Supported ROMs

pkmn does not ship the original games' art or sound. The client reads your own dumps of the cartridges, decodes what it needs and stores the result on your computer. Your dumps are read where they are: nothing is copied, uploaded or changed.

Accepted cartridges

A file is accepted only when its SHA-1 matches a known retail dump below. The header is read to explain a refusal (wrong region, wrong game, a trimmed file), never to accept a file. Patched files, ROM hacks, trimmed dumps and overdumps are refused. The file name and extension do not matter.

Ruby and Sapphire, and Black 2 and White 2, are recognised so the client can name them when it refuses them, but they are not used.

Which ones you need

You need one accepted dump from each of these four groups before LOGIN and Register unlock:

• Pokémon Emerald
• Pokémon FireRed or LeafGreen
• Pokémon HeartGold or SoulSilver
• Pokémon Black or White

Until then the title screen shows "Missing required ROMs — check Game Data."

Adding them

The Extract from your cartridge window opens by itself on the title screen until every group is present. You can also open it from Game Data on the title screen or from Settings → Game Data in game.

• Select File on a cartridge's row picks a dump anywhere on your disk.
• Open Roms Folder opens the client's own roms folder. Drop your dumps there and the window finds them.
• Extract decodes the art and sound. If it is interrupted, the button reads Resume.

When a release needs new art from a cartridge, the title screen says "Artwork out of date — re-extract in Game Data." You can still sign in.

The client's data folder (where the extracted files live) is: