Play Pokémon on Your PC

Since it was introduced in the gaming world in the ’90s, Pokémon has always been exclusive on Nintendo gaming consoles, particularly the Game Boy and the Nintendo DS platform series. Whether you’re a hardcore fan or just a regular gamer who wants to try the game, you can play Pokémon without buying a separate gaming console. Your good ol', old, new, modern or classic PC will probably do just fine!

Steps

Downloading an Emulator

  1. Look for a Nintendo DS or a Gameboy Emulator. Emulators are applications that replicate the functions of other programs. Nintendo emulators reproduce the functionality of Nintendo devices so you can play on your computer the games that are normally exclusive to DS platforms (or Game Boy).
  2. Download and install the emulator to your computer. Run the emulator’s installer to begin extracting the program to your computer, and wait for the installation process to finish.
  3. Open the emulator once the installation is completed. Double-click on its desktop icon or select it from the list of applications installed in your computer to launch it.

Downloading an Emulator ROM

  1. Look for websites where you can download ROMS. While emulators function as the console, ROMs are files that contain the replicated data of a console game. Basically, ROMs are the virtual counterparts of gaming cartridges, and just like how a console needs a gaming cartridge to play a game, emulators need ROMs to work.
    • There several websites on the Internet where you can download ROM files for free. One site where you can get Pokémon ROMs is Cool Rom (http://coolrom.com).
  2. Search the site for any Pokémon game you like. Since ROMs are created by individuals and not by the game publishers, some console games like Pokémon may not have its ROM counterpart (especially the newly released ones), so you may have to wait for a while before a ROM version becomes available.
    • Once you find the Pokémon game ROM you’re looking for, download the file from the website and save it in your PC.

Opening the ROM on Your Game Boy/DS Emulator

  1. Click the “File” button on the menu bar to open an Explorer window. Most emulators have the same user interface; a basic window with a menu bar at the top.
  2. Navigate to the location of the ROM file you downloaded and select it. Do this on the Explorer window. Click the “Open” button to open the selected ROM on your emulator.
  3. Wait for the emulator to load the game. Once it finishes loading the ROM file, the game will automatically start, and you can now play it normally on your PC.

Tips

  • Just like playing on Nintendo consoles, you can save your game progress when you play using an emulator.
  • Since Pokémon games are played on handheld devices with smaller screens, the emulator may not be able to play the ROM file using your computer screen’s resolution. The emulator window will resize to the standard resolution settings of the consoles. This means that you may have to play the game on a small window. Maximizing it may result in pixelated graphics.
  • Your computer keyboard will act as your console controller. Depending on the kind of emulator you downloaded, the keyboard keys you’ll be using to play the game will vary.

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Sources and Citations

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