I mean the save game batteries in the old cartridges are long since dead and I held no illusions about that, but that's why I long since got the virtual console versions of them.
TBH I just cleaned up the box and then messed around with putting the GBA emulator on my current phone because it actually works on it instead of being a choppy mess on my last phone, but that's mainly to play Pokemon TCG2 which I need a ROM Hack for anyway because it was never released in English so I have to get the fan translation (which tbh as far as fan translations go is pretty decent, if maybe slightly annoying for giving random people Texas accents).
Interestingly, as more proof that I used to be insanely bad at video games, I fired up my physical copy of TCG1 and I had 2 hours in the game and no gym badges. On my DS I'm pretty sure it only took me like 4:30 to beat the entire game (8 gyms), so oh boy did I not understand how to play that game as a child.