How to Play Pokémon on Your PC

Co-authored by Travis Boylls Reviewed by Ishrak

Last Updated: August 11, 2024 Tested

Wouldn't it be great to be able to play all your favorite Pokémon games on your PC? You can do so using ROMs and emulators. ROMs are digital duplicates of game cartridges, while emulators are applications that simulate game consoles. You'll need to download a separate emulator for each game console you want to simulate on your PC. For Pokémon, this includes Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, and Nintendo DS. You can also play ROMs online using an online emulator without downloading anything at all. This wikiHow teaches you how to play Pokémon games using an emulator on your Windows computer.

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

Playing ROMs Online

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Go to https://www.emulatorgames.net/ in a web browser. This is one of many websites that has ROMs and emulators for download. If you don't want to worry about installing an emulator on your computer, you can use this site to play Pokémon online.
The search bar is in the upper-right corner of the website. This displays all Pokémon titles available for download.

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Games are listed by their box cover on the website.
It's the button to the right, below the "Download ROM" button. This loads the game in a window within the website.
This loads the game and initializes it in the web browser. This may take a few minutes.
6
Click the icon that resembles a game controller. It appears in the lower-left corner of the emulator window when you hover your mouse cursor over it. This displays the keyboard controls for the game. To change the keyboard controls, click a button you want to assign and press the keyboard key you want to assign to that button. Then scroll down and click Update in the window.
- Click the "X" button in the upper-right corner of the keyboard controls window to exit the keyboard controls without saving.
It's in the lower-right corner of the ROM game window when you hover your mouse cursor over it. This allows you to play the game in full-screen mode.
It's in the lower-left corner of the ROM window when you hover your mouse cursor over it.
It's in the lower-left corner of the ROM window when you hover the mouse cursor over it.
It's the icon of an arrow pointing down over a bar. A save state can be uploaded to resume a game in the exact state it was saved in.
It's the icon of an arrow pointing up over a bar. To upload a save state, select a save state (.save) file you downloaded and click Open.

Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

Using a Nintendo DS Emulator

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1
Find your computer's bit number. In order to download the Nintendo DS emulator, you need to know whether your computer uses a 32-bit processor or a 64-bit processor.
2
Go to https://desmume.org/download in your browser. DeSmuME is a Nintendo DS emulator designed for both Windows and Mac computers.
3
Select a download link. Beneath the "DeSmuME v0.9.11 Binaries for Windows" heading, click either Windows 32-bit (x86) (32-bit system) or Windows 64-bit (x86-64) (64-bit system). DeSmuME will begin downloading after a brief ad.
- You may need to click the direct link link if DeSmuME doesn't begin downloading.
4
Open the DeSmuME ZIP file. In order to open a zip file, you need an archive program, such as WinZip, WinRAR, or 7-zip. Double-click the zip file to open it. By default, you can find downloaded files in your Downloads folder, or in your web browser. Double-click the downloaded ZIP folder to do so.
Click the option to extract the contents of the zip file. This may be a little different depending on which archive program you are using.
It's recommended that you create a folder to store all of your video game ROMs to. You may even want to create a separate sub-folder for each game console. You can save the emulator to one of these folders, or any folder of your choice.
This extracts the contents of the zip file to your computer.
8
Download a Pokémon ROM. DeSmuMe plays Nintendo DS games. Pokémon games for Nintendo DS include Pokémon: HeartGold Version, and Pokémon: Black Version. Use the following steps to download a Pokémon ROM:
- Go to https://allpokemonroms.net/ in a web browser.
- Type "Pokemon" in the search bar in the upper-right corner and press "Enter".
- Click a Pokémon title for Nintendo DS.
- Click Download Game.
- Open the zip file containing the ROM.
- Extract the contents of the zip file to a folder on your computer.
9
Open DeSmuME. Double-click the DeSmuME application file to do so. The DeSmuME emulator will open.
- You may have to click Yes when prompted to confirm that you want to open DeSmuME.
10
Click File. It's a tab in the top-left corner of the DeSmuME window. A drop-down menu will appear.
11
Click Open ROM…. This option is at the top of the drop-down menu.
12
Select your downloaded ROM. Click the ROM that you downloaded. You may have to click the Downloads folder on the left-hand side of the window to find the ROM.
13
Click Open. This will open the ROM in the Nintendo DS emulator, at which point your game should start.
14
View and change keyboard controls. Use the following steps to view and change the keyboard controls:
- Click Config in the menu bar at the top.
- Click Control Config.
- Click a button and press the keyboard key you want to assign the button.
- Click Ok.
15
Save a save state. You can save the game at any moment and load the game at the exact save state. Use the following steps to save the game as a save state:
- Click File
- Click Save State.
- Click a number 0 - 9.
16
Load a save state. Use the following steps to load a save state:
- Click File
- Click Load State.
- Click a number 0 - 9.

Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

Using a Gameboy Color Emulator

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1
Go to https://www.emulatorgames.net/emulators/gameboy-color/ in your browser. This page has a variety of Game Boy Color emulator downloads for a variety of platforms.
It's the first option on the web page. It has an image of the BGB user interface.
It's the blue button to the right. You'll need to wait about 5 seconds, and then it will download the emulator as a ZIP file.
4
Open the BGB ZIP file. In order to open a zip file, you need an archive program, such as WinZip, WinRAR, or 7-zip. Double-click the zip file to open it. By default, you can find downloaded files in your Downloads folder, or in your web browser. Double-click the downloaded ZIP folder to do so.
Click the option to extract the contents of the zip file. This may be a little different depending on which archive program you are using.
It's recommended that you create a folder to store all of your video game ROMs to. You may even want to create a separate sub-folder for each game console. You can save the emulator to one of these folders, or any folder of your choice.
This extracts the contents of the zip file to your computer.
8
Download a Pokémon ROM. BGB plays Game Boy and Game Boy Color games. Pokémon games for Game Boy and Game Boy Color include Pokémon: Red. Pokémon: Blue, Pokémon: Yellow, Pokémon: Gold, Pokémon: Silver, and Pokémon: Crystal. Use the following steps to download a Pokémon ROM:
- Go to https://www.emulatorgames.net/ in a web browser.
- Type "Pokemon" in the search bar in the upper-right corner and press "Enter".
- Click a Pokémon title for Gameboy Color.
- Click Download Game.
- Open the zip file containing the ROM.
- Extract the contents of the zip file to a folder on your computer.
9
Double-click the bgb.exe application. It resembles a grey and black directional pad. Doing so will open the BGB emulator window.
10
Right-click the emulator window. A drop-down menu will appear.
- If your mouse doesn't have a right-click button, click the right side of the mouse or use two fingers to click the mouse.
- If your computer uses a trackpad instead of a mouse, use two fingers to tap the trackpad or press the bottom-right side of the trackpad.
11
Click Load ROM…. It's near the top of the drop-down menu.
12
Select your downloaded ROM and click Open. This loads the ROM in the BGB emulator.
13
Configure the keyboard controls. Use the following steps to configure the keyboard controls:
- Right-click the BGB window.
- Click Options.
- Click Configure keyboard.
- Press and hold the keyboard button you want to assign for each Game Boy button when prompted.
- Click Apply.
14
Save a game state. You can save the game at any moment and load the game at the exact save state. Use the following steps to save the game as a save state:
- Right-click the BGB window.
- Click State.
- Click Quick Save.
15
Load a game state. Use the following steps to load a saved game state:
- Right-click the BGB window.
- Click State.
- Click Quick Load.

Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

Using a Gameboy Advance Emulator

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In order to download the Nintendo DS emulator, you need to know whether your computer uses a 32-bit processor or a 64-bit processor.
Go to https://www.emulatorgames.net/emulators/gameboy-advance/ in a web browser. This page has a variety of Game Boy Advance emulators for a variety of platforms.
3
Click VisualBoyAdvance-M 64-Bit 2.0.2 (Windows). It's the second option on the web page. This takes you to the download link for VisualBoyAdvance.
- If you are running a 32-bit version of Windows, click VisualBoyAdvance-M 32-Bit 2.0.2 (Windows) instead.
It's the blue button to the right. You'll need to wait about 5 seconds, and then it will download the emulator as a ZIP file.
5
Open the VisualBoyAdvance ZIP file. In order to open a zip file, you need an archive program, such as WinZip, WinRAR, or 7-zip. Double-click the zip file to open it. By default, you can find downloaded files in your Downloads folder, or in your web browser. Double-click the downloaded ZIP folder to do so.
Click the option to extract the contents of the zip file. This may be a little different depending on which archive program you are using.
It's recommended that you create a folder to store all of your video game ROMs too. You may even want to create a separate sub-folder for each game console. You can save the emulator to one of these folders, or any folder of your choice.
This extracts the contents of the zip file to your computer.
9
Download a Pokémon ROM. VisualBoyAdvance-M plays Game Boy Advance games. Pokémon games for Game Boy Advance include Pokémon: Fire Red, Pokémon: Ruby, Pokémon: Sapphire, Pokémon: Leaf Green, and Pokémon: Emerald. Use the following steps to download a Pokémon ROM:
- Go to https://www.emulatorgames.net/ in a web browser.
- Type "Pokemon" in the search bar in the upper-right corner and press "Enter".
- Click a Pokémon title for Gameboy Advance.
- Click Download Game.
- Open the zip file containing the ROM.
- Extract the contents of the zip file to a folder on your computer.
10
Double-click the VisualBoyAdvance-M.exe file. This purple icon is in the new window. Doing so opens the VisualBoyAdvance program.
11
Click the File tab. It's in the upper-left corner of the VisualBoyAdvance window. A drop-down menu will appear.
12
Click Open…. This option is near the top of the drop-down menu.
- You can also load Game Boy and Game Boy Color ROMS in VisualBoyAdvance.
13
Select your downloaded ROM and click Open. This loads the ROM in the VisualBoyAdvance emulator.
14
View and configure the keyboard controls. Use the following steps to view and configure the keyboard controls:
- Click Options.
- Click Configure
- Click a GBA button and press the keyboard button you want to assign it (optional).
- Click Ok.
15
Save a save state. You can save the game at any moment and load the game at the exact save state. Use the following steps to save the game as a save state:
- Click File.
- Click Save state.
- Select one of the numbered save slots.
16
Load a save state. Use the following steps to load a saved game state:
- Click File.
- Click Load state.
- Select one of the numbered save slots.

Community Q&A

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Question

Is this illegal, even if you own the game?

Raidiancat3357

Community Answer

Yes, piracy is still piracy even if you own the game. However, the chances you would ever get in trouble for this are almost nonexistent.

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What are the controls?

Community Answer

By default on VBA, the arrow keys are the Gameboy D-pad, the Z key is A, the X key is B, the A key is L, and the S key is R. Start is bound to the Enter key, Select is the Backspace key, and Spacebar speeds up the gameplay.

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How do I open the file?

Bun bun

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Start your emulator program and click 'Open' at the top of the application.

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Tips

Remember to save your progress! You can usually do this in-game, or from the File menu.

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There is also a 3DS Emulator called Citra. However, Pokemon roms the 3DS are pretty hard to find.

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Warnings

Downloading ROMs for games that you don't already own is illegal, and Nintendo's terms of use forbid even downloading ROMs of games that you do own.

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