Waking up in the morning sets the tone for your day, so why not do it in style? That seems to be what maker and developer Mod Room My was thinking when putting together this awesome Pokémon-themed Raspberry Pi Pico Game Boy alarm clock. Our favorite microcontroller is inside this classic DMG handheld, and an eInk display replaces the original screen. Across the screen, along the bottom, you'll find a random array of Pokémon sprites from the first two generations.
This alarm clock is pretty versatile and can be either a stationary device or made portable with the ability to receive power from batteries—like the original Game Boy DMG. It has a speaker inside that replaces the original and plays audio files for the alarm. The sprites at the bottom randomly change each minute.
We contacted Mod Room My, who confirmed more details about the build. The Pico is housed behind an old aftermarket Pokémon cartridge as it was necessary to trim it down to make room for the hardware, and he didn't want to deface an original cartridge. The eInk panel used supports three colors: black, white, and red, which makes for a more visually interesting result. There were plans to use the original buttons to control the clock functions, but this idea was scrapped since the refresh rate takes longer on an eInk screen.
The power mechanism is fascinating because the Pico can be powered using a cable or batteries. The Pico is connected to the original Game Boy battery terminal but uses a step-down converter, as the Game Boy uses 6V, which is far too high for the Pico. Mod Room My also added an icon in the corner indicating which power source is used.
The software for the project was created from scratch by Mod Room My just for this project. It handles the alarm functions and draws the Pokémon sprites along the bottom. These are randomly selected from the 251 sprites found in the first two gens and are programmed to change once every 60 seconds.
If you want to get a closer look at this Raspberry Pi project, check out the original project thread shared on Reddit by Mod Room My. We suggest checking Mod Room My's Instagram page for more cool projects.
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Ash Hill is a contributing writer for Tom's Hardware with a wealth of experience in the hobby electronics, 3D printing and PCs. She manages the Pi projects of the month and much of our daily Raspberry Pi reporting while also finding the best coupons and deals on all tech.