Pokemon Lost Media Suddenly Appears On eBay For $9,000

Published Jul 30, 2026, 7:05 AM EDT James Lucas is an Executive Editor at TheGamer who has worked in professional journalism since 2018. A Newcastle University graduate with a degree in Journalism, Media, and Culture, they have written hundreds of guides, news stories, and original reports, with bylines in IGN, NME, GaymingMag, and VG247, sourcing interviews with studio heads, legendary industry figures, prominent actors, and more. An expert on FPS games, Soulslikes, RPGs, and survival horror, James has intimate knowledge of a wide variety of titles, providing in-depth coverage and exclusive profiles. Some of the games they have extensively covered include: Half-Life 3, Counter-Strike, Elden Ring, and Fallout. They pride themselves on their consistently thorough research, leveraging nearly a decade of industry experience. You can reach them at James.t@thegamer.com When you think of uber rare Pokémon games, your mind probably jumps to HeartGold, Gale of Darkness, or Crystal. But the rarest is actually a niche fishing game. PokePark Fishing Contest DS is a digital-exclusive minigame that was distributed locally at the temporary PokePark theme park, Pokémon Festa, and Pokémon Centers in 2005. The game saw players catch fish of different sizes, levels, and rarities to earn a score that would be displayed on the master list at distribution machines throughout the centers. It was only a temporary game with a 12-hour time limit, deleted after shutting down the DS, and it was never made available on the DS store. Because of these stipulations, it’s now considered lost media. However, as reported by Dexerto, someone claims to have found a developer cartridge after over 20 years, and is now auctioning the game on eBay — starting at approximately $9,137. “This listing is for the exact physical development/test cartridge shown in the photos,” the description reads. “Acquired as part of a private lot, no further history or provenance documentation is available. It’s in working condition and when tested on a retail Nintendo DS, it boots to a Japanese-language screen indicating a high-score ranking communication program. DSi and 3DS compatibility is not confirmed. No additional functionality has been tested or is guaranteed. Sold strictly as a physical item as-is.” It was initially brought to the community’s attention by Pokémon collector Professor Rex, who hopes that the buyer will preserve its contents and share them online so that “everyone else can experience it once more.” In fact, they’re even rallying their followers to aid them in securing the cartridge. “If you’d consider chipping in on a group-buy to preserve the software please DM me,” they said in a follow-up post. “I’m not sure if we would have any chance to get this before it goes to a private collection but we may as well try.” There is a slight catch, however. It’s unclear if the cartridge actually holds the game, as Japanese Pokémon fan Tiramisu noted that the display text translates to “Ranking transmission." This may instead be the software used to manage player rankings at the events, rather than the game itself. Regardless, the cartridge would still contain previously unavailable software, so even if it’s not a dev copy of PokePark Fishing Contest DS, it's a piece of Pokémon history. Just maybe not the piece that fans were hoping for. Nobody has bid on the auction yet, but there are still three days to go. Created by Satoshi Tajiri First Film Pokemon: The First Movie Latest Film Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle First TV Show Pokémon First Episode Air Date April 1, 1997 Video Game(s) Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, Pokemon Legends Arceus, Pokemon Sword and Shield, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, Pokemon Sun and Moon, Pokemon Black and White, Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, Pokémon GO, Pokemon Snap, Pokémon Unite, New Pokémon Snap, Pokémon Masters EX, Pokemon TCG Live