Hacking Pokemon - VBA to FLASH to VBA?

[XCRuSaDeRX]

I've been searching this forum for the last 2 days and was unable to find the solution/answer for something I'm trying to do.
Hope someone reading this can help.

VBA to FLASH
I've just recently started playing Pokemon FireRed again on VBA on my PC. Of course, I've already set the save type to Auto/128K.
I know how to use the VBALink to perform self-trading, "ALAKAZAM!"

Lately, the "gotta-catch'em-all"-itis has been on me, so I copied the ROM over to my M3adapter (M3-Perfect-Mini) to play on my DS. Exporting the VBA save file (.dat) and continuing my quest on the DS is A-OK.

FLASH to VBA
Here's my issue:
I would like to export the same M3 save file (.dat) and import it back into the VBA. I thought it would be as simple and just copying and importing the M3 save file (.dat). However, M3 saves the file size at 1024K, which is not supported by Pokemon FR.

This leaves me "stuck" as I'm unable to play on PC and perform self-trading

I tried a GBA tool, such as GBA Tool Advance, but that didn't solve anything.
Got help? Need help!

 

[Xeronage]

Import Battery File works fine for me on Emerald.(select the .dat)

 

[XCRuSaDeRX]

Import Battery File works fine for me on Emerald.(select the .dat)

I appreciate the response, but the game at hand is FireRed NOT Emerald.

 

[larvi]

Is the fire red a clean rom? I think there was a save patch for the rom which in essence change the save size to make it compatible with certain flash carts.

 

[XCRuSaDeRX]

larvi, how do I figure out if it's a clean rom or not?

With my M3, all the GBA saves are 1024KB and the NDS saves are 257KB (both .dat).

Info via GBA Tool Advance:
Save Type: FLASH1M_V103 (1024Kbit)

Does that mean anything? As you can probably guess, I'm very unfamiliar with GBA Tool Advance and such...

EDIT:
Well what do you know? I've got it to work... LOL I'm such a n00b!

I think you are correct larvi, it was a save patch issue.

Patch via GBA Tool Advance:
With the current ROM of Pokemon FireRed I'm using, I performed a SRAM PATCHER.
With the Patched ROM, I am able to import the M3 save file (1024KB .dat) into VBA to be played. So far, everything seems to be ok!

New Concern:
The Patched ROM forces VBA to create a battery file (.sav) at 64KB even when the emulator itself is set to 128KB. I remember reading long ago that playing Pokemon games on VBA saving at 64KB causes a few minor/major problems. Is this true? I vaguely remember reading another article or faq stating such issues.

Please refresh my memory!

 

[larvi]

I think the only think that you lose with pokemon when saving at 64K is a backup copy of the save file. This shouldn't affect you unless somehow the primary becomes corrupted. But since you can back it up yourself it shouldn't be a concern.

 

[XCRuSaDeRX]

The story thus far...
VBA to FLASH OK!
FLASH to VBA(patched) OK!

Now the last and final step for "catching'em-all" anywhere and anytime:

VBA(patched) to FLASH
For me, transfering the 64K save file (.dat) which was created by the Patched ROM to my M3 adapter did NOT work. In fact, the adapter did not even recognize the save file (too small?). I've tried renaming, overwriting an exisiting dat file on the M3 which it created, and even WRITE GBA of the patched ROM, and it still could not access the patched 64K save file. However, I did not test this quite thoroughly, so please take note of this.

Step-by-Step: (continuing from the Patched ROM working with the FLASH save file on VBA)
I recommend doing all this in a new seperate folder.
Files Needed:
VBA emulator , Patched ROM AND ROM installed on the FLASH (in this case Pokemon FireRed unpatched), patched FLASH save file (.dat)
Adjustments I made to "ensure/force" the emulator to create the file I wanted:
Save Type: FLASH/128K

First, Run the Patched ROM in VBA and import the FLASH save file. It states the save file is corrupted and will continue from last In-Game save point played on the FLASH. Once loaded, move the character so it's different from it's current position. Perform an In-Game save (not sure if this matters) and create a "Save State" file with VBA.

Next, Open the Original ROM and load the newly created "Save State" file. Save In-Game (again, not sure if this matters) and export Flash save (.dat). This file created should be at 128K. Copy the Flash save onto M3 and game on!

It looks like and seems like a hassle and believe me, it is. But if anyone knows of a better way and other shortcuts to this process, I welcome it.
Now I'm leaning towards just playing Pokemon FireRed on VBA. At least now I know what to do if I want to continue the same quest from VBA-FLASH-VBA-FLASH.

Thank you for reading and I hope this helped, somewhat, for those who were wondering about the same thing. Gotta-catch'em-all-the-time!

 

[ctunightfall]

I've been searching this forum for the last 2 days and was unable to find the solution/answer for something I'm trying to do.
Hope someone reading this can help.

VBA to FLASH
I've just recently started playing Pokemon FireRed again on VBA on my PC. Of course, I've already set the save type to Auto/128K.
I know how to use the VBALink to perform self-trading, "ALAKAZAM!"Â

Lately, the "gotta-catch'em-all"-itis has been on me, so I copied the ROM over to my M3adapter (M3-Perfect-Mini) to play on my DS. Exporting the VBA save file (.dat) and continuing my quest on the DS is A-OK.

FLASH to VBA
Here's my issue:
I would like to export the same M3 save file (.dat) and import it back into the VBA. I thought it would be as simple and just copying and importing the M3 save file (.dat). However, M3 saves the file size at 1024K, which is not supported by Pokemon FR.

This leaves me "stuck" as I'm unable to play on PC and perform self-tradingÂ

IÂ tried a GBA tool, such as GBA Tool Advance, but that didn't solve anything.
Got help? Need help!Â

Why didn't you use m3's save file manager to read in fire red's dat file into a sav file? I haven't tried with red but it works with leaf green. Cloned my save file so that I could get all the starters under the same trainer ID.

 

[XCRuSaDeRX]

Why didn't you use m3's save file manager to read in fire red's dat file into a sav file? I haven't tried with red but it works with leaf green. Cloned my save file so that I could get all the starters under the same trainer ID.

ctunightfall, what do you mean? You are not very clear. Are you referring to the software manager on PC or file selection on M3?
Which part of the process are you talking about anyways, VBA to M3? M3 to VBA?

 

[XCRuSaDeRX]

ctunightfall...

where were you the last few days while I was doing this?

TRUE VBA-FLASH-VBA (step-by-step)

VBA-FLASH OK!
#1. On VBA, there are 2 options to begin with, either exporting a flash save (.dat) OR simply just using the battery save (.sav).
#2. Using the M3 Game Manager, locate the ROM for the save file transfer on the adapter and double-click or right-click to open the Saver Manager.
#3. Choose the option which applies to the file created with VBA ("Write .Sav" or "Write" for .dat).

FLASH-VBA OK!
#1. Using the M3 Game Manager, locate the ROM for the save file transfer on the adapter and double-click or right-click to open the Saver Manager.
#2. Choose "Read .Sav" and name and place the file accordingly.
#3. On VBA, there are 2 options, if the name of the file is same as ROM just load as usual. If not, import the battery save file (.sav).

And that's it! That wasn't so bad was it?
I told I was a n00b!

Back to playing...