Fixing the Internal Clock Error for Distributing Gen III Jirachi/Zigzagoon WITHOUT Restarting?

[3rd Gen Expert]

Is there some way to modify a save to fix a corrupted clock (from a battery going dry) in Ruby/Sapphire so that you can receive the Shiny RUBY/SAPHIRE Zigzoon or WISHMKR Jirachi? 

Currently the only method I know of is to Replace the Battery, Restart the Game, and Save. Clearly this is not desirable in most cases. If there is no solution to this, can someone please educate me on why?

[Kaphotics]

You can change the RTC value with PKHeX. Resetting to a low value should enable the berry fix to be reapplied, unless there's also an event flag you need to toggle. Might also be an event value too, so check the disassembly and study whatever you're trying to revert.

[AlamosIT]

On 6/28/2022 at 10:53 PM, 3rd Gen Expert said:

Is there some way to modify a save to fix a corrupted clock (from a battery going dry) in Ruby/Sapphire so that you can receive the Shiny RUBY/SAPHIRE Zigzoon or WISHMKR Jirachi? 

Currently the only method I know of is to Replace the Battery, Restart the Game, and Save. Clearly this is not desirable in most cases. If there is no solution to this, can someone please educate me on why?

It is possible to do this without restarting the game.

First of all you have to change the internal battery, but it's not enough.

When you install a new battery, the RTC (real time clock) restarts from 01/01/2000. The game keeps track of played hours, so if you (for example) have played for 10 years and then the battery died you should wait others 10 years to reach the "next day" in-game.

Fortunately this little homebrew software can resolve the problem. You can use either a GBA/GBA SP with a GBA flashcart (like EZ Flash Omega) or a DS/DS lite with a DS flashcart (like R4).

GBA VERSION:

• Download rtcread.zip
• Extract rtcread_mb.gba in the SD card of your GBA flashcart
• Start rtcread_mb.gba then remove the flashcart from the GBA when it's prompt (without turning it off)
• Insert your copy of Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald (the software should recognize the game)
• Set date and time of today
• Save

NDS VERSION

• Download rtcread-ds.zip
• Extract and copy rtcread-ds.nds in the SD card of your R4
• Insert your Pokémon Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald in SLOT-2 and your R4 in SLOT-1 of your DS
• Start rtcread-ds.nds from R4 menu and set date and time of today
• Save

[BlackShark]

You should be able to download Jirachi/Zigzagoon on any cartridge regardless of the RTC.

But there's a flag that controls if you are allowed to receive Jirachi. Check PKHeX's Block Data Editor, it's called HasReceivedWishmkrJirachi (used for Channel Jirachi as well).

And if you want to get other GCN events, there's also these:
ColosseumReceivedAgeto
HasUsedRSBOX (for Swablu)
RSBoxDepositEggsUnlocked (1: Zigzagoon, 2: Skitty, 3: Pichu)

There's no flag for Zigzagoon, you can get multiple of them.

[AlamosIT]

16 minutes ago, BlackShark said:

You should be able to download Jirachi/Zigzagoon on any cartridge regardless of the RTC.

But there's a flag that controls if you are allowed to receive Jirachi. Check PKHeX's Block Data Editor, it's called HasReceivedWishmkrJirachi (used for Channel Jirachi as well).

And if you want to get other GCN events, there's also these:
ColosseumReceivedAgeto
HasUsedRSBOX (for Swablu)
RSBoxDepositEggsUnlocked (1: Zigzagoon, 2: Skitty, 3: Pichu)

There's no flag for Zigzagoon, you can get multiple of them.

Jirachi can be redeemed also with a not-working RTC.

But not Zigzagoon. You can't download it from GBA distribution rom or GC demo disc with a Ruby/Sapphire cart without a working RTC battery.

[3rd Gen Expert]

On 7/1/2022 at 9:18 AM, BlackShark said:

You should be able to download Jirachi/Zigzagoon on any cartridge regardless of the RTC.

But there's a flag that controls if you are allowed to receive Jirachi. Check PKHeX's Block Data Editor, it's called HasReceivedWishmkrJirachi (used for Channel Jirachi as well).

And if you want to get other GCN events, there's also these:
ColosseumReceivedAgeto
HasUsedRSBOX (for Swablu)
RSBoxDepositEggsUnlocked (1: Zigzagoon, 2: Skitty, 3: Pichu)

There's no flag for Zigzagoon, you can get multiple of them.

The flags are great info, thanks!

[3rd Gen Expert]

On 7/1/2022 at 9:40 AM, AlamosIT said:

Jirachi can be redeemed also with a not-working RTC.

But not Zigzagoon. You can't download it from GBA distribution rom or GC demo disc with a Ruby/Sapphire cart without a working RTC battery.

I could have sworn Jirachi throws a similar error with a dead/unsynchronized battery, are you certain?

That home-brew tool is superb btw; works super nice. Thanks for sharing! I will check out the GitHub page.

Edited July 8, 2022 by 3rd Gen Expert

[AlamosIT]

Yep, I personally used my actual GameCube with Pokémon Channel to download a Jirachi on a dead Sapphire cartridge.

[3rd Gen Expert]

On 7/8/2022 at 10:42 AM, AlamosIT said:

Yep, I personally used my actual GameCube with Pokémon Channel to download a Jirachi on a dead Sapphire cartridge.

Actually, I think that is a different scenario. I guess the best way would be to just test it, but there are technically 3 states.

1. Good battery, synchronized clock

2. Good battery, UNsynchronized clock

3. Bad Battery, no clock

I am pretty sure it recognizes number 2 and refuses to distribute just the same. Why it would distribute in this case of 3 and not 2 is unknown to me.