A Nintendo DS test cartridge listed on eBay may contain a long-lost Pokémon game that was only available briefly in Japan in 2005, according to UPI Odd News.
The listing, posted by a seller in Germany and starting at $9,145.66, has drawn attention from fans who think it could be a surviving physical copy of Pokémon Fishing Contest DS. The game was reportedly offered only as a download at Japanese Pokémon Center stores from May through August 2005, and it would erase itself from a system when the power was turned off.
In the listing, the seller says the item is the exact physical development or test cartridge shown in the photos and notes that it was acquired in a private lot with no additional history or provenance. The seller also says the cartridge boots on a retail Nintendo DS to a Japanese-language screen that appears to indicate a high-score ranking communication program.
Some fans believe the Japanese text in the photos points to the fishing game, while others say it could simply be code used to track scores rather than the full game itself. As of early Friday afternoon, the auction had not received any bids, and it is scheduled to end Sunday.
