this raspberry pi projectCreated by the makers known as Breadcodes on Reddit, is guaranteed to bring out your inner Pokémon trainer. Using our favorite microcontroller, raspberry pi pico, breadcode can sniff the data that would normally be sent from the original link port and manipulate that data to do some cool hacks. With this setup, you can exchange your favorite Pokemon for original cartridges.
in the Post shared on Reddit, the Breadcodes show the system in action. The demo shows a Game Boy Advance SP connected to a breadboard using the original link port. A Pico is also attached to the breadboard and handles the emulation side of the project. The Game Boy Advance SP can interact with Pico as if he were a second Game Boy, so you can use the original exchange feature to trade Pokémon.
Breadcodes says the Gameboy uses 5V and the Pico is a 3.3V module, so the configuration relies on two logic level shifters. The system can also print images to an original Gameboy printer connected using a Gameboy Color cable, which is a bit smaller than the original Link cable used in his DMG Gameboy. Easy to find.
In addition to creating this setup, Breadcodes is also working on developing a desktop application that serves as the user interface. The interface allows users to set images for printing and configure Pokémon for trading. The desktop app is still a work in progress and currently targets regular Pico modules, not Pico Ws.
To interface with the link cable, Breadcodes uses Pico’s SPI library. This gives you basic control over your printer, but it gets a little more complicated when trying to navigate between two Gameboys. There are some tricks you can use to make this process a little easier. Breadcodes explains this in the project thread. If you want to read more about this project and learn more about how it works, check out the original thread shared at reddit Also, be sure to follow the breadcode for future updates.
