A Pokemon fan discovered that the save battery for their copy of Pokemon Blue has died after 25 years, meaning they've lost access to all the Pokemon they caught in the game. The original Pokemon games were a phenomenon on the Game Boy, responsible for single-handedly extending the lifespan of Nintendo's beefy handheld console.
Like all other Game Boy games, Pokemon Red and Blue were released on cartridges that used battery saves. The downside to this method of saving is eventually the batteries die, making it impossible for one to save their game without replacing the battery in the cartridge.
This is what happened to Reddit user totallylegitnesss and their copy of Pokemon Blue. The battery in their Pokemon Blue cartridge died after 25 years, making them lose access to Pokemon like their Blastoise, nicknamed Mizukame. The Reddit user replaced the battery and started a new save file, but their original Pokemon Blue save is long gone and unsalvageable. This would be a heartbreaking discovery for anyone busting out their old Game Boy handheld, but it will be an unfortunate reality for many longtime Pokemon fans who decide to check in on their old cartridges.
Issues like this are part of the reason why some Pokemon fans want to see the franchise's original games released on modern hardware. While Nintendo did release some classic Pokemon games on the Nintendo 3DS, the 3DS eShop has since shut down. None of the original Pokemon Game Boy games are available to play on the Nintendo Switch at the time of this writing, despite the fact that the Switch Online subscription service has a section for the handheld.
Bringing the original Pokemon games to Switch wouldn't just provide a convenient way for Pokemon fans to relive their childhood memories without having to worry about save batteries dying. It would also potentially open the door for Pokemon fans to catch some of the original Pokemon to transfer to Pokemon Home. There's also a chance the games would be compatible with Pokemon Stadium, which is currently available to play through the Switch Online Expansion Pack but is missing the key feature of being able to transfer Pokemon from the Game Boy games to the Nintendo 64 release.
Time will tell if classic Pokemon games ever come to Switch Online, but in the meantime, Pokemon fans may want to check in and see if their original Pokemon game saves are still available.