How to play old Pokémon games on iPhone / iPad

Pokémon Company has released some of the most popular games loved by the gaming community. These classic games date back to 1996 and are part of the childhood of generations. But now you can continue to play those Pokemon games without GameBoy.

In fact, we have many ways to play old Pokémon on the iPhone whether you're looking for the latest App Store game or classic adventures like Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue. The article will guide you how to play old Pokemon games on iPhone / iPad .

How to play old Pokémon games on iPhone / iPad

Simulate classic Pokemon game on iPhone

How to install the emulator on iPhone

Download Pokemon ROM for iPhone

Play Pokemon on Safari with Game Play Color

Simulate classic Pokemon game on iPhone

The best way to play classic Pokemon games on iPhone is to download and install an emulator. It is an application that mimics a computer system like an old console.

Choosing the right emulator, you can play Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS games on iPhone. With newer consoles, like the Nintendo Switch, it's not always available to emulate due to the iPhone's inability to handle. But no problem, the old Pokemon game is still worth playing.

How to install the emulator on iPhone

Unfortunately, Apple does not allow the application to be emulated on the App Store. However, you can use other alternative methods. One of them requires you to jailbreak your device first.

Most emulators are open source, synonymous, they're free and legal, even if Apple doesn't like that. Therefore, you can install them outside the App Store by leveraging your enterprise certificates or compiling them into your own app. Don't worry, it's a simpler way than you think.

The best emulators for iOS are Delta and iNDS . Both are free and allow you to experience Pokemon games from all of the following console:

Game Boy / Game Boy Color

Game Boy Advance

Nintendo 64

Nintendo DS

Download Pokemon ROM for iPhone

After installing an emulator on your iPhone, you still need the software version of the game you want to play. These are called ROMs. While the emulators are free and legal, ROMs are not that simple.

If you own a game, in some cases, you are allowed to create a separate ROM version for it if you want to back up. However, according to Nintendo's regulations, this is illegal.

Because the game is copyrighted, no matter how you own them, sharing the ROM with someone is always illegal. However, you can still ask Google to find all the ROM you want.

Play Pokemon on Safari with Game Play Color

If installing the emulator on iPhone is too complicated, you may prefer to use a web emulator. Game Play Color is the best option. You still need to download the ROM for the game that Pokémon wants to play but don't need to go through many steps to download the emulator to work on the iPhone.

Game Play Color is the fastest way to start playing old Pokemon on iPhone. However, it has the following limitations:

This emulator can reset when you change apps.

You can only play games at Game Boy or Game Boy Color.

Game Play Color does not support saving status. Therefore, you need to save the game to the ROM file as the traditional way with the physical game version.

If you are not afraid of the above limitations, here is how you set up playing Pokemon games on iPhone / iPad:

Download any ROM you want to play and save them to Google Drive.

Open Safari on iPhone and download the Game Play Color web .

Tap Play Now , then tap the Share button > select Add to Home Screen .

You will see the Game Play app icon on the Home screen .

Open the Game Play app , then log in to your Google Drive account . You will need to copy the access code it provides to sync your account.

Game Play looks for compatible ROMs on your Google Drive and shows them on the screen. Tap the game you want to play to launch it.

In addition to the classic games mentioned above, currently, you can experience other Pokemon games, downloaded directly on the App Store without an emulator. Here are some suggestions for the best Pokemon game on iOS:

Pokémon GO

Pokémon Masters

Pokémon Quest

Wish you have moments of fun entertainment!

Update new 2021

Best 4 iOS Pokemon Emulators for iPhone

After knowing where to find a Pokemon emulator for iPhone. It’s time to introduce some amazing emulators and tell you how to install those emulators on your iPhone. Here are the 4 top-rated emulators for iPhone:

1. GBA4iOS

There are many emulators in the markets, but definitely, the GBA4iOS emulator is the best one. Here are some coolest features that make GBAiOS the best emulator:

• You do not need to jailbreak your iPhone.
• GBA4iOS allows you to emulate and enjoy not just GBA, but GBC and GB games.
• It have so many wonderful features includes multiplayer support, dropbox support, cheat codes, save states, controller skins, etc.

As we all know, Apple doesn't allow emulators on the Apple Store, so, here comes a question, how to install GBA4iOS on your iPhone? Don't worry, keep reading and you will find the answer.

How to Install GBA4iOS emulator on Your iPhone?

Step 1: Head over to gba4iosapp.com on your iPhone. On the page, you will see GBA4iOS 2.0. Click it and a window will prompt, then tap "Install".

Tip: There is another version i.e. 1.6, please do not install it as it is for the devices that are running iOS 5.0 or older version.

Step 2: After Pokemon emulator GBA4iOS installed on your iPhone, click the app and you will be prompted with the pop on that whether or not you want to access the application. Click on “Continue” to open up the application.

Step 3: In case the emulator is not working at all you need to change the date. For this go to "Settings" > "General" > "Date & Time". Set the date to anything before 19th Feb 2014. Open the emulator again and it will start working. If it does so then you need to change the date and time settings to “Automatic”. It is one of the ways to make sure that the emulator works perfectly.

Step 4: If you are still not able to access the GBA emulator then head over to "Settings" > "General" > "Profile & Device Management". Click on the emulator under the "ENTERPRISE APP".

Step 5: On the next screen click “Trust”. This will remove the issues if any.

Step 6: If you have your own personal ROMs then you can easily upload it to the emulator. For this, hit the "Settings" icon on the top left corner of the application and sign in to your Dropbox account to get the ROMs uploaded by turning on/green Dropbox sync.

Step 7: Alternatively, click on the "+" icon on the top right corner. Choose the game i.e. Pokémon or any other that you want to download.

Step 8: Click “Download” once you see the prompt to download and install the game from the internal web browser.

Step 9: There are three tabs on the top of the application. You need to make sure that the “ALL” tab is selected so that you can access both Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance games on the same screen.

Step 10: Tap on Pokémon Go and you are done. Now, you can play GBA and GBC games on the emulator with ease and perfection.

2. Happy Chick

Happy Chick is a integrated emulator platform that allows you to play many games on your iPhone. It support both iOS and Android system. Here are some advantages of Happy Chick emulator:

• Happy Chick can emulate more than 18 systems, including FAB/MAME/MAMEPLUS, PS, PSP, FC(NES), SFC(SNEC), GBA, GBC, MD, NDS, etc.
• It is easy to install and use without complex operation.
• Happy Chick supports Cloud saving which allows you to backup games anytime.
• Do not need to jailbreak your iPhone.

How to Install Happy Chick on Your iPhone?

Step 1: Open Happy Chick website on Safari. Click “Download” button.

Step 2: In the next page, click “Install now” button under the Method 2.

Step 3: Select “Install HappyChick Link#1” or “Install HappyChick Link#1” as you wish. Then tap “Install” and Happy Chick app will appear on your iPhone’s home screen.

Step 4: Go to “Settings” > “General” > “Device Management”, then click “Trust” to allow Happy Chick run on your iPhone.

Step 5: Open Happy Chick app, enable location service on this app. See, you have already installed Happy Chick on your iPhone successfully and you can play classic Pokemon game on your iPhone right now.

3. Delta

The third one we want to introduce is Delta emulator. Delta allows you to play old school games on your iPhone too. Like other emulators, it is also widely used among classic game player. As one of the best emulators, Delta has its advantages:

• Delta supports a variety of consoles include GB, GBA, GBC, SNES, NES, NDS, etc.
• It has many features, including multi-player support, Cloud syncing, iPad split-screen support and more.
• It supports for iOS 10 and above.
• It is a jailbreak-free emulator for iPhone.

As Apple App Store is not allows Delta to be download through due to some security reasons, in order to download Delta emulator, we need to use a third-party installer app named Emus4U.

How to Install Delta Emulator on Your iPhone Through Emus4U

Step 1: Open Emus4U page on Safari. Click “Install Emus4U” button. Then follow the guide to install it on your iPhone.

Step 2: After Emus4U app appears on your home screen, go to “Settings” > “General” > “Device Management” and trust the Emus4U profile.

Step 3: Open Emus4U app, go to “EMULATORS” section and search Delta. Tap “Get”.

Step 4: Tap “Install” on the pop-up window. After Delta is downloaded on your iPhone’s home screen, go to “Settings” > “General” > “Device Management” and trust the Delta profile. Till now, you have already install Delta emulator on your iPhone.

4 Game Play Color

Game Play Color is one of the best emulator for iPhone which allows you to play old school games on your iPhone. With the help of Game Play Color, you can play Pokemon on your iPhone quickly and conveniently. Here are some wonderful features of Game Play Color emulator:

• Game Play Color supports GB and GBC games.
• It allows you to enjoy your games in full, rich, 8-bit audio.
• The offline support function allows you to play games even without signal.

How to Install Game Play Color on Your iPhone?

Tip: Before installing Game Play Color, please make sure ROMs are downloaded on your Google Drive.

Step 1: Open Game Play Color website on Safari.

Step 2: Tap “Share” button at the bottom and select “Add to Home Screen”.

Step 3: On the pop-up window, tap “Add”. You will see a Game Play icon show on your iPhone’s home screen. Then tap it.

Step 4: After opening Game Play app, sign in your Google Drive account and sync your account by copying the access code it gives.

Step 5: The compatible ROMs will show on the screen, tap the game you want to play. That’s it, you can play classic game on your iPhone now.