There's already a workaround to skirt Pokemon Shuffle's microtransactions

That didn't take long

Pokémon Shuffle isn't Nintendo's initial foray into the seedy underworld of free-to-play with microtransactions. Rusty's Real Deal Baseball did it first, but Shuffle is the first example that drew ire from Nintendo's faithful fans.

But, as they are wont to do, those outraged by Pokémon Shuffle's structure found a way to bypass all paid-for elements of the game. By taking advantage of the same exploit that made Game Boy Color ROMs playable, users have effectively reduced the cost of all in-game items to gratis -- a nifty little trick that grants unlimited hearts and gems without a wait to keep playing.

The hack works by placing new code into the memory of a game via the 3DS browser. Because it uses an updated browser, the New 3DS safeguards against this sort of loophole; it had to be done on a system using firmware between versions 9.0 and 9.5.

While it was just recently discovered, it seems as if the exploit has possibly already been patched up by Nintendo. Some users have replicated it, while others that chimed in later had no such luck. However, those that got in right away can hunt Pokémon to their hearts' content without pesky waits to sully the good times.

QR Code for Pokémon Shuffle avalilable for max lives and coins [reddit via Eurogamer]