Unlike most of the latest Pokemon games where you can claim higher prize money and easier rematch systems, Pokemon Dollars isn’t as easy to earn in Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen.
But there’s one secret trick that helped a lot of OG players to get all the money they want without using a single cheat code. Yes, this works on both Nintendo Switch and emulators.
The Nugget Bridge glitch is one of the most well-known money exploits in the game. It allows you to repeatedly obtain Nuggets and sell them for thousands of Pokemon Dollars.
In this guide, I’ll teach you how the glitch works, where to do it, and how you can abuse it safely to earn lots of money early on your adventure.
Key Highlights:
- The Nugget Bridge glitch is an exploit that lets you repeatedly receive Nuggets from the Team Rocket recruiter north of Cerulean City.
- Each Nugget sells for 5,000 Pokemon Dollars. Repeating the trick can quickly give you a huge amount of money early in the game.
- How the trick works: Intentionally losing the battle prevents the game from completing the event, allowing the Nugget reward to be triggered again.
- This exploit can be performed on both GBA emulators and Nintendo Switch versions.
What Is the Nugget Bridge Glitch in FireRed and LeafGreen?
The Nugget Bridge glitch is a small exploit in Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen that allows players to obtain unlimited Nuggets from an NPC located north of Cerulean City at the Nugget Bridge.
If you do things normally, when you defeat the five trainers on Nugget Bridge, the final trainer congratulates you and gives you a Nugget. After that, he reveals he is a member of Team Rocket and challenges you to a battle.
However, if you intentionally lose the battle, the game fails to register that the event has finished. This allows you to trigger the Nugget reward over and over again.
Since Nuggets can be sold at Poke Marts for 5,000 Pokemon Dollars, you can earn thousands, basically making this an infinite money glitch.
Keep reading:
- Pokemon FireRed Safari Zone Guide
- How to Play Pokemon FireRed on PC
- How to Speed Up Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen on Switch
- Pokemon FireRed Cheats
- Pokemon LeafGreen Cheats
Where to Find the Nugget Bridge?
Nugget Bridge is located north of Cerulean City. You will naturally encounter this area shortly after defeating Misty or while exploring the northern routes, and making your way to Bill.
To reach the trainer we need for the exploit, you must first defeat the five trainers standing on the bridge.
Once all five are defeated, the final trainer waiting at the end will reward you with a Nugget.
Doing the Nugget Bridge Glitch in Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen
Follow these steps carefully to successfully do the exploit. I’m assuming you already beat Misty or at least have Pokemon that can take on the Trainers in this area.
Step 1: Beat the Five Trainers
Go to Nugget Bridge north of Cerulean City. If it’s your first time here, your rival will challenge you into a battle. You’ll have to beat him in order to access the Nugget Bridge trainers.
After that, there will be Five trainers lining up on the bridge and you can challenge them one by one. You can heal at the Pokemon Center in between battles as well.
Upon beating the fifth one, make sure you don’t walk in front of the Team Rocket member or you’ll have a hard time doing the exploit.
Step 2: Deposit Your Pokemon
Go to the Pokemon Center and open up your Pokemon Storage System. Deposit all your Pokemon and bring only one.
The Pokemon you bring should be as low level as possible. So if you have a level 2 Pidgey or Ratata from Route 1, that would be best.
We need a weak Pokemon because we want to lose the battle against the Team Rocket recruiter on purpose, and you might need to do this multiple times depending on how much money you want.
If you bring high level Pokemon, it will take forever. Not to mention that you might accidentally beat the grunt and lose the chance to exploit this trick.
Step 3: Lose Against The Nugget Bridge Trainer
After you have only one low level Pokemon on your party, go to the Team Rocket member on Nugget Bridge and challenge him to a battle.
He will give you a Nugget as a reward for beating the 5 trainers. Then he’ll reveal himself as a recruiter for Team Rocket and try to get you to join.
All you have to do now is lose the battle on purpose. As soon as you are defeated, you’ll black out, pay a small amount of money, and go back to the Pokemon Center.
Check your bag for the nugget. Do this over and over again until you have all the Nuggets you want. You can then sell them at any Poke Mart for 5,000 Pokemon Dollars each.
Conclusion
It’s funny how after two decades, the Nugget Bridge glitch still works, whether you’re playing on an emulator, a treasured GBA, or the latest Nintendo Switch model. It only proves that Nintendo doesn’t mind if players use this exploit to splurge a little.
Personally, I prefer saving the money for Full Restores, Revives, and Ultra Balls later in the game when I’m about to challenge the Elite Four and complete my Pokedex.
With a few losses to Team Rocket and a weak Pokemon, you can farm Nuggets as many times as you want and turn them into easy cash. Just be careful not to accidentally defeat the Team Rocket recruiter until you’re finished farming.
If you enjoy discovering tricks like this, make sure to check out more FireRed and LeafGreen guides here on Pokecoders.
