Pokémon Collector Discovers Rare Playable Copy of PokéPark Fishing Rally DS 20 Years After the Limited-Time Event It Was Made For

From May to September 2005, guests at PokéPark — a theme park in Nagoya, Japan centered on Nintendo’s world-famous monster-catching game franchise —could take part in an especially unique, limited-time gaming experience available only for attendees.This experience was centered around a game called PokéPark Fishing Rally, a fishing minigame that staff wirelessly transferred to guests’ DS handheld consoles via Download Play stations set inside the Park. The game itself was only available on players’ consoles for a 12-hour period after being downloaded, and would erase itself if the DS was powered off. It featured a slew of catchable Water-Type Pokémon, as well as multiple fishing locations and even cameos from non-catchable Pokémon. Players would compete with other attendees to fish out Pokémon in special events, contests, and organized activities. Surviving photos taken at the Park show that leaderboards were displayed to help competitors keep track of their progress. It’s been twenty years since then, and Nintendo’s unique PokéPark Fishing Rally game had all but faded from the public consciousness… until now. The Best Pokémon Spin-off GamesIn July 2026, a player posted an eBay listing for a physical development cartridge of PokéPark Fishing Rally that contained a leaderboard of past attendees’ scores. At first, it was believed to be the only surviving cartridge for this extremely specific title — but now, another collector has come forward with a playable copy of the full game.Daniel Qudari, an avid collector and Pokémon enthusiast, approached IGN with evidence showing that he is in possession of a functioning PokéPark Fishing Rally cartridge, which is capable of transmitting the game to other DS consoles through Download Play.To prove that his find was legit and that it actually worked, he sent us exclusive photos and videos showing him running the game on a DS handheld, as well as sending it to other DS consoles that were able to play it. In fact, his discovery was so monumental that he sent it to PSA for authentication, which catalogued and encapsulated the cartridge for posterity."I have come across things considered lost media several times in my career. However, this is the first time I have encountered it from a franchise as societally and personally important as Pokémon is. It was an honor and a privilege to experience this game first-hand,” Head of PSA Video Games, Claire Shelton, told IGN in an exclusive statement.“We are always proud to play a role in documenting, authenticating, and encapsulating unique pieces of video game history such as this. Our involvement allows the item to continue existing and potentially transact with full confidence to any collector, assuring them that this unique piece is assuredly one of the only ways to interact with this formerly lost media piece of Pokémon history."“PokéPark had some incredible attractions in 2005, and PokéPark: Tsuri Taikai DS, also known as PokéPark Fishing Rally DS, made the experience even more immersive. Fans could catch Pokémon in 3D on their Nintendo DS as they explored the park and entered contests for a chance to win prizes. Imagine being one of those kids and finding out years later that the game you played that day had become a piece of lost Pokémon media,” Qudari said in a separate statement to IGN.PokéPark Fishing Rally Game & Merchandise“Pokémon started with video games and grew into a world of manga, trading cards and anime. That’s why preserving a game like this means so much to me. After years of fans wondering if it would ever be playable again, it felt surreal to turn on my DS and spend a quiet moment fishing, then feel that rush when I reeled in a Gyarados. For a moment, I got to feel what it must have been like to play it at PokéPark in 2005.“What fascinates me is that visitors at PokéPark could download the game wirelessly to their own Nintendo DS back in 2005. With this cartridge in my DS, I can recreate that experience today. I can send the full game directly to someone else’s DS through Download Play, without needing a download station.”Due to the game’s purposefully temporary nature, and the fact that it was never publicly released or officially distributed, it was generally assumed that nobody would ever get to play PokéPark Fishing Rally again. Qudari did not share exactly how he came into possession of this game, but his discovery is extremely exciting, regardless — and it isn’t the only piece of PokéPark memorabilia he’s collected.From the collection of Daniel Quadri (@nostalgicdza)Qudari also shared images and videos of various magazines, brochures, and even merchandise from the PokéPark experience, one of which advertises a Summer Vacation Challenge. In the challenge, the first 200 people to catch a specific ‘target Pokémon’ would earn a special Nintendo DS scratch guard as a prize. A decorative fan was also on offer with advertising for the activity.If you're so inclined, you can read one woman's firsthand account of her time at PokéPark on her blog, where she recounts her boyfriend's one-in-a-million Shiny Magikarp catch. She even included a photo to commemorate the moment, which, as Qudari puts it, must have felt like "winning the lottery." As most shiny hunters will know, repeatedly restarting your device is a common tactic to increase your chances at snagging a shiny 'mon; given that this game would literally delete itself if that happened, the odds of coming across such a find in such a short amount of time is nothing short of a miracle, and a good example of how special PokéPark was.This is the latest rare Nintendo find to make headlines after a collector came upon a box of 97 sealed copies of an unreleased version of Super Mario Bros. Duck Hunt earlier this year. Virginia (she/her) is IGN’s News Editor. With ten years of experience reporting on games and entertainment, she’s got a storied background in the fighting game community, influencer news, and viral online trends. Find her on Twitter at @TheeMissGlaze.