Summary
I’m always itching to revisit thePokémongames of the Game Boy, GBA, and Nintendo DS—scurrying through the tall grass to battle my first Pidgey or hunt down a Pikachu in Viridian Forest. Well, thanks to emulators, you can replay these classic Pokémon games with right on your smartphone.
Emulators Let You Play Retro Games Again
An emulator is a piece of software that replicates a different piece of hardware or another piece of software. They’re especially common when it comes to gaming because you may use emulators to mimic older games consoles—like a Game Boy or even a Nintendo DS—on newer hardware.
For example, this is exactly howthe Nintendo Switch Online servicelets you play classic games from the NES, N64, and other consoles on a Nintendo Switch, by emulating those consoles. It’s also how you can play classic games likePokémon,The Legend of Zelda, orSuper Mario Broson your smartphone.
Despite the fact that Nintendo has pressured some emulators, like Yuzu, into closure, it’s perfectly legal to download, install, and use emulators. When emulator developers get in trouble, it’s typically down to how they marketed their emulator or because they used directly copied the code of the original hardware instead of recreating it.
In fact, using an emulator can offer a wealth of benefits over the original hardware thanks to the modern quality of life features they normally include. For instance, most emulators let you save at any point, increase or decrease the speed of the game, install hacks and mods, and even alter the display to mimic different screen types. That’s not even mentioning the fact that you can get many emulators completely free and run them right from your phone.
One downside to running emulators on smartphones, though, is that you’ll need to use touchscreen controls to play games. This isn’t too much of an issue with turn-based titles likePokémon, where timing isn’t important. But you still might prefer to get a smartphone controller like theBackbone Oneorother smartphone controllersfor a more tactile and comfortable experience.
Backbone One
The Backbone One lets you use comfortable, tactile controls while playing games on your smartphone.
The Best Emulators for Android
There are tons of emulators available for Android devices, but my recommendation if you want to play classic titles is to downloadOne Emulatorfrom the Google Play Store. This lets you emulate Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, and Nintendo DS titles for free, which will cover you for all the best 2D and semi-3DPokémongames fromRed & Blueup toBlack & White 2.
If you want more emulation options—and a better app experience—go withRetroArchinstead. The only catch here is that you can’t always download it from the Play Store, depending on your Android version, so you may need to manually install the app from theRetroArch websiteinstead.
The Best Emulators for iPhone
Apple finally allowedemulators on the iPhone App Storein 2024 and there are now several options to choose from. However, if your aim is to playPokémonor other classic Nintendo consoles, I recommendDelta.
Delta is a clean, polished, and simple-to-use emulator that focuses on Nintendo consoles, combining emulators for NES, SNES, N64, Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, and Nintendo DS into one sleek package. It’s got everything you need to replay all the bestPokémontitles fromRed & Blueup toBlack & White 2.
If you want an emulator with even more options, then definitely check outRetroArchinstead. This still includes all the Nintendo consoles listed above, but combines them with a range of other platforms from Atari to Commodore to PlayStation and more.
You’ll Need Some ROMs
Emulators cover the hardware we’re aiming to replicate, like the Game Boy or Nintendo DS handheld consoles, but we still need somePokémongames to run in those emulators. That’s where ROMs come in: these are digital game files with the code from the original cartridge or disc in them.
So, when you load a ROM file into your emulator of choice, the game will boot up, just like when you put the Game Boy cartridge into the back of the handheld and flick on the Power switch.
The issue with ROMs is that they aren’t always legal in the way that emulators are. It’s definitely illegal to download or distribute ROMs for games you don’t own. However, creating or downloading ROMs for games you already own falls into a gray area, as some claim it may be protected by fair use as a form of archival. Nevertheless, Nintendo takes a firm stance against even these use cases of ROMs.
With all that said, you’ll need to get your hands on some ROM files for whateverPokémongames you already own that you want to play in your smartphone emulator.
Once you’ve gotten hold of some ROMs, add them to the file manager on your iPhone or Android. I create a dedicated ROMs folder and put all the files in here.
Finally, open the settings for your emulator of choice and look for an option to select a ROMs folder. Pick the folder with all your ROM files in it and hey presto, you should see all your games in the emulator library ready to boot up at your pleasure.
Now it’s time to choose your starter and train for your first gym badge!
KeepPokémonFresh With Some Hacks
If you’ve played the classicPokémongames a million times already, the novelty of playing them on your phone could wear off pretty quickly. Well, now that you’re emulating these games you can keep them fresh by downloading hacked ROMs to try out instead. There are all kinds ofdifferentPokémonROM hacks to experiment with, offering all new story lines, villain arcs, and quality of life improvements. If you really want to be the very best, you need to make sure you play ‘em all.
