Cloning glitches

Pokémon cloning is a glitch that occurs which enables a player to make an exact clone of a Pokémon.

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Generation 1

The Generation 1 Cloning (discovered in 1999) is extremely hazardous, due to the risk of corruption of the data if done wrong. Must be done with an "imcomplete trade" (this deletes a Pokémon). The steps are the following:

1. Catch a Pokémon to Sacrifice (in the game that doesn't have the Pokémon that you want to clone), preferably a weak and common one (a Pidgey will do).
2. Get in the Cable Club. Select the weak Pokémon to be traded with the Pokémon to clone. Begin the transfer like normally. Wait for the animations to finish.
3. When the Message "WAIT..." disappears, and just before "TRANSFER COMPLETE!" appears, turn off the game that originally had the Pokémon you want to clone. (Must be really accurate!)
4. The other game will be locked up and the weak Pokémon, deleted.
5. After turning the games on again, both players must have the same Pokémon in their respective parties.

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Generation 2

(Read all before trying)

The most common way for it to be done in the Pokémon Gold and Silver versions is as follows:

1. Save the game.
2. Deposit the Pokémon you want to clone.
3. Switch boxes to any box (Preferably a empty one).
4. When it says "do you want to overwrite saved data?" say yes. However, while the capitalized word "SAVING" is on the screen, shut the game off. If your timing is off, you could erase your saved data. However, as long as you turn off the game from around the time "SAV" is on the screen to when the word "POWER" is shown, the game will be fine.
5. Turn your game back on, and there should be the original Pokémon in your party, and a copy of it in your box. If you made the Pokémon hold an item, that item will also be cloned.

What happens here?

Shutting the game off while saving in the Box Change makes the game to save the changes inside the PC, but not outside. So, your party and items will be the way they were at the last place you saved, but the PC will keep the changes you've just made.

This let you do a variety of massive tricks like cloning five pokémon at the same time; or get the three starter Pokémon (tough it's dangerous to do) saving, starting a new game and AVOID TO SAVE until you can deposite your Pokémon in the PC, then do the "save trick", and when turning on again, you'll have the Pokémon stored at PC (It's better to do this with a just started game due to the risk of deleting all the pokémon in the box you use, or even in all the PC)

Warning: Do not attempt this method in Pokémon Red and Blue or Pokémon Yellow. Attempting this glitch in the Generation I games will sometimes give you a cloned Pokémon, but it is much more likely that the cheat will erase your saved game by corrupting the saved data.

Generation 3

Pokemon Emerald also has a cloning glitch.

1. Deposit the pokemon you want to clone in a empty box on the PC in the battle tower.
2. Save in front of PC
3. Join battle tower's link battle
4. When it says 'SAVING DO NOT TURN OFF POWER', turn it off.
5. Turn the game back on. The original will be in your party while the duplicate is in the PC.

Another method of cloning Pokémon is to pull out the trade link cable in the middle of a trade, but it is unreliable and can sometimes erase the Pokémon you wish to clone altogether.