If you grew up playing Pokemon on DS or 3DS, you’ve probably run into the same frustration I did: certain Pokemon are locked to specific game versions, events, or limited-time distributions that are long over. It’s even more annoying when you’re playing through a game on Citra and realize you can’t complete your Pokedex or build your dream competitive team without trading with someone who owns a different copy. That’s why so many players look for how to get any Pokemon on Citra emulator, and after years of testing methods and fixing my own corrupted saves, I’ve put together this no-fluff guide to do it safely.
I’m not going to tell you to download random sketchy files or use hacks that will brick your playthrough. All the methods below are tested by the larger Citra community, work for both Nightly and Canary Citra builds, and won’t put you at risk of bans if you follow the basic rules I outline.
Pre-Requisites Before You Try to Get Any Pokemon on Citra Emulator
Before you start adding Pokemon to your save, there are a few non-negotiable steps you need to take to avoid losing hours of progress. First, only use this guide with ROMs of games you physically own. Downloading ROMs of games you don’t own is piracy, and it violates Nintendo’s terms of service. This guide is intended for players who want to modify their own legally obtained game copies for personal use.
Next, make sure your Citra install is updated to the latest version. Outdated builds often have bugs with cheat code support and save file exporting that can cause errors when you try to add new Pokemon. You can check for updates directly from the Citra menu in 2 clicks, so there’s no excuse to skip this step.
Third, back up your save file before making any changes. I can’t stress this enough. Even if you follow every step perfectly, a random glitch or incompatible cheat can corrupt your save, and you’ll lose all your progress if you don’t have a copy saved to a separate folder on your device. To back up your save, right click the game in your Citra library, select “Open Save Data Location”, and copy the entire folder to your desktop or a cloud storage drive.
Finally, if you plan to use cheat codes, turn off any online connectivity features in Citra first. This prevents you from accidentally connecting to official Nintendo servers with modded save data, which can lead to account or IP bans.
3 Safe Methods to Unlock Any Pokemon in Your Citra Playthrough
There are three main methods the Citra community uses to add any Pokemon to a playthrough, each with its own pros and cons depending on your skill level and what you want to achieve. They are:
Cheat codes are the fastest option if you just want to add a specific rare or event Pokemon quickly. You can find pre-tested cheat codes for every official Pokemon game from trusted community hubs, and you don’t need any extra tools to use them. To enable cheats in Citra, open your game, go to the “Cheats” menu, select “Add Cheat”, paste the code, name it, and check the box to enable it. Only use cheat codes from trusted community sources—random codes you find on low-quality blogs often have errors that will crash your game or corrupt your save. I learned this the hard way when I used a random Mew cheat for HeartGold before beating the Elite Four, and my game froze every time I tried to enter a Pokemon Center.
Trading is the most “legitimate” method if you don’t want to use cheats or save editors. Citra supports local wireless trading between two instances of the emulator on the same device, or between two devices on the same wifi network. If you have a copy of the other game that has the Pokemon you want, you can run two Citra windows at the same time, trade the Pokemon over, and you won’t have to modify your save at all. The only downside is that you need to own both game copies, and you still have to catch or obtain the Pokemon in the second game first.
Step-by-Step Walkthrough for Using PKHex on Citra
PKHex is the most popular and trusted save editing tool for Pokemon games, and it gives you full control over every detail of the Pokemon you add to your save. It’s been used by the Pokemon community for over a decade, and it’s completely safe to use as long as you download it from its official distribution page.
First, export your save file from Citra using the same method you used to back it up: right click your game in the library, open the save data location, and copy the main save file to your desktop. Next, open PKHex and drag the save file into the PKHex window. You’ll see your entire current party and PC boxes load up, along with all your trainer information.
To add a new Pokemon, right click any empty slot in your PC or party, and select “Set” to open the Pokemon editor. You can search for any Pokemon by name, select its form, nature, ability, level, IVs, EVs, and even set it to shiny if you want. You can also choose its moves, held item, and origin details to make it look like you caught it legitimately if you plan to trade it later. Make sure the Pokemon you add is compatible with your game version—for example, you can’t add a Paldea-region Wooper to a copy of Pokemon X, because that form didn’t exist when the game was released. Adding incompatible Pokemon will cause glitches, crashes, or even permanent save corruption.
Once you’re done editing the Pokemon, click “OK” to add it to your save. Then go to “File” > “Save SAV” in PKHex to export the edited save file. Copy the edited save file back into your Citra save data folder, replacing the original file. Open your game in Citra, and you’ll see the new Pokemon in your party or PC box exactly as you set it up. This method takes a few extra minutes compared to using cheat codes, but it’s way more reliable, and you won’t run into random game crashes from badly written codes.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid When Adding Pokemon to Citra
After helping dozens of new Citra users fix their broken saves, I’ve noticed the same mistakes come up over and over again. The first and most dangerous mistake is downloading pre-modded save files from random websites. A lot of these files are bundled with malware, or have invalid Pokemon that will crash your game as soon as you try to use them in battle. It’s always safer to edit your own save file with trusted tools than to download someone else’s.
Second, never use any tools or methods to add modded Pokemon to public online Citra lobbies. Most community-run lobbies have rules against modified Pokemon, and you’ll get kicked or banned immediately if you’re caught using them. Even worse, if you connect to official Nintendo servers with modded Pokemon, you risk getting your Nintendo account banned permanently, which will lock you out of all online services on any Nintendo device you own.
Third, don’t give your Pokemon illegal moves or abilities that they can’t get naturally in the game. For example, giving a Charizard Hydro Pump might seem funny, but the game won’t recognize the move, and it will crash every time you try to use it in battle. PKHex has a built-in legal checker that will tell you if the Pokemon you’re creating has any invalid moves, abilities, or stats, so make sure to use that before saving your edited file.
Finally, if you’re playing a ROM hack instead of an official Pokemon game, make sure any Pokemon you add are included in the hack’s Pokedex. A lot of ROM hacks remove certain Pokemon or add custom ones, so adding a Pokemon that isn’t in the hack’s data will make it show up as a glitched MissingNo type Pokemon that can corrupt your save if you interact with it.
Learning how to get any Pokemon on Citra emulator is a great way to complete your Pokedex, experiment with weird team compositions, or build a competitive team without spending hundreds of hours grinding for rare spawns or tracking down long-expired event distributions. As long as you back up your saves, stick to trusted tools, and only modify games you legally own, you won’t run into any major issues. I’ve used all these methods for years across dozens of Pokemon playthroughs, and they’ve made every run feel fresh and fun, even when I’m replaying a game I’ve beaten 10 times before.
