View source for Game freeze

{{redirect|Freezing|the status condition|Freeze (status condition)}}
[[File:Redcrash.png|thumb|right|A [[Generation I]] game freezing]]
A '''game freeze''' occurs when the data completely stops flowing to the system, 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 and restart the game from the player's last [[Saving|save file]].

==Causes==
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 [[glitch]]es such as the [[Mew glitch]] incorrectly. Older cartridges and systems are also more prone to freezing than newer ones.

The most common cause of a game freeze is the game being given too many tasks at once. For instance, there is a higher probability of the game freezing when the player tries [[tweaking]].

Incorrect [[cheating|cheat codes]] used on cheating devices such as [[Action Replay]] or [[GameShark]] can result in game freezes. On rare occasions, incorrect cheats may possibly render the save file unplayable and 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. In very rare cases, the music (and not the remaining sounds) can be the only thing to freeze, leaving the game still playable. Sometimes game freezes are accompanied by garbled sprites, various vertical lines and other scrambled graphics pixels and/or tiles.

The game [[List of glitches in Generation III#Thunder glitch|may occasionally]] freeze while playing some copies of {{2v2|Ruby|Sapphire}} when a player's Pokémon uses {{m|Thunderbolt}} or {{m|Thunder}}, or when fleeing from a [[wild Pokémon]]; however, cases of the glitch actually occurring are exceedingly rare. The problems caused by the glitch occurring can be rectified by turning off the [[battle effects]]. The moves only cause a temporary repeat of the sound, and it will go away if the Pokémon taking the damage is defeated.

The game may also freeze if it is dropped, hit by any major force, has a dirty game cartridge/card, has been physically removed from the slot, or even if it is played on a faulty system (such as a Game Boy Color with low battery level). Game freezes are not limited to handheld systems, and it is possible for some home consoles to freeze up during gameplay.  Leaving out of bounds by using the walk through walls glitch/cheat also freezes the game.

=="Softlocking"==
{{Incomplete|section|newly created section, needs more examples and sources}}
Certain [[glitch]]es do not cause the game to outright crash ('hard' lock), but rather make it so that no buttons have any effect even though the game continues to function in other ways. Examples of this include the music still being played, sprites still being animated and NPCs continuing to move. All inputs do not work and the player must reset the game.
===In Generation I===
* In Generation I, a [[level]] 1 Pokémon or a level 171 using {{m|Psywave}} will cause the game to softlock. The level 0 soft lock occurs as the game attempts to generate a random number between 0 and 1.5 × the user's level (rounded down). No such number exists (floor 1×1.5 is still 1), preventing the game from continuing. <ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyIFL_-l2o4 Level 1 and level 171 Psywave infinite loop video by Crystal_.]</ref>
* Glitch experience groups with an equation that involves a division by 0 can cause a soft lock for a glitch Pokémon that uses it<ref>[http://forums.glitchcity.info/index.php/topic,6588.msg196448/topicseen.html#msg196448 Glitch City Laboratories post by Torchickens regarding glitch Pokémon experience groups.]</ref> after:
**Capturing it.
**Leveling it up.
**Viewing the first page of its summary if it is not level 100.
**Withdrawing it from a box.
**Winning a battle with it gaining experience.
**Talking to the [[Pokémon Day Care]] man after the Pokémon was stored there.
* Using the [[Mew glitch]] incorrectly (Not making the second [[Pokémon Trainer|trainer]] move)

*Another division by 0 is while battling another pokémon, if the attacker's attach/special attack is higher than 255 and the defender's defense/special is lower than 4. Or if The defender's current Defense/Special stat is 512 or 513 and the defender has used Reflect/Light Screen. Also if its current Defense/Special stat is 514 or higher when Reflect/Light Screen is up, it will be treated as if it was much lower due to a roll-over glitch.
The Pokémon Yellow glitch Pokémon [[4(h4?]] (hex:ED) uses the glitch hex:FF experience group with a division of 0 in its current experience equation so it is affected by the glitch.<ref>[http://forums.glitchcity.info/index.php/topic,6588.msg196436.html#msg196436 Glitch City Laboratories forums, post by TheZZAZZGlitch.]</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9kfmaX5KA8 4(h4? causing the lock-up.]</ref>
* In [[Kanto]]-based [[core series]] games, before obtaining the [[Boulder Badge]], a person blocks the path out of [[Pewter City]] to {{rt|3|Kanto}}. In [[Generation I]] games (except {{v2|Yellow}}), the [[Pewter Gym skip glitch]] allows the player to bypass this person and then talk to him from the right side, an action the developers did not anticipate.
:As the path the person walks is dependent on the side the player talks to him from, the game attempts to look up a path based on the player's coordinates. Specifically, the game looks in the memory and tries find the coordinates (y=16, x=36 or hex:10 24) at an address ending in 2, 6, A or E. It then executes a path based on a two byte pointer following the coordinates, but the game may seemingly never find the coordinates at an applicable address and soft lock.
* The glitch Pokémon [[9_(glitch_Pokémon)|9]] will softlock while being sent out by the player.
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==References==
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{{Glitches}}<br>
{{Project Glitchdex notice|no}}

[[Category:Glitch effects]]

[[ja:フリーズ]]