Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen Nugget Trick Lets You Get Rich Fast (It Still Works on Switch)

Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen players can take advantage of a decades-old glitch that still works in the Nintendo Switch versions of the games. One of the many ways that Nintendo and The Pokemon Company are celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Pokemon franchise is with the Switch re-releases of the beloved Game Boy Advance remakes of Pokemon Red and Blue, Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen.

Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen are available now on Switch, and they are almost just straight ports of the classic Game Boy Advance games, with some very minor changes. The new versions of Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen will one day have Pokemon Home compatibility, they automatically give players special event tickets to get legendary and mythical Pokemon, and they have also made it so players can no longer name themselves or their rivals anything inappropriate. Otherwise, the games are exactly as they were in 2004, glitches and all.

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One of the most useful glitches in Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen is a trick that lets players get infinite nuggets. Nuggets are a rare item that players can sell at Poke Marts for 5,000 a pop, so the trick can be abused to get players rich very fast. To do the glitch, Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen players need to progress to Cerulean City and then head to Nugget Bridge north of town, on Route 24. Players will first need to defeat their Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen rival, and then they need to beat the five trainers on the bridge. SAVE THE GAME after beating the five trainers and do NOT talk to the trainer that’s standing at the end of the bridge. Retreat back to Curelean City, go to a Pokemon Center, and deposit all Pokemon in Someone’s PC minus the weakest.

How to Do the Nugget Glitch in Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen

Progress until you reach Cerulean City
Defeat your rival north of town and beat the five trainers on Nugget Bridge (Route 24)
Go back to the Pokemon Center in Cerulean City to deposit all your Pokemon except your weakest one
Confront the trainer at the end of Nugget Bridge to get a free nugget
Lose the battle on purpose, rinse, and repeat to keep getting free nuggets

Once players have a single, super-weak Pokemon with them, the next step is to go back across Nugget Bridge and this time talk to the trainer. They reward players with a nugget for successfully crossing the bridge, but turns out, they are secretly a Team Rocket grunt and are trying to recruit for the criminal organization. A Pokemon battle ensues. Lose on purpose. Talking to the Team Rocket grunt again will reward yet another nugget, and this can be repeated indefinitely.

While it’s true that losing Pokemon battles in Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen costs some cash, the losses are completely outmatched by the amount players will earn from selling the nuggets. This strategy is useful for players that want to stock up on healing items and Poke Balls, or if they want to purchase the expensive Pokemon that are for sale at the Celadon Game Corner. It’s a great way for Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen players to get Dratini early and have a powerful Dragonite ready to go for the later stages of the game.