Japanese Man Arrested for Hacking Pokemon Game and Selling Artificial Monsters

Liputan6.com, Jakarta – Japanese police arrested a man after he was proven to have illegally manipulated save data for the Nintendo Switch game, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. This data is then used to create customized monster characters which are then sold on the online gaming market.

According to NHK and the Asahi Shimbun, Kochi Prefectural police arrested 36-year-old Yoshihiro Yamakawa on April 9 after cyber patrol officers discovered the man was selling pre-made characters online.

Quote The Verge, Saturday (13/4/2024), Yamakawa used an online tool to modify game save data. He was arrested for allegedly violating a Japanese law known as the Prevention of Uncompetitive Competition Act.

The police report stated that a Japanese police cyber patrol arrested Yamakawa when he was receiving an order.

Yamakawa was caught offering deals for difficult to train and rare monsters. Where he sells “6 Pokemon for only USD 30 (equivalent to IDR 490 thousand)” on an online platform that sells game assets and characters.

For your information, the Pokemon Scarlet and Violet games feature fighting and collecting monsters. It's not surprising that this game is filled with various Pokemon monsters that have never been seen before.

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