The file data is destroyed!
?????????? | ????? | ! | Abnormal Pokémon | Bad Egg | Enigma Berry (Generation III) | Error! | Error codes (Generations I and II) | Error traps for damaged save data | Error traps to prevent impossible progress | Event data debugging messages | Instant victory effect (Generation II) | Mystery Zone | N/A | Pokégear instruction booklet trap | Rhydon trap | Special (location) | This Game Pak is designed only for use on the Game Boy Color. | This Pokémon cannot be traded.
For the corruption of game files in general, see file corruption
The phrase "The file data is destroyed!" is an error handler in Pokémon Red, Pokémon Blue, and Pokémon Yellow. This message usually appears when the player chooses the CONTINUE option but the save file is unreadable as a method of informing the player and preventing the game from freezing. However, not all invalid save files are affected by this message especially if the player has no existing save file at all, so that the player does not recieve this message when attempting to start a new game for the first time.
Similar messages exist within the newer generations of Pokémon games such as the "The save file is corrupted!" message on Pokémon Gold, Pokémon Silver and Pokémon Crystal. From Generation III and onwards however, these messages also mention about backup save data, and the game will load that data instead.