If you cast your mind back to earlier this year, you might recall that a man was arrested in Japan for selling modded data from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Well, it's clear that not everyone was paying attention to the repercussions, as last week, Japanese police announced that they had arrested a man on similar charges for meddling with Pokémon Sun (thanks, Automaton West).
In this instance, the culprit (a 32-year-old man from Saitama) was caught selling hacked save data from the Gen VII game for 5,200 yen (around £27 / $35) each, putting him in violation of Japan's Unfair Competition Prevention Act — which could earn him up to five years in prison or slapped with a fine of up to five million yen. Yikes.
While the suspect is still under investigation at the time of writing, he has admitted to the charges after police seized a computer and 37 games from his home. The authorities also reportedly sent the confiscated ROMs to Nintendo, where the company confirmed that they had been tampered with.
According to TBS News, the authorities' suspicions were roused when a 'Cyber Patrol' investigation uncovered online listings for a range of Pokémon games with phrases like “Save data with over 800 Pokémon.” Apparently, this in-game line-up included waves of 'mon that were only available from specific physical locations or events, making the entire operation seem even more suspicious and giving the police enough room to investigate and eventually arrest the man.
We won't know the ultimate outcome of this one until the investigation is complete. But, if you need reminding, don't mess with Pokémon.