So, you want to relive your childhood and play the original Pokémon games from Gameboy Colour and Gameboy Advance? You can do this quickly by using a Pokemon emulator to run old GB and GBC games on both Android and iPhone too.
There are a couple of different emulators you can use to play classic Pokemon games – we’re going to look at the best options.
How to play Pokémon on an iPhone – Emulator guide
An Emulator is a programme that will allow your device, PC, Linux, or Mac to host games of the past. Using an emulator is the best way to play classic Pokemon games on an iPhone.
Although games from back then were smaller in size, running an emulator can slow your device down because the processing power required to play these games tends to take up a big chunk.
Something like VisualBoyAdvance will allow you to play any Game Boy Colour and Game Boy Advance game that was ever released. So, if you are a super nerd for retro gaming like me, then it is worth looking into.
The good news, you can now play the classics on an Emulator using your iPhone – the bad news is that it’s not quite as simple as teleporting in Pokémon Go. Here’s a few reasons why you may want to install an emulator.
What are some of the reasons you would install an emulator to play Pokémon?
- You will be able to play the game on your PC rather than using your mobile device to play the game.
- You can use Pokémon Go hacks more easily.
- You can play old-school Pokémon games from your past and relive your childhood without the bad lighting of Nintendo’s original handhelds.
If you want to play GBA and GBC games on a more modern device, installing an emulator is the right move.
So is your iPhone powerful enough to host an emulator? The short answer is yes. In this article, we will look at some of the emulators available for you to play Pokémon on.
How to install a GBA4iOS emulator for iPhone?
The GBA4iOS emulator is a Gameboy Advance emulator created by iOS developer Riley Testu. Emulates not only Gameboy Advance games but also Gameboy Colour and Gameboy games.
Development has now ended but it is kept up to date in general through its open-source code and developers that want to keep it going.

So if you want to play Gameboy Advance games, Gameboy Colour games, and Gameboy games, in this case, old-school classic Pokémon, then this is the emulator for you.
To install this emulator on your iPhone follow the process below:
- Go to gba4iosapp.com on the device you want to install the emulator on.
- Install the most up-to-date emulator on the website.
- Once the Pokémon emulator is installed on your device, open the app.
- It will pop up with a new window asking if you want to access the application or not.
- Choose ‘Continue’ to open the application.
- If the emulator is not working at this point, go to ‘Settings.’
- Go to ‘General.’
- Now select ‘Date & Time.’
- Set the date to anything previous to 2014.
- Open the Emulator and it should be working now.
- Now change the ‘Date & Time’ to ‘Automatic.’
- If You still cannot access the app go back to ‘Settings.’
- Go to ‘General.’
- Choose ‘Profile and Device Management.’
- Choose the emulator ‘ENTERPRISE APP.’
- Now choose ‘Trust.’
- If you already have access to your own ROMs. You can upload it to the emulator.
- Go to ‘Settings’ in the top left of the application.
- Sign in to your DropBox account to get the ROMS uploaded by turning on Dropbox sync.
- Click on the + icon in the top right corner.
- Choose the game for example ‘Pokémon’ or any other game you have a ROM for.
- Choose ‘Download.’
- If you see the prompt to download and install the game from the web browser.
- There are three tabs you need to select all tabs so you can play Game Boy Colour and Game Boy Advance games on the same screen.
- Tap on Pokémon Go.
- Now you should be able to play games on the emulator.
How do I install Happy Chick on my iPhone?
The Happy Chick Emulator is an emulation platform that allows you to play numerous types of games such as retro Pokémon, Super Mario Brothers, and Final Fantasy and it is supported on both iOS and Android devices.
It is easy to use and generally doesn’t require your phone to be jailbroken, it also has support for cloud saving which is something that is not necessarily offered on other emulators.

It is important to note that you should have backups of your own ROMs as installing ROMs that don’t belong to you is illegal. So if you want to play some retro Pokémon on your iPhone or Android device then this emulator is a great option.
To install this emulator on your iPhone follow the process below;
- Download Happy Chick on Safari.
- Click ‘Install now.’
- Select ‘Install HappyChick Link#1’
- Choose ‘Install.’
- The Happy Chick app will now be on your Home Screen.
- Go to ‘Settings.’
- Go to ‘General.’
- Go to ‘Device Management.’
- Select ‘Trust.’
- Open the Happy Chick app and turn on the location service for this app.
- Now you can play Classic Pokémon on your iPhone.
Conclusion
In conclusion, emulators have been around as long as gamers have been around to use them, they allow for us as gamers to experience the best memories of our childhoods. So if you want to play classic Pokémon Red and Blue or any other classic Pokémon game then an emulator for your iPhone is a great option.
With the advancement of technology in 2021 phones are now powerful enough to run these types of emulators so if you want some retro gaming because Pokémon Go isn’t scratching the itch then above we have provided a couple of the best emulators available for iPhone.