Modders Get Pokémon Gold and Silver Trading Working on Tamagotchi Paradise

A Reddit user has posted photos and videos of two heavily modified Tamagotchi Paradise devices running Pokémon Gold and Silver, and the two units can trade Pokémon when linked to each other. Engadget reported the posts on 7 November 2026.

The Reddit user, markivino, shared the material. The modified devices are playable. Linking them lets players exchange Pokémon, the same trading mechanic the original games supported between physical cartridges on separate consoles. Tamagotchi Paradise was released in 2025. The modification is the work of hobbyists, not the device's manufacturer.

A separate modder, u/DuckBrush, shared a picture of a White Glacier Tamagotchi Paradise running Tamagotchi for Game Boy. That title first released in October 1997, was developed by Tom Create, and was published by Bandai, according to Nintendo Life. Together, the two examples show a modding effort that reaches beyond a single game. A pet-care title from the Game Boy era and a role-playing title both run on the newer handheld.

In my view, the appeal is easy to read. Two people who want to trade Pokémon can do so on hardware they already own, without buying a second console or cartridge. That is a modest, practical result, and it is typical of the modding community: a working device, a shared hobby, and a small piece of software running where it was never meant to run.

The broader context here is the durability of dedicated handheld hardware. A device sold as a single-purpose toy can become a general-purpose retro console in the hands of a determined hobbyist. Manufacturers rarely design for that outcome, and modders rarely ask permission. The result is a second life for hardware that would otherwise be retired, and a way to revisit older games on a device that is still current for its owner. For now, the impact on the wider handheld market is limited to the hobbyist scene.

For readers who build, flash, or reverse-engineer embedded devices, the story is a reminder that consumer hardware often has more capability than its shipped software exposes.

For everyone else, it is a small, human result: two people, two modified toys, and a trade that works.