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PokeLDN

Hosting and joining Nintendo Switch local wireless sessions with retail Pokémon games from a computer, through an ESP32 board acting as the radio.

Github Website

PokeLDN

PokeLDN talks directly to retail Pokémon games over the Switch's local wireless (LDN) protocol. An ESP32 board on USB serial is the radio, and any computer running Python becomes a player the console can trade with. Nothing is installed on the Switch or Switch 2.

Trading works with seven games, from FireRed and LeafGreen through Scarlet, Violet and Legends Z-A, along with Mystery Gift, Union Room and link battles where the games support them.

Skills

  • Protocol reverse engineering: LDN, Nintendo's Pia networking layer, the GBA link protocol and each game's own trade and gift formats
  • Embedded C firmware for the ESP32 radio on ESP-IDF
  • Static analysis of Switch executables and ARM64 disassembly
  • ARM assembly payloads running native code on the console
  • Python networking, cryptography and binary formats
  • Public protocol documentation with citations for every finding