yes,there are an alternative
you can run GBA games on your DS using slot-1, but you'll need a Supercard DStwo, on sale for about 45-70$.
I know this is expensive, but the flash card is high-performance (I have one) an is able to run on ds, dslite, dsi,
dsi xl and 3ds. it can run DS Games, SNES games, and, of course, GBA games.They run very good!!!
here's the link to the official website:
http://eng.supercard.sc/manual/dstwo/
and here's the link to the review, by GBAtemp
http://gbatemp.net/t232281-supercard-dstwo-review
hope this will help you!!!