Elementary growth processes such as kink initiation, adding a molecule to a kink, and adding a molecule between two neighboring kinks and between two grains are theoretically studied in pentacene films by adding one molecule at a time to a predefined aggregate. For each molecule, the potential energy surface is calculated using the MM3 molecular mechanics force field, which allowed one to identify useful parameters like the energy barrier for diffusion and the energy to create kinks, as well as defect configurations. Depending on the properties of the potential energy surface and the resulting growth-condition-dependent probabilities of initiating defect configurations in the film, three types of pentacene defects are identified: a thermally activated defect, an intrinsic defect, and a kinetic defect. Upon film growth, most defects relax into the ideal crystal configuration. Bulk defects that resist relaxation have densities lower than 10(16) defects/cm(3) at typical growth conditions. Grain boundary defects, on the other hand, are very stable. Moreover, interstitial molecules at grain boundaries are identified as a source of compressive stress.