Game freeze

This article is about the game phenomenon. For the status ailment Freeze, see Status ailment.

A game freeze is when the data completely stops flowing to the screen, thus causing the game to lock up. During a game freeze, the player cannot move, speak to other characters, select an object, or use any buttons. The only way to escape a game freeze is to simply turn the power off. Game freezes can occur due to the lack of information input into the game, such as when walking out of the boundaries of an area. They also occur when performing glitches such as the Mew trick incorrectly.

A game freezing in Generation I

Incorrect codes on devices such as an Action Replay or GameShark can result in encountering glitch Pokémon, that can cause the game to freeze. In addition, a game may freeze if the player has used too many cheats on it, thus rendering the save file unplayable and the game permanently damaged. Game freezes are often accompanied by an odd buzzing sound; however, sometimes the normal music for wherever the player was before the game froze can be heard. Frequently, a loop or constant replay of whatever sound was being played prior to the freeze will be played. Sometimes, a freeze will play no sound, even if there was a sound being played before the freeze. Some game freezes are also accompanied by opcode errors when playing with an emulator, meaning that the game gives incorrect or impossible instructions to the hardware of the device, effectively crashing the game.

The game may occasionally freeze while playing any Generation III game, when a player's Pokémon uses Thunderbolt or Thunder, or when fleeing from a wild Pokémon, though these cases are very rare. The Thunder/Thunderbolt problems can be rectified by turning off battle animations.

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