Alright folks, buckle up, because this week I spent way too many hours screaming at my phone trying to get Pokémon White 2 to actually run like it’s supposed to. Seriously, this rom headache turned into a whole weekend project I hadn’t planned for.
The Frustration Hits
So, I fired up my usual setup – DraStic emulator on my trusty Android phone, feeling good about replaying some Gen 5. Loaded the White 2 rom I’d snagged ages ago (probably from who knows where back then), hit start, and… nothing.
No intro sequence, no professor, just pure blackness. Just sat there like a brick. Tapped the screen a few times, mashed buttons – nada. Figured maybe it was a slow starter? Let it sit for like 5 minutes. Still black. Dead.
First reaction: “Seriously? It’s just sitting there!”
Digging In: The Trial and Error
Okay, deep breaths. Restarted the phone first, you know, the classic IT Crowd method. Turned it off and on again. Loaded up DraStic again… Same black screen. Ugh.
Thought maybe the rom file itself was busted. Grabbed a different copy of White 2 from my backup hard drive. Copied it over to the phone again. Same folder, same emulator… Load it up. Same darn black screen! Wasted an hour just finding and transferring files.
Initial thought: “This rom must be cursed. Or my phone hates fun today.”
Getting Technical(ish)
Started poking around online forums, trying to see if anyone else got bricked playing these games. Realized Gen 5 (Black, White, Black 2, White 2) can be picky little brats sometimes. Found a few leads:
- AP Patching: Apparently, you sometimes need a special patch file? Sounded like tech gobbledygook, but I was desperate. Found a site talking about this ‘AP Fix’ thing, downloaded a tiny patch file meant for Black 2/White 2 specifically.
- Bios Files: Then I saw chatter about needing specific Nintendo DS bios files dumped into the emulator’s system folder. Who knew? I’d never needed them before for other games! Dug through some old archives I had, found ds_* and ds_* files. Felt like finding buried treasure, honestly.
Feeling now: “Okay, maybe there’s hope? Still feels like I’m building a spaceship.”
The Fix Attempts
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Tried the AP Patch First: There was an option in DraStic’s rom list: “Apply AP Patch”. Long pressed my sad White 2 rom file, selected that option. Held my breath… Hit play. Still pure darkness. Nope. Nothing changed.
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Added the BIOS Files: Went into the DraStic system folder on my phone. Copied those two bios files (ds_* and ds_*) into the `/sdcard/drastic/system/` folder where they were supposed to live. Restarted the emulator for good measure. Loaded White 2 again… Black screen. Still mocking me! Frustration levels spiking.
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The Power Move: Both! Okay, fine. Applied the AP patch again through DraStic. But get this: I restarted DraStic completely after adding the bios files and applying the patch. I hadn’t closed it properly before. Just closed the app fully, opened it back up… Selected White 2… And BOOM! The spinning pentagon intro animation started!
Victory yell: “It lives! Finally!”
What Worked & Lessons Learned
Turns out, for this grumpy Gen 5 rom on DraStic:
- You DO need the right DS BIOS files in the system folder. Don’t ask me why; maybe it’s emulator magic.
- You often DO need that specific AP patch applied within the emulator itself. The patch alone didn’t work, neither did the BIOS alone for me.
- RESTARTING THE EMULATOR after applying fixes might be the secret sauce I missed the first time around. I was too impatient.
Moral of the story? Sometimes it’s not just one thing. It’s that weird combo of patches, bios files, and actually restarting the app. Wasted my Saturday, but hey, got to play some White 2 eventually. Hope this saves someone else the headache!