Zorana's Guide To The Poke Classic Network!
Do you want to connect your DS Pokemon games to the internet long after Nintendo shut down their servers? Do you wish to trade and battle with your internet friends who play the gen 4 and 5 Pokemon games? Do you have a desire to watch and upload battle videos like you used to years ago?
If you said yes to any of these questions then I have the thing for you!
This is a fan server for Pokemon DPPT, HGSS, BW, and BW2 that's running with the help of the Kaeru WFC! Not only does it let you connect your games to the internet again, the site will let you see what Pokemon are up on the GTS for both the gen 4 and gen 5 servers!
Below is my guide on how to get this working for you so you can bring a new life to these wonderful Pokemon games. Please let me know if I missed anything in here and I'll try my best to fix it if I can.
Section 0 - Getting Started:
Before you get connected, make sure you are using the device you plan on doing all of your online connections with!
For some reason you are locked to one device for this stuff and using another one will wipe your PalPad, and assign you a new friend code. Since what's available in the GTS search function is based on SEEN Pokemon the most reliable way to get particular pokemon (without marking everything as seen via cheating/hacking) would be trading them from people you've registered in the PalPad.
I do not have anything against cheating to mark Pokemon as seen in your dex to make the GTS more functional as that will not affect anyone else but you. I've done that myself since finding what you need can be a nightmare otherwise. I point it out so people know it's an option if they need it.
Do NOT trade cheated/hacked/illegal Pokemon over the GTS. That is unfair to the person who's getting the Pokemon you're sending since they won't know what it is before getting it.
If you only plan on using the GTS then you don't need to worry as much about staying on the same system, I tested if the pokemon gets stuck if you swap systems using my physical copy of Diamond and the Pokemon came back just fine.
The Poke Classic Network works on ALL DS/3Ds systems!
I will note that the Gen 5 games are easier to set up if you're using a 3Ds since they can see and read the Wifi settings of the 3Ds and can just have the DNS swapped without much additional set up. This will be explained in the second section.
The third section is a small bit on the MelonDS emulator and how to get that working for you.
Section 1 - Connecting DPPT/HGSS on all systems
and BW/BW2 on the DS/DSi:
What you'll need:
- The console of choice
- The game of choice, preferably played to the point where you can access the GTS for testing purposes.
- In DPPT you can find the GTS building in Jubilife City.
- In HGSS you can find the WFC building in Goldenrod City.
- In BW/BW2 you can access the GTS in the top part of every Pokecenter.
- I don't remember when exactly the GTS is unlocked for the games unfortunately.
- Some way to create a Wifi network point with a compatible WEP (password type) or just no password.
- The easiest way I've found is just using a hotspot without a password.
- I know some modern routers will let you create an extra network like this if you know how. I do not and it'd likely be different for each router anyways.
- There are also some programs that can make one using your computer. I've used one for a bit before it locked what I needed behind a paywall.
What to do:
The first step is setting up the connection!
Start up the Wifi network point so it'll show up on your system.
I recommend using a hotspot that doesn't have a password on it. Make sure you change the bandwidth to 2.4 GHz, since 5 5 GHz doesn't seem to work.
DO NOT PUBLICLY OPEN YOUR HOTSPOT IN A PUBLIC PLACE!
You do not want someone deciding to eat up your data while you're trading pokemon, so only do this in a place you know is safe to do so, like at home or at a friend's place.
Once you've done that you'll want to open your game and go to the Nintendo WFC Settings. The button will look like one of these depending on the game you're playing:
This will take you to the DS wifi settings that are saved to the cart!
Next you'll want to tap on the big blue button which will take you to this screen:
You may or may not have connections here already if you've played before Nintendo's servers shut down. Erase them now if you do as they will no longer work. Then you'll want to tap the None button for Connection 1.
I'll be demonstrating using Connection 2 myself, but stick to the first connection.
Tap on the Search for access point button. This will bring up a list of nearby connections that your system can see. You'll want to tap on the one you started earlier. It will test the connection and the boot you back to the screen with the big blue button. Tap the big blue button and then the Ready button that's now showing up for the first connection.
Now scroll down to the very bottom and turn off Auto-obtain DNS and change the primary DNS to 178.62.43.212. You can also change the secondary DNS to the same one as well or keep it all 0s.
Once you're done it should look something like this:
Save the settings, close out of the Wifi connections menu, start your save, and try connecting to the GTS!
If you connect to the GTS then congrats, you are now able to use the Poke Classic Network! If it doesn't work the first try don't worry and try again. You can also swap the secondary DNS to the other one you weren't using and try again that way.
Section 2 - Connecting BW/BW2 on the 3Ds/2Ds:
This one is super simple and doesn't require any additional set up! Sorry I don't have any pictures for this one now. I may edit this to add a couple later.
What you'll need:
- Game of choice
- Console of choice
What to do:
Open the internet settings on your 3Ds and tap on Connection settings.
Tap on a connection you know is working, tap Change Settings, then go to the next page.
Tap on DNS and tap No, then tap Detailed Setup. Change the primary DNS to 178.62.43.212 and either keep the secondary one as all 0s or use the same DNS address you put in the primary DNS slot.
Save your settings and go start your game, then try connecting to the GTS.
If you connect to the GTS then congrats, you are now able to use the Poke Classic Network! If it doesn't work the first try don't worry and try again. You can also swap the secondary DNS to the other one you weren't using and try again that way.
Section 3 - Connecting any DS Pokemon game using MelonDS (emulator):
This method will let you connect to the Poke Classic Network if you don't have the physical hardware or can't connect your system to the internet for any reason and know how to back up your save to your computer.
What you'll need:
- The MelonDS emulator
- Desume doesn't have Wifi functionality so you'll need to move your saves over if that is your primary DS emulator.
- This is a desktop only emulator. If someone knows how to connect a mobile emulator please let me know so I can add the information to this guide!
- If the latest version doesn't work for some reason try again with the second newest one.
- Game of choice
What to do:
The steps are nearly identical to the first section once you have the emulator running! Instead of using your own connection though you'll be using the one MelonDS makes for you, so there's no need to worry about finding a way to make one yourself.
The access point will look like this when searching for an access point:
Page copied and edited from my Tumblr post version of this guide.
