How to Play Pokemon Games on the PC

The "Pokemon" games are a popular series of games, but they're all for the Nintendo portable consoles--the Gameboy, Gameboy Advance and the Nintendo DS. To play these games, you're going to need to download and install an emulator and the ROM for the game you want to play. ROMs are copies of the games in a format the emulator can read and play.

Things You'll Need

• Nintendo Gameboy, Gameboy Advance or DS emulator
• Pokemon game ROMs

Instructions

1. Download and install the DS or GBA emulator. Use any emulator that you prefer, but you can find a couple of options listed in the Resources section of this article.

2. Download a Pokemon ROM file and extract it to the directory to which the emulator is installed. You can find ROM files on the Internet, but there are a handful linked in Resources.

3. Run the Gameboy or DS emulator. Find the "Open" or "Run" command, and select the ROM file for the "Pokemon" game you want to play.

4. Begin your game. The controls for the game should be under preferences.

Tips & Warnings

• Downloading and playing these ROM files can constitute copyright infringement. Many sites indicate that you have a 24-hour trial period to play the ROM file.

• As with any files you download, perform a virus scan. Many ROM sites are operated by hackers, which increases the risk of viruses.

References

• FileXT: Using an Emulator

Resources

• No $GBA DS Emulator for PC
• DeSmuME Emulator for Mac
• Yellow Pika: 'Pokemon' ROMs