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Step 1
Look for Roms on Pokemon related sites, but expect to find lots of dead links. Companies have been proactive in sending out cease-and-desist letters to large Rom sites. You may have better luck searching for the game's exact title, not just "Pokemon Roms."
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Step 2
Look on free-hosting sites to find direct links. You may also want to search for pages in a foreign language because they are less likely to be shut down by a game company.
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Step 3
Download your Pokemon games to your computer once you find them. The files are generally fairly small, so be careful if anything is over 5 megabytes. Roms have extensions that are specific to the gaming system, so a Gameboy Advance Rom might end in ".GBA."
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Step 4
Find a current emulator for the Nintendo Gameboy or Gameboy Advance. Most Pokemon games run on those portable systems, but newer DS games cannot be emulated because of the use of the touch screen. There are many websites that offer quick emulator downloads, like Zophar's Domain (see Resources below).
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Step 5
Run the Rom with your emulator, and see whether it has any performance issues. You may need to try several different emulators before you get the Pokemon game to run perfectly.
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Step 6
Delete any Roms you have within 24 hours if you do not own the original cartridge. This warning is usually on each Rom site, in an attempt to protect the webmaster from any legal action. Understand that these games are protected by copyright laws.
