dual-slot mode for communication. Additionally, someone at Pal Park will give accessories to the player if there is a game cartridge in the DS.

The Pokémon are sent from the Generation III game to the Generation IV game, and cannot be sent back.

Dongle method

In Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, the dongle method changes the wild Pokémon that appear based on the game in the Game Boy Advance slot, via dual-slot mode. This method is compatible with any of the Generation IIIcore series games: Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, FireRed, and LeafGreen. The name 'dongle method' is an unofficial name that comes from the fact that this method uses the Game Boy Advance game as a dongle for the Nintendo DS game.

After obtaining the National Pokédex, if the player had an applicable GBA game inserted in the GBA slot when they opened the title screen, the dongle method allows specific wild Pokémon to appear depending on the GBA game. Wild encounters will not change if a GBA game is inserted or removed from the Nintendo DS system after the title screen.

The wild Pokémon that can appear this way are mostly not in the Sinnoh Pokédex in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. They are usually game-exclusive Pokémon to one of the Generation III games. They usually have an 8% chance of appearing, or 4% each if there are two different Pokémon that can appear this way in the same location due to the same game.

Pokémon Dream Radar has a similar feature that allows players to catch a Generation IV game mascot with its Hidden Ability in extensions unlocked by putting the Game Card of the corresponding game into the game card slot of the Nintendo 3DS system.

List of Pokémon available using the dongle method

Event distributions

In the Generation IV core series games, some event distributions were done using a Slot 2 cartridge, which was inserted into the GBA slot to send data to the DS game card.

In Pokémon Dash

Mawile

In Pokémon Dash, players can make custom cups based on the party in a Generation III core series game inserted in the GBA slot. Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen sprites are used; Spinda patterns are retained, but Shiny coloration is not depicted. Eggs in the player's party are ignored.

The Japanese, European, and American versions of Pokémon Dash have no region checks, allowing the player use any language game (although only the first 5 characters of a Pokémon's name will be displayed in the Japanese version of Pokémon Dash). The Korean version only allows Japanese game cartridges to be used.

In Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team and Blue Rescue Team

In Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team, dual-slot mode allows the game to communicate with Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team.

If the player has both games inserted into a compatible system, SOS Mail can be sent between the games, allowing for the rescue team in one game to save the team in the other cartridge's save file.

In Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team, the player can use Receive Team while Red Rescue Team is in the Game Boy Advance slot. If used, the rescue team from Red Rescue Team becomes the boss of the Rescue Team Maze of Makuhita Dojo.

In other languages

See also

Seedot

Iron Island

Does DSi Have The GBA Slot? - Nintendo Fan Club - GameSpot