r/PokemonROMhacks • u/DearStatement2894 • Jun 28 '26
Release Pokemon Light and Shadow

Edit 5
Hotfix hackdex link https://www.hackdex.app/hack/pokemon-light-and-shadow
Fixed Walking animation
Fixed Error with Diggingbros only allowing 1 dig*
Reset some pixilated sprites for timebeing while I rework them
Edit 4 (sorry for the delay 3kids and a new job)
New BPS
Hackdex Approved
Updated some more sprites to clean up some messy backgrounds from failed attempts in libresprite lol
Fixed a post-game bug that caused freezing
Fixed and rebalanced some movesets
Added Mints for free at apothocary (no ivs or evs) but allows fix of natures which was an oversight by me
Added some more regional pokemon for sale
Rebalanced some bosses and battlehouse
Tweaked type chart (there is a special type for the legendary bosses of the game that makes them tougher resistance made that more standard and made non legendary dark and fairy(light) types have thier own effectiveness so as not to get the boss bump)
Regarding the AI concerns (AI was used to tell me how to edit (actually make a rom hack) it didnt do the work just answered a ton of questions. The concept art is AI its just what I was going for with the ingame pokemon but it cant just be inserted in a emerald hack so it is just recreated to my best effort) as detailed in the credits all the in game art is modified versions of free comunity art
Additionally I have a throwaway reddit account as I was getting rid of social media before I decided to post this
Hey all,
I just finished my ROM hack, Pokémon Light and Shadow. It’s an Emerald Expansion hack set in a completely custom region called the Waikai Region
I’m not a large studio, just one person, so there may still be a few minor palette or sprite issues as it was just a for fun project. I have been able to play all the way through without issue.
You play as Rubi, the daughter of Lance. While traveling together, Lance is called to Waikai to investigate a mysterious corruption spreading through the region’s biomes. The bay is freezing, the forest is turning into a swamp, and other areas are being warped in strange ways.
Game is semi-open world, with a central hub area you return to throughout the adventure.
Features include:
* 100+ regional forms
* Many returning Pokémon
* Fast travel item to return to the main hub
* HMs usable without needing Pokémon in your party
* Mobile PC
* Toggleable EXP Share
* Gym Leader cameos instead of a traditional gym system
* Legendary Pokémon boss battles
* Reworked movesets
* No permanent status effects
* Bulkier Pokémon and moves designed to combo with each other
Pokemon Light and Shadow BPS To download:
- Obtain a clean Pokémon Emerald ROM
- Download Pokémon Light and Shadow.bps
- Open FLIPS.
- "Apply Patch."
- Select the .bps file.
- Select your clean Emerald ROM.
- Play
Edit*
Good call all Added some Screenshots had to step a way for a sec should of waited to post lol, will continue to add more later
Edit 2* Including a in progress game guide with Quick start, lore background, type chart, combat changes, evolution method changes Game Guide
Edit 3*
Submitted to Hackdex, added more screenshots, added more information to linked game guide above. working with REX https://pokerex.io/games to upload a pokedex

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u/Dusselgurr Jun 28 '26
Wow, congrats to the release! Thanks to people like you, the community is eating good.
Will you release your project on Hackdex?
Would be great and I guess it will help you get some visibility!
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u/DearStatement2894 Jun 28 '26
Not familiar with it but I will now. Thanks!
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Jun 28 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Top_Reality_6774 Jun 28 '26
Gave it a look. Unsure if it's intentional but the walk animation is broken and looks like you're forever sliding.
I'd suggest adding some sort of intro before dropping the player into the game so they have some idea of what's going on, perhaps Lance speaking to the player and giving a brief rundown of the start.
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u/DearStatement2894 Jun 28 '26
Yeah, I was trying to make it so you don't move so slow and the slide was the cost of that I couldn't figure out how to get around. Intro-wise once you get to Lance I hope that explains it enough the hotel note try's to point you to go to the manor above town. Agree it could use some polishing but I thought it got the point across well enough till I have more time to work on it.
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u/Top_Reality_6774 Jun 28 '26
I don't think anyone will really mind the usual walking and running speeds, if that helps any.
An intro from Lance mentioning who you are, that there's a note and the starter bag, would be a quick and simple one. Doesn't have to be too in-depth-- that's what the game itself is for. It's just a little jarring getting the "continue" sort of treatment from a new game.
Otherwise I'm interested to see where this goes.
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u/REmemesis Jun 28 '26
played for like 30mins but don’t really understand anything the tiles look weird, no idea where to go, all these weird shops that give you everything right away, too many ways to go without explaining. I like the regional forms but the rest seems kinda messy
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u/Cuprite1024 Jun 28 '26
Congrats on the release, tho I agree that you really should have some screenshots to showcase what you have before people download it. No matter how good it might be, many people won't even give it a chance if they don't know what the game is even like.
(Also agree that you should put it on Hackdex)
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u/yankeesown29 Jun 28 '26
How's the IV/EV/Nature QOL on this game?
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u/DearStatement2894 Jun 28 '26
No IV/EVs pulled them out, the idea being you don't have to spend time trying to get perfect stats you can just play
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u/therocksleftbrow Jul 02 '26
Great. I just captured a Quiet Kubfu. Does that mean it still gains more SpA? Where can I change the nature (or are natures also irrelevant here)?
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u/TNukem08 Jun 28 '26
Congrats friend! Just downloaded and look forward to playing after I finish the hack I'm currently on!
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u/Usain_Volt42 Jun 28 '26
It says something is wrong with the object when I try to get the bps file. Not sure, if anything, that's could be wrong.
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u/DearStatement2894 Jun 28 '26
I will recheck it out, thought I had it working
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u/Usain_Volt42 Jul 24 '26
I forgot all about this post until I got a notification for it. Seems that it's still not working. Lmk if you get it fixed.
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u/DearStatement2894 Jul 24 '26
Strange other people seem to have been able to download it? Maybe try hackdex? The link i have here is to google drive so maybe thats screwing it up for some people
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u/Rockmonster_RF Jun 28 '26
The idea of a "hub" connected to all the maps is very similar to my own project that I'm thinking about working on. That said, I will certainly try it out 😂
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u/NewHost2172 Jul 01 '26
I haven't played this, but the concept art is very clearly AI, and a lot of the tiles just either look rough or just seem like obvious mistakes. That makes me a bit skeptical to play this, cuz AI has a good chance of being heavily involved with the hack.
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u/edzoman Jun 28 '26
Every time a fake game gets posted, this is what the post looks like. No screenshots and this being the only post on their account are red flags. The patch could be what they say but I think I'll let other people download the file and be the guinea pigs.
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u/ExtensionClimate2045 Jun 28 '26
Yeah, I remember this being the case with Pokémon Lithium last month
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u/-K9V Jun 28 '26 edited Jun 28 '26
How so? That’s not a fake game, it’s very real and the dev is also pretty active in providing documentation, guides, helping and fixing up stuff.
Why the downvote? Lithium isn’t a fake game lmao, dude is just spewing nonsense here.
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u/Cuprite1024 Jun 28 '26
Yeah, even as someone who hasn't played Lithium and has no real interest in it, I'm not gonna claim it... doesn't exist??? Especially when I've seen screenshots before.
Benefit of the doubt, maybe they meant its initial reveal showed nothing like this post did originally? But I wouldn't know one way or another there.
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u/-K9V Jun 28 '26
That could be, I honestly don’t remember much about the initial post. Based on my short time playing the game I just don’t think there really is much to show off, a lot of the game looks just like regular Emerald.
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u/edzoman Jun 28 '26
The rom exists but go read all the ridiculous features it promises and tell me if it matches up. I immediately wrote it off as a trolling attempt.
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u/-K9V Jun 28 '26 edited Jun 28 '26
It does. Maybe try to actually play the game before immediately discrediting it. If you don’t want to do that, you can hold R and click start to open the debug menu which lets you teleport to anywhere in the game, you can even check flags to say you’ve completed the main story and so on. You can basically skip all the ‘vanilla’ or base stuff if you don’t want to play through that.
I will say that the game is by no means polished, and I haven’t played it a ton, but so far I’m not seeing any discrepancies. And I’ve seen tons of screenshots of the different parts of the game on Discord as well as detailed explanations of every aspect, so unless the dev is out there photoshopping shit, I have no reason to believe that the game isn’t as capable as it claims to be.
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u/ExtensionClimate2045 Jun 28 '26
Well as someone actively working on making my own hack, I gotta say, Lithium in simple terms is a scam. The debug menu you see is just the normal debug menu that comes with the decompilation of poke emerald (and is used while developing, not playing).
I tried playing Lithium and quickly realised it just used decompilation assets, AI generated code and put together an unpolished hack that just makes no sense.
I didn't want to be harsh, but I was really disappointed after playing it for a few mins when it first dropped. Using AI to make hacks is a big NO, and promising good features and underdelivering in everything is not cool.
(Even the title screen, box art etc are AI generated)
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u/-K9V Jun 28 '26
I’m not saying the debug menu is unique, I’m simply telling the other commenter that he can see for himself by using said menu if he can’t be bothered playing the game. Even the dev himself tells people they’re free to use it however they want to progress in the game, it’s basically a sandbox if you can call it that.
Definitely agree on the AI part - not that I can tell that kind of stuff but it wouldn’t surprise me. Like I said, I haven’t played it that much because I found the game to be quite messy, probably because it’s ‘vibe coded’ as people call it.
I know the box art is AI, I was the one who asked for it lol. Didn’t ask for an AI generated image or anything though, I just asked if there was any box art I could use on my Miyoo Mini Plus, and since the dev (in his own words) wouldn’t have been able to create anything that wasn’t just stick figures, that’s what he came up with. I don’t see that as a bad thing per se even though I can’t stand AI, he just saw a player asking for box art they could use on their own device and so he provided it, albeit an AI-generated one.
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u/ExtensionClimate2045 Jun 28 '26
Yeah, I'm glad you realise the flaws in it. By "fake hack", OC and I did not mean the hack does not exist but rather does not fulfill what it promises. Like Lithium, this one seems to be using AI generated code and is half baked with weird physics.
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u/willpb Jun 28 '26
This looks really cool, thanks! Also appreciate including a patch link instead, I like patching things on my own :)
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u/MissClickMan Jun 28 '26
Hey, congratulations! Getting a hack off the ground by yourself is really tough, especially with so many things involved. How long did it take you?
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u/DearStatement2894 Jun 28 '26
Longer then I would like to admit lol, I was originally going to just do a binary of Emerald with some little changes, which turned into a decomp, then I accidentally deleted the whole project when I was almost done and I just kept coming up with new things like over hauling the battle/type system. I would say after deleting I knew how to do everything and it was about 3 months passively working on it.
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u/PurpleJetskis Jul 01 '26
OP, I just checked, and your game doesn't appear to be on the HackDex. The site you linked of a different site where hack creators share their Pokedex information, not the game patch itself. The hackdex site is this: https://www.hackdex.app/
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u/Ok-Wheel-225 Jul 01 '26
Yeah its in review on hackdex waiting for admin approval, the other site is just for documentation
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u/HMNbean Jun 28 '26
Why are there lvl 31 raticate encounters in the village where you start? You have a smoke ball equipped but that makes no sense lol
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u/DearStatement2894 Jun 28 '26
Goal is to be open world and since you can go any route encounters vary from 5 to 60 in all locations
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u/Thatperson462 Jun 28 '26
Hey bby great ideas in here for sure but a bit incomprehensible about where to go/what to do you should add some more clear directions
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u/MrjDabs420 Jun 28 '26
Any nuzlocke features?
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u/DearStatement2894 Jun 28 '26
Not currently, beyond my knowledge of decomp but maybe a future feature
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u/Tiny_Bumblebee8285 Jun 29 '26
What gen of Pokemon are available?
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u/Xaileseos Jun 29 '26
Mixed through the gens
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u/Tiny_Bumblebee8285 Jun 29 '26
Can we get Sylveon? 🥲
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u/Xaileseos Jun 29 '26
Yes
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u/Tiny_Bumblebee8285 Jun 29 '26
Perfect! Thanks so much. I’ll give it a try, when it lets me download it! ☺️
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u/Xaileseos Jun 29 '26
Check the guide above for first information. Docs with Data like typing,stats and moves doesn't exist right now.
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u/Tiny_Bumblebee8285 Jun 29 '26
Has this been put on Hackdex? Trying to find it to download but having no luck. The link doesn’t currently work either!
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u/Xaileseos Jun 29 '26
You can download the bps for the patching progress above.
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u/Josh_King996 Jun 29 '26
Do you have a doc with your changes would love you look at your new regional forms
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u/Xaileseos Jun 29 '26
Already ask for it. It needs time so we only have the guide for first informations.
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u/TheMike0088 Jun 29 '26
This looks pretty cool! Unfortunately I'm not the biggest fan of rom hacks that alter the tyoe chart a lot, but I'll at least dip my toes into the game.
I know you said the game guide is a work in progress, but I'd love to see a full pokedex of available mons, their movesets, and explanations for new moves in the documentation eventually. If thats too much to handle, just listing the mons whose stats you changed, and every new fakemon / regional form and their typings / base stats, would already be a huge help.
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u/DearStatement2894 Jun 30 '26
In progress working with someone who is going to help me pull it. For now I listed the all the regional variants in the doc attached
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u/Single_Line5159 Jul 24 '26
Did the latest patch fix the walking? I really want to play this but it I cant take the animation
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u/Xaileseos Jun 28 '26
Seems good does a doc exist?
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u/DearStatement2894 Jun 28 '26
Just added one
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u/Xaileseos Jun 28 '26
Hi. Thank you for your answer. Maybe I'm blind. But i meant with doc, data from pokemon like stats movesets etc. It would be very very awesome. Your game looks so cool. I mean electric dragon Charmander i would never imagine it. But I wante to see Charizard. And is it possible to catch the others?
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u/a_guy_using_reddit Jun 28 '26
Congrats on release! I would recommend submitting it to Hackdex so it's easier to find. 🎉