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Rules in the game
First encounter per area, dupes and shiny clause, level caps (warning, hard or lock), item, shop and healing bans, HM rule – all enforced inside the game.
LinkLocke plays your Generation 1–5 classics and watches every rule right inside the game: first encounter, level cap, fallen team members, item bans. Solo or in a Soul Link with friends – no spreadsheets, no cheating, no notes.
Until now, a Nuzlocke needed an emulator, a randomizer, a rules spreadsheet and a lot of self-discipline. LinkLocke bundles it all – and the rules are no longer checked by your conscience, but by the program.
Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS – with shaders, freely adjustable DS screens, controller support and a crisp picture even on big monitors.
Reroll encounters, starters, trainers and shops – with ready-made presets. If you like, every new attempt gets a new seed, fully re-randomized.
LinkLocke reads along while you play: second encounters can't be caught, fallen Pokémon are released, banned things really don't work. No cheating, no forgetting.
First encounter per area, dupes and shiny clause, level caps (warning, hard or lock), item, shop and healing bans, HM rule – all enforced inside the game.
Official Nuzlocke, Hardcore, Relaxed and community classics like Kaizo, Monolocke or Ironmon – or build your own ruleset.
Up to four players, each with their own game. Catches from the same area are linked – if one dies, the partner dies too. With live video of your teammates, chat and pings.
Per preset in eight categories: overall, fastest time, fewest deaths, least money, fewest Pokémon, weakest team, lowest level, most shinies.
Everyone plays the same randomized world: a new seed every week, a challenge with an extra rule every month – each with its own ranking.
Publish, download and rate presets. In the Wishes section you suggest new features and vote on what comes next.
Same seed, same start for everyone. A spectator page with live video of all participants and a moderator view for casters.
OBS overlays for team, graveyard, timer and alerts, automatic scene switching on a death or boss fight, LiveSplit control and your run in your Discord status.
A memorial for every fallen Pokémon, a run summary with timeline, personal stats, achievements and a run card to share.
After a game over, the next attempt can start on its own – before the starter choice, with a new seed. Autosave included.
What counts is play time, not wall-clock time: fast-forward is allowed. Savestates and rewinding go into a separate “with assists” list.
German, English, Spanish, French, Japanese and Chinese – in the app and on this website. New versions install with one click.
Download and run the installer. If Windows shows “Windows protected your PC”, click “More info” → “Run anyway”.
Under “Library”, choose the folder with your own game copies. LinkLocke detects edition and language by itself.
“Nuzlocke” → “New run”: choose a game, ruleset and randomizer preset. Done – the game starts randomized.
The rules run alongside you. The run panel shows badges, level cap, team and deaths – banned actions are blocked in the game.
Create an account, add friends, open a Soul Link group – and your runs land on the leaderboards.
The rule engine knows the English and German versions of these editions. Other games run in the emulator, but without rule monitoring.
Red, Blue, Yellow
Gold, Silver, Crystal
Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, FireRed, LeafGreen
Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold, SoulSilver
Black, White, Black 2, White 2
Important: LinkLocke does not include any games, ROMs or BIOS files. You only use your own copies of your games that you made legally. We do not provide games and do not link to download sites.
No. LinkLocke is free and open source. Every feature is there for everyone – there are no paid features and no ads.
A PC with Windows 10 or 11 and your own copies of your games. For Nintendo DS games at high resolution, a recent graphics card is recommended; a controller is optional.
From your own cartridges. LinkLocke doesn't ship any games, and we don't help with getting games from the internet. You are responsible for the game copies you use.
Only for online features: Soul Link, friends, leaderboards, community and tournaments. Playing solo, randomizing and Nuzlocke rules work completely without an account and without internet.
LinkLocke works with its own copies: for every run, a randomized copy of the game is created, and your original files stay untouched. LinkLocke backs up your saves automatically.
Not at the moment – LinkLocke is Windows only.
The installed version tells you about new versions itself and installs them with one click – just not in the middle of a run.
In the app under “Community” → “Wishes” you can submit ideas and vote. For bugs, “Copy diagnostics” in the settings helps – you can send us the code.
LinkLocke is a private hobby project and will stay free. If you like, you can support the project voluntarily – for example for the server, a custom domain and the time that goes into new features.
Voluntary and with nothing in return: supporters don't get any extra features or perks. This is not a tax-deductible donation; no donation receipt can be issued. Payment is handled by an external provider, whose terms and privacy notices apply.