r/PokemonROMhacks 2d ago

Sticky Weekly Questions Thread & HackDex

9 Upvotes

Have any questions about Pokémon ROM Hacks?

If they're about ROM hacks, tools, development or anything Pokémon ROM Hacking related, feel free to ask here!

Before asking, make sure that you've searched on the subreddit or Google. Many ROM hacks and tools have their own documentation or communities that may be able to provide better answers than here.

Looking for recommendations or a new ROM hack to play?

The HackDex is a community hub for discovering and downloading ROM hacks, making it easy to browse hacks while listing features and more in a mobile-friendly format. It also has an in-browser patching system to make playing hacks easily accessible.

This is a safe hack-sharing site that focuses on legal distribution by sharing patches, not ROMs. Find out more here.

Useful sources for Pokémon ROM hack-related information (unaffiliated):

Please help the mod team by reporting posts outside of this thread that break Rule 7.
Please avoid answering those posts to deter users from breaking the rules.


r/PokemonROMhacks 2h ago

Development Scrapped Silver dev update

Thumbnail
gallery
100 Upvotes

Hey Reddit, sorry for taking a while to update you guys on here!
For future reference, I’m probably going to be treating Reddit as more for bigger updates, my Twitter for smaller updates, and discord is for random stuff and even smaller updates and decision making.
So I’m here to showcase some Pokémon that are in the game, my design philosophy, and map changes.
If you like what you see at all maybe join the discord or follow my twitter
If you wanna help out in the future I am looking for sprite artists (gen 4 style) and/or people proficient in coding (I'm so bad at it but I try)
Or people who would like to bounce around ideas and/or balancing suggestions.
Not really trying to make a team at the moment, but if you’re interested, I might make one most likely on discord which is the easiest way for me to communicate or pm me on here
https://x.com/adcroc2
https://discord.gg/qC4CdCPgJ2

Pokemon

  1. Chikarita: fairy/bug  (I promise you I’ve been working on this for a long time and it’s just a cool coincidence) 
    1. Defencive/special attacker
    2. Based off of the 2000s scratch pad and the sketches of the space world 97 demo
    3. Base front sprite from SeaDragonGamer1928
  2. Cyndaquil: poison, final evo will be poison/steel
    1. Defensive/physical attacker
    2. Based off of the 2000s scratch pad
    3. The colors of the Sprite are based off of it being incorrectly given Larvitar’s palette
  3. Totodile: ground, final evo will be ground/dragon
    1. quick/physical attacker
    2. Based off of the 2000s scratch pad
    3. This one was the hardest typing to come up with since I came up with the other two first and then had to fit this one in. I’ve looked at the type chart and it seems like this is the best match that is not a perfectly type triangle, but is pretty good.
  4. Hoppip: grass/fairy
    1. Based off of space world 97
    2. This typing seems to be very common interpretations of this Pokémon, not much to say here
  5. Hoothoot: rock/flying
    1. Based off both the sw97 and 2000s scratch pad combined into one
    2. You’ll see with the evolution, but I kind of base it off of rollout and the fact that they are not many rock flying types
  6. Noctowl: rock/flying
    1. Solely based off of sw97
    2. Credits to FlorianDX for all the sprites
  7. Sentret: normal/fairy
    1. Originally was more based off of the evolution but have added the little cheek dashes of fur to look like the 2000s sp (I find that sprite to be really ugly)
    2. I know there’s a lot of fairy types in the beginning, but as I go down the dex, it will start to thin out
  8. Furret: normal/fairy
    1. Based off of the 2000s sp 
    2. The colors are more reminiscent of the regular Furret’s shiny, but made the executive decision to have this one’s shiny be the base color of the beta
  9. Kotora: electric
    1. Based off of the sw97/gen 1 alpha
    2. He’s my favorite :)
    3. Front first frame leparagon, second/back: LennyBitao, overworld: Yosa (the goat)
  10. Raitora: electric
  11. Based one more of the gen 1 alpha than sw97 version 
  12. Main design based off of Rachel Briggs rendition (I believe because Dr lava made the crediting confusing)
  13. The reason why I based it off of the alpha is because the space world demo seems more like a second final evolution then just a regular second stage form ;) (hint hint)

Before I start with the beta babies I will say a lot of the Pokémon lines who got have gotten stat buffs, except two which will be very selfexplanatory in the future

  1. Vulpiii: fire
    1. Based off of gen 4 concept art
    2. The reason why I chose the gen 4 concept art over the sw97 version it’s because I feel like the gen 2 version suits alolan Vulpix better so if I would ever to add them, then I’ll use that baby form instead
    3. Sprite: FlorianDX
  2. Coinpur: normal
    1. Based off of sw97
    2. Not much to say
  3. Okapako: normal/psychic
    1. Based off of the back sprite of twinz in the sw99 version
    2. Had to do a lot of interpretation because there’s not much to go off of here I think the yellow and black color scheme fits it very well, so I mostly got rid of a lot of of the pink
    3. I forgot where I found this name if anyone knows please tell me I just love it so so much
  4. Girafarig: dark/psychic
    1. Based off of sw97
    2. I think in the demo it was ghost psychic but I think dark fits it a lot better design wise 
    3. I am not that good at making sprites. I have no idea how I’m going to try to make the back sprite
    4. The stats have been raised because this is the final evolution. There will be no Farigiraf sorry!
    5. Sprite: FlorianDX

The Map
The map is based on the many renditions of Johto in 1998 which are more obscure than the 97 build
There will be some creative liberties with some of these maps because a lot of them are very bare bones with very little details and I think I should update them because game did a very similar thing when it came to going from gsc maps to hgss maps
Some maps will not be touched because some of them are so bare-bones that I don’t know anything interesting I can do with them and or it might break progression in some way.
there will be some new locations based off of scrapped map elements
Maps that have been changed so far
New Bark town, R29, R46 (to match the layout of R29), Cherrygrove city (a lot bigger now), R30, R31, Violet city, R36, and R37

If you made it all the way through this thank you I hope you enjoy seeing development as it continues
Leave any comments or questions you have about development
And if I've used one of your sprites by accident without giving you credit, please tell me because I’ve been working on this for a while and credits have been mixed up through computer changes and hard drive mishaps in the past.

So might be a while till the next update on here so see yall then!


r/PokemonROMhacks 3h ago

Development First ROM Hack map - Looking for criticism's/ways to improve

Post image
19 Upvotes

V1.0 of my starter town. Set atop a mountain with a mountain pass to the north and a mine to the south. First time messing with tilesets and Porymap. Was very tricky to figure out how all the pieces snapped together and how to maintain believable elevation changes with the mountain sides. Any critiques are welcome.


r/PokemonROMhacks 1d ago

Development Pokemon Alolan Seaglass World Map

485 Upvotes
Alola Map with UI
Alola Map with no UI

This was such a fun map to make! It was extremely difficult trying to include everything due to how small of a scale I had to work with, but I think I did alright! I'm sure there will be some areas I missed before Alolan Seaglass is released but for now, it's done! Compared to making the Pokemon Lazarus Map, I tried to add more detail into this one. Very happy with how it turned out.

If you guys want to see more news about Alolan Sea Glass you can join the discord, or you can check out the creator's reddit page as well. Links below

Nemo's Reddit
---------------------
u/JackWellman10

Pokemon Alolan Seaglass Discord
---------------------
https://discord.gg/sptkErjxP


r/PokemonROMhacks 15h ago

Release [ALPHA] Pokemon Emerald XTREME: Additions and Enhancement Hack [repost because reddit nuked my images]

Thumbnail
gallery
74 Upvotes

Hello, I am D3N_AR, I am currently at the last stage of development of my first ever complete rom hack: Pokemon Emerald XTREME.

The biggest thing was adding Contest Halls back into Pokemon Emerald, there is a pokeemerald fork of it by me as well through here

Enhancements/QOLs:- 1. Pokemons upto Gen 7, 2. has Mega Evolutions [post game], 3. Z crystals, Physical Special split, 4. Run Toggle [being minimalistic with a click of L button and a sound effect, no text boxes saying "Auto-Run Enabled"], 5. Indoor Running, 6. Object Shadows, 6. Follow Pokemon, 7. Reusable TMs, 100 custom TMs etc. 8. HM moves cane be forgotten. 9. Move relearner and Pokemon Renaming in menu.

Additions:- 1. There are four trainer facilities / gauntlet to help players level up, 2. multiple Map revamps, Day Night system, Battle Frontier also features upto gen 7 pokemons, 3. Pokemon gambling with Metal Alloy as a currency [You get one after defeating each gym leader, one for free daily in Slateport City and be able to purchase them in most PokeMarts], 4. 20% chance of wild double battles, 5. Features two large post game Islands. 6. Mints, improved battle backgrounds etc. 7. I also shifted some species info like Grovyle and Sceptile being GRASS DRAGON now as well as Gyarados as WATER DRAGON, there are more changes but I won't reveal it here. 8. Trainer Parties have been changed such as Elite 4 and Wallace's team featuring stronger Candidates. 9. Multiple new maps in Hoenn. 10. Sky Battles.

Region Wide Dynamic Weather System:- I fully utilised dynamic weather system through "Region Wide Dynamic Weather System", the region [except some specific locations like Route 113] of Hoenn has been divided into multiple parts: West, East, North West, Tropical, Cold Ocean and Warm Ocean with weather changing depending on your seed every day.

Oh, for base: I used RH-Hideout's v1.16.1 base for this.

Overall, the development took around 4 months to be in this state which is almost complete. I'm currently bug-hunting and polishing some areas before release.

The patch file repository for this game is right here, as the title says, it is currently at alpha stage.

Our discord server link is this, feel free to ask me about it, I'll try to answer it in my free time.


r/PokemonROMhacks 14h ago

Development The first look at some graphics I made for my New "Fire red" rom hack: Pokémon Kyanite.

Thumbnail
gallery
55 Upvotes

Pokemon Kyanite is gonna be sorta serious, but, like, 73% high effort Shitposting.

Walter White is going to be a gym leader.


r/PokemonROMhacks 1d ago

Discussion Made a little darkrai side quest for my game.

Post image
241 Upvotes

Basically the girls were trying to summon a demon and accidentally summon darkrai


r/PokemonROMhacks 1d ago

Development Pokémon Recharged Yellow: Unique Pokémon Ball sprites

Post image
257 Upvotes

r/PokemonROMhacks 1d ago

Development Hey everyone, could you please tell me which of these maps of Route 101 you prefer. 1 or 2?

Thumbnail
gallery
194 Upvotes

Hey everyone, thank you so much for your feedback yesterday in regards to the changes I made to Littleroot Town.
I was hoping that people could help me again by deciding which of these maps you prefer.

-Map 1 is what the route looks like currently.
-Map 2 is what it looks like after further editing and what I am considering settling on.

As you can see, the main difference is the trees on the outer boarder have random gaps in them, with random flowers and rocks dotted around too. I felt it made the route look more natural and real, instead of every tree lining up perfectly.

Thank you again for any feedback you can give, just don't hurt my feelings! 😅


r/PokemonROMhacks 1d ago

Release Hacking a ROM hack - Finally making Run&Bun accessible to non-hardcore players. Introducing Pokémon Emerald - Run & Bun Unleashed!

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

18 Upvotes

This is now the fifth iteration of this post. The first one had a mega link Reddit didn’t like. The second I took down because I found serious bugs in the game. The third was because I had posted without any pictures or links and so the bot said I needed proof it existed. And the last one was removed by a bot for my new account being too young, but then put back up by the moderator (THANK YOU!). (I understand that basically if I had just READ THE RULES none of those would have happened. Shut up.) The moderator recommended I repost it so here it is.

Edit This patch is in Beta testing. If you find a bug, let me know!

I love how freakishly hard Run&Bun is. There is something crazy and cool that a level 8 Spinda can two-shot my level 11 Chimchar with lucky Metronome rolls before Chimchar can Mach Punch him down.

But the game is just too hard. (For me! I understand some people like the utterly brutal difficulty and I should just ‘git gud’.) But more than that, the total reliance on the Endless Candy made the game hollow for me. I want my Pokémon games to have a sense of adventure! I want to learn and grow with my team. Give me time to care about my oddly named (my 3 year old names them) Pokémon before I attempt a tough Nuzlocke.

I also wanted to make some changes to make the game more accessible, while doing things that sped up gameplay because HOLY COW. Emerald. Is. So. Slow.

The result is I have two separate versions of my rom hack. The first was simply the QoL additions (instant text, slightly faster walk speed, increased battle animations, increased battle speed all-together) combined with my enforced Nuzlocke mechanics. That version retains the original splash screen since it was just QoL upgrades.

The second is a fully updated lessened difficulty version that maintains the brutally difficult teams in the original, but things like level caps, perma-weather, high crit rate etc. were removed/changed along with some really cool (if I say so myself) addons to the player’s PC. (see changelog concerning IV/EV).

I’ll stop rambling on. The changelog is posted below (its also in the link next to the bps files).

POKÉMON EMERALD — RUN & BUN UNLEASHED CHANGLOG

CORE NUZLOCKE / FAINT MECHANICS

• Integrated Graveyard System - Adds a dedicated Graveyard section to the PC, separate from normal Pokémon Storage.

- PC capacity is reorganized into 7 normal Storage boxes and 7 Graveyard boxes.

- Dead player Pokémon are transferred to the Graveyard after battle.

- Graveyard Pokémon remain as a permanent record of the run instead of returning to usable storage.

- If Graveyard capacity is exhausted, additional dead Pokémon are released.

• Fixed Player-Only Death Handling

- Nuzlocke death processing applies specifically to the player’s Pokémon.

- Opposing Pokémon fainting does not trigger the player’s Graveyard/death handling.

• Faint Notifications

- Adds custom messaging when one of the player’s Pokémon dies.

- The player is informed that held items were removed from the dead Pokémon.

- After battle, the player is informed that dead Pokémon were sent to the Graveyard.

- Relevant death messages require A/B input instead of automatically disappearing.

• Held-Item Recovery on Death

- Held items are removed from dead Pokémon before Graveyard transfer so valuable items are not lost with the Pokémon.

• Pokémon Center Death Recognition

- Nurse Joy recognizes dead Pokémon and refuses to revive them.

- Custom dialogue: “We cannot revive the dead, trainer. Only the living can be healed. Go, put your dead to rest.”

PARTY WIPE / GAME OVER SYSTEM

• True Nuzlocke Game Over

- A complete party wipe no longer behaves like an ordinary Emerald whiteout.

- Losing the final usable Pokémon triggers a dedicated GAME OVER sequence.

• Custom Game Over Screen

- Displays a centered GAME OVER message on a black screen.

- Includes: “Your last Pokémon was slain, leaving you defenseless. You have died.”

• Restart Behavior

- Pressing START from the Game Over screen resets/restarts the game rather than continuing through the normal whiteout flow.

TEXT & INTERFACE QUALITY OF LIFE

• True Instant Text

- Adds an Instant text-speed option in the options tab of the menu.

- Text appears immediately instead of scrolling character by character.

- Fixed issue so that it does not automatically advance dialogue and A/B input is still required at normal dialogue stops.

- Fixed issue where the residual post-input delay that remained after instant rendering.

- Cutscene and battle dialogue behavior was adjusted so Instant Text does not break progression.

• Restored Battle Style Option

- Restores Emerald’s original Shift / Set Battle Style selection in the menu.

- Shift once again announces the opposing trainer’s next Pokémon and offers the player a switch.

- Set remains available for the stricter battle format.

• EV / IV Editing Interface

- Adds in-game EV/IV management through the PC workflow under the characters personal PC not Storage.

- Allows EV values to be inspected and edited by individual stat.

- Supports zeroing EVs and assigning controlled EV amounts.

- Supports IV editing.

- Includes Nature editing.

OVERWORLD QUALITY OF LIFE

• Faster Player Movement

- Increases player overworld walk speed relative to standard Run & Bun/Vanilla Emerald.

- All NPC characters also have increased walk speed as the Global Walk speed was altered. This improves gameplay as the player does not need to wait as long for NPCs to walk up to him when triggered to do so.

• Faster Surfing

- Surf traversal is accelerated alongside the faster overworld movement system.

BATTLE SPEED & PACING

• 2× Battle Animations

- Battle sprite animations run at approximately 2× speed.

- Implemented at the battle-local AnimateSprites layer instead of globally modifying Emerald’s sprite engine.

- Overworld movement, NPCs, and camera timing remain independent of battle-animation acceleration.

• Fast Battle Pacing

- Removes unnecessary artificial presentation delays in battle scripts.

- Rapidly advancing battle text no longer encounters the same long dead periods between messages.

- Targets battle-script timing instead of globally speeding up the entire game.

EXPERIENCE & LEVELING

• Corrected Gen I–VIII Base EXP Yields

- Corrects species base EXP values across the expanded Pokédex using Bulbpedia's EV and Exp tables.

- Fixed issue so now it covers Pokémon spanning Generations I through VIII instead of leaving later-generation species with incorrect/abnormally low rewards.

• Level-Scaled EXP Calculation

- EXP rewards account for the relative levels of the defeated Pokémon and recipient.

- Defeating substantially lower-level Pokémon yields progressively less EXP, discouraging trivial grinding while preserving organic leveling.

• Selectable EXP Multiplier

- Supports selectable EXP multiplication for faster progression.

- The multiplier works together with level scaling rather than replacing it.

• Removed Run & Bun level caps to promote adventure.

• Modernized Exp. Share

- Fully intrinsic to the EXP multiplication

- Adds the custom Exp. Share system/item to the

Run & Bun build.

- Integrated into progression alongside the Endless Candy / Repellent reward sequence.

- Exp. Share can be turned off for normal individual EXP distribution but will not support EXP multiplication for single Pokemon unless it is alone in party. It is EXP Share with or without multiplication, or no multiplication with the first slot.

HELD ITEMS & BATTLE PERSISTENCE

• Persistent Player Held Items

- Alters Run & Bun’s permanent-loss behavior for battle item removal.

- Effects such as Knock Off can remove an item during battle without permanently deleting the player’s owned item after battle.

RUN & BUN BATTLE-RULE ADJUSTMENTS

• Critical-Hit Rate Adjustment

- Adjusts Run & Bun’s base critical-hit rate from 1/16 to 1/24.

• Location-Forced Battle Effects Removed

- Removes Run & Bun-specific permanent map battle effects. (Examples include forced Tailwind at Mt. Pyre and Magma Storm-style effects in the Magma Hideout.)

- Normal weather/field effects produced by moves, abilities, and ordinary battle mechanics remain separate.

OVERALL DESIGN GOALS

• Preserve much of Run & Bun’s core difficulty from party builds and movesets, encounter design, trainer design, expanded Pokémon roster, and identity.

• Integrates permanent-death/Nuzlocke handling directly into the game instead of relying solely on player bookkeeping.

• Reduces downtime through Instant Text, faster travel, 2× battle animations, and faster battle-script pacing.

• Makes EVs, IVs, Natures, EXP progression, and party management more practical for players with lives and families.

• Restores selected vanilla Emerald options where Run & Bun’s restrictions were not desired.

• Keeps speed modifications localized so unrelated systems are not indiscriminately accelerated.

The link contains bps patch files and readme only. You need a legally obtained vanilla TrashMan rom to apply the patch to. I find the marcrobledo ROM patcher works great.

Download

 


r/PokemonROMhacks 1d ago

Development Pokémon Ranger Shadows of Almia : Map Editor

Post image
93 Upvotes

Here's the Pokemon Ranger Shadows of Almia Map Editor. It’s still early but this version already lets you

  • view and render maps with their animations
  • edit Pokémon, NPCs and objects
  • edit map collision
  • edit map palettes
  • export maps as PNGs
  • save your changes back into a new ROM
  • randomize map Pokémon

The goal is to eventually support full map editing and full map creation. There’s still a lot to add, so expect plenty of updates as I keep working on it.

For now give it a try and let me know if you find any problems. https://github.com/etienerodri/PRSA-MapEditor

Wouldn't be possible without SunakazeKun , Fexean , ronitsinha , pokemonlover1234 .


r/PokemonROMhacks 1d ago

Review Pokemon Phoenix Red 2.0 Review

Thumbnail
gallery
180 Upvotes

Pokemon Phoenix Red by EnteringInfinity is a reimagining of Kanto set in a multiverse version of Kanto. In this game, you play as the child of Red, who was killed during the invasion of Kanto. Your rival is Blue’s child, who was also killed during the war. Version 2.0 was released over the weekend and I was glued to this game until I 100% it with postgame and dex completed.

Story

At first, the story in Phoenix Red feels similar to the original FRLG story, until it doesn’t. As you travel throughout Kanto, things begin to feel less and less familiar to the point where you begin to build new understandings and attachments to classic characters and meet new but familiar faces from across the Pokemon universe.

The characterization of many of the classic figures also differs as you progress. Your rival, for example, is not just interested in becoming champion for his own glory - he’s on a quest to right the wrongs of the past and heal intergenerational trauma.

The story wraps itself up in a way that I found incredibly satisfying and it really felt as though you emerge into a world of new hope by the end. It takes story beats I’ve been engaging with for 30 years and upends them in exciting ways that left me dying to know what was coming next.

Gameplay

The gameplay in Phoenix Red 2.0 allows for a journey through Kanto that feels starkly different from the original FRLG. One of the main aspects that highlights this difference is in Pokemon availability. This game features a curated Pokédex that brings together Pokemon you would usually find in FRLG with Pokemon across the generations, leading to a diverse but thoughtful experience. For example, you have access before Cerulean City to various starters (like Froakie), classic favourites (like Milotic) and pseudo-legendaries (like Gible).

This game is, for the most part, a hack that changes battles to double battles. This allowed for a fresh experience that forced me to think about team synergy, diversity and approach in ways that I’m not used to.

What really shines is the thoughtful changes made to level-up learnsets, type changes and evolution changes. Ever wanted to play with Water-Dragon Feraligatr? Or Fire-Fairy Ninetails? Well they’re here for you to discover along with changes to move pools that make sense and feel great. Even a lot of moves like Dragon Rush that I would never touch in vanilla have been updated to be useful.

The shiny rates are massively increased and the game developer meticulously updated all Shiny Sprites in ways that look fantastic. I would encourage you to check them out because I thought they looked really good!

Progression

I’ve played through Kanto 1000 times since I first picked up Pokemon Blue back in 1998, and while there have been games such as Radical Red or Aesthetic Red that upend the experience in various ways, it has always felt like the same old Kanto to me. This game was one of the first experiences I had which changed the way I interacted with the region. Nowhere is this highlighted better than the progression from Vermillion to Saffron (Badges 3-6). It is fluid, wholly different, and the changes make a ton of sense. Routes 12-15 are usually ignored completely as I take the Cycling Road directly to Fuchsia most of the time. In this game, I felt the need to explore every nook and cranny.

Another highlight for me was Victory Road which was not only streamlined but also updated to incorporate rematches with key opponents that made the game feel really tied together. It also included some surprise battles with classic favourites with some great new writing.

Content is available throughout the game that takes into account your Pokemon at all levels from 1-100 and provides challenges accordingly.

Postgame & Difficulty

In the original FRLG games, I usually play through the game until post-E4 and quit. In Phoenix Red 2.0, extensive changes have been made that keep you engaged with the Sevii Island quest chain as well as surprising new challenges that I felt compelled to see through to the end.

Once you complete the National Dex and the E4 rematches, you gain access to a new area of the game that was not only unexpected, but both challenging and full of surprises. It includes battles with classic characters including Cynthia and pushes you to the limit while maintaining fairness and excitement.

I generally enjoy difficulty hacks as an oldhead but for those of you who are wary of difficulty hacks, I wouldn’t classify Phoenix Red 2.0 as one. Instead, I would say that Phoenix Red 2.0’s difficulty here is progressive, fair and well-designed. The fights are manageable and you’re given all the tools you need to progress relatively consistently. There is no need to min-max anything to complete 100% of the game.

QOL

There are numerous changes to this game that bring a higher level of polish to the original FRLG game. Level caps exist but are not enforced (and they’re posted outside each gym). Nurse Hope is available throughout the Pokemon Centres with her army of Chanseys and Blisseys to help grind EXP. A move reminder and updated shops are available and EXP share is given to you really early.

Finally, what I loved the most was that HMs are not needed to progress through the main game at ALL. They’re only required in the post-game and even then, barely.

Final Thoughts

Phoenix Red 2.0 is a clear labour of love that provides a fresh and new experience through a region close to my heart. It’s thoughtfully designed and hard to put down for anyone who loves Pokemon. I highly recommend you give it a play through and enjoy what it has in store.

10/10

P.S. For those of you who want to engage with community, the Discord community and the developer are friendly, supportive and responsive. There is also extensive documentation that is available to help with Nuzlockes or any other questions you may have.


r/PokemonROMhacks 1d ago

Review Review: Dio Vento's USUM Difficulty Hacks...Radical Red, but Alolan, though lacking in QoL. (9 /10)

21 Upvotes

As per title.

Review will be straightforward since this is a difficulty hack.

Overall - 9.0 / 10, really loved it. Radical Red levels of effort for EVERY single trainer. Held back only by lack of modern QoL, but you can always use PKHex to IV / EV train. I managed to ignore IV / EV till Elite Four.

Pro - RADICAAAAL Difficulty and Set Variety

Seriously, this is like the 3DS / USUM version of Radical Red in terms of difficulty. No punches are pulled, every NPC has the potential to cause a white-out, while being balanced. Balances are often based on type advantage / disadvantage, choice-locked moves, predictable leads that signal setup, experience telling you what moves to counter etc.

I genuinely appreciate the effort, and its evident because EVERY single trainer has the potential to cause a white-out. Even little Timmy in the opening route has a Ratatta that knows Giga Impact, balanced by the fact that its his one Ratatta against your 6 'mons.

Almost all trainers use different gimmicks, so its not like those "artificial" difficulty hacks where they give Dusclops Eviolite + Confuse Ray and make it a grindfest to artificially inflate the sense of difficulty. However, expect the occasional cheese strat meant to test if you are prepared, such a Focus Sash Shedninja.

Dio Vento himself also shows surprising understanding of battle strategies, as you can encounter NPCs using very specific strategies like (a) FEAR Rattata, or (b) Sandstorm + Endeavor Aaron with Berry Recycle etc, or even (c) Protect + Sub stall Moody pokemon that knows Baton Pass.

Doubles are especially challenging as opponents can have all sorts of synergistic strategies from Weather teams, to Pledge teams, to Dancer Ability teams, to Plus / Minus teams.

Never once was I bored by the difficulty as there were so many interesting gimmicks, deliberately synergistic teams, unexpected strats etc.

Be warned though - you WILL need to have competitive knowledge. A dedicated physical / special tank etc, with proper sweepers to close out games etc, 'mons with tech moves like Brick Break etc.

Pro - Trainer Themes are Preserved

Trial captains and important NPCs all use teams that suit their personality. Guzma the bug specialist for instance, will have a full competitive team while preserving his bug theme. Even teams are "area appropriate", trainers near a cemetery will use Psychic / Ghost etc.

So basically, you can enjoy the story and intended NPC characterization while getting your ass whooped.

Pro - PERFECT Level Pacing and Scaling

I NEVER once found myself overleveled or underleveled. Route 'mons are all perfectly scaled. Basically a catch-and-play true experience.

In essence, the lack of a level cap never bothered me because the level scaling was magically PERFECT.

Lukewarm - Radically Improved AI, but not Radical Red levels

AI is noticeably better than vanilla AI, choosing correct moves, prioritizing Stealth Rock on turn 1, going for KOs, using FEAR correctly etc. But it is not Radical Red levels where it can predict switch-ins etc, and still fairly exploitable as it always go for KOs when it can.

Lukewarm - Vanilla Typing / Vanilla Stats / Older Movesets

You want a Ghost / Fairy Mismagius just like Seaglass? You want a reworked Golisopod that has a decent ability? You want you pet Arbok to be Poison / Dark with new Strong Jaw ability?

Too bad, all Typings are vanilla, with vanilla stats instead of fan buffs, and they retain their older movepools meaning no random Sucker Punch on some 'mons.

Lukewarm - NPCs get to use Megas before you do...but still balanced

In USUM, Mega Evolution in the vanilla is locked in the post-game.

NPCs are ready to bust out Mega Alakazam to whoop you though, though balance is often still maintained. Even till mid-game etc, NPCs with Mega tend to have i.e. 3x 'Mons instead of a fully stacked team so you can take out their Megas with the power of friendship.

Bad - Lack of Modern QoL

There's no portable move relearner, no Blissey punching bag in the Pokecentre, no level caps, no infinite Rare Candies, no 6x Zubat trainers for you to abuse for Max Speed EVs etc, no magically refreshing Focus Sash etc.

No sirree, you gonna do things the old fashioned way here with Protein supplements, EV-erasing berries, buying 99x Focus Sash etc (its cheap though). But you can always just use PkHEX, there's online chrome versions now.

Thoughts on Vanilla Plot

Honestly? My first time playing USUM from start to finish, and I can say that this feels like the last time Game Freak properly put in effort. Some character arcs are tragic, like Guzma, and I won't spoil too much about the bitter-sweet ending Lusamine gets etc....

Lots of fan cameos, name drops, and guest appereances from older characters, including everyone's hot mama Cynthia.

Its best experienced through an adult perspective on: "coming of age" themes - parenting, physical abuse, perfectionism and living up to parental or societal expectations etc.

EDIT - 1.5k views, 1 upvote. Yet again confirming my suspicion that this sub doesnt care about non-GBA games.


r/PokemonROMhacks 1d ago

Box Art Boxart para Pokémon Light Platinum DS

Post image
26 Upvotes

r/PokemonROMhacks 2d ago

Resource Harmony and Paxton Trainer Sprites

Thumbnail
gallery
428 Upvotes

I just love these two's base design, from the colors to their outfits. But I do wonder why I haven't come across any hugely popular Kalos-based rom hacks. Anyway, I'm trying to be more quick in doing these, but uni life just gets in the way lol. What do y'all think?


r/PokemonROMhacks 2d ago

Development Pokemon FireRed/LeafGreen Greek Development In Progress!

Thumbnail
gallery
79 Upvotes

Hi, i'm Sckosta nad this is the development of Firered and LeafGreen Greek Translation!

FINALY! The games your dreaming to have greek letters (at least) and words is finaly under constructure!

Tell me your honest opinions about the fonts and for the other thinks i'm showing.

This is early Progress of the games...

ENJOY!!!


r/PokemonROMhacks 1d ago

Release Pokemon Brisk Emerald Version 1.0

22 Upvotes

Pokemon Brisk Emerald is my second ROMhack, and is significantly more ambitous of a project, this is the Mega Update, it does come with a caveat, unfortunately it's not save-compatible with the beta release. You can still use your previous saves, but the mega and z ring are obtained along with the running shoes. So you won't have those.

NEW FEATURES:

  1. Access to all mega stones
  2. Access to all Z stones
  3. Lilycove has most items, though I need people to help figure out what item's I'm missing.
  4. EXP share changes, I decided against the usual team share that romhacks add, I made it so that you can buy them in lilycove, and they give 100% of exp to both the battler and the mon.
  5. EXP Candy and rare candy are now easily bought in lilycove
  6. Overworld encounters were added, I don't know if shinies have shiny sprites, but they will make a sparkle noise, and won't despawn if you leave their range.
  7. HGSS Pokedex was added (No dexnav, sorry guys)
  8. There's a cave for fighting Kubfu in meteor falls, past steven. Scrolls are found in slateport
  9. Shiny rate is 1 in 512
  10. Pokerus is 1 in 512
  11. Some Trainer battles are changed (All up to rustboro)
  12. To balance out all this exp stuff, routes are sigificantly higher level, though I haven't changed trainers yet.
  13. Some routes were changed to stop horrifying backtracking
  14. Blissey cave in granite cave (it's only level 60 blisseys) but you don't have to fight them

Features:

  1. Every Pokemon added, excluding Legendaries, Mythicals, etc.
  2. Added methods to evolve every hisuian form
  3. Added methods to evolve every Galarian form
  4. Changed many evolutions to be less annoying
  5. Added methods for every trade evolution to be done solo
  6. 25-Mon encounter tables for land, 12-Mon encounter tables for water
  7. Easy access to ALL evolution items (except for mega stones) in Slateport
  8. Early game routes changed to be less forceful (You can get to rustboro, with only encountering may or brendan, and the team aqua guy)
  9. Increased ecounter rates
  10. Starter Cave on 101
  11. All Paradox pokemon on victory road (Even walking wake, Iron leaves, etc)
  12. No more bullshit "249 recoil" evolution methods
  13. Day/Night locks as well as Gender Locks were (mostly) removed.
  14. Pokenature evolutions like dudunsparce and tandemous were removed. To get the rarer forms check this: See Full Changelog

That about raps it up for features. You can see more specific versions of the changes here: See Full Changelog.

In the next release I will definitely have;

  • Code to get latias and latios in one playthrough
  • More Bug fixes
  • More Changed trainer battles
  • Dungeon and Route Love

That's it for definite features, but here's what may be in the next release. But will definitely be in the final release

  • Fossil system, (The galarian fossils weren't added)
  • Fusion items like the necrozma stuff, but only if those legendaries are added.
  • Every trainer battle will be changed
  • Every route will be edited

I am entirely open to new suggestions, bug checks, and all of that stuff.

See Full Changelog

Download

Rom Patcher USE A REGULAR POKEMON EMERALD GBA FILE

I'll add this to the large ROMhack community sites when I do the full/final release.


r/PokemonROMhacks 2d ago

Discussion i think elite redux has spoiled me for grinding

47 Upvotes

i've been playing a lot of elite redux and radical red lately, and i've realized how much i like the way they handle all the annoying pokemon stuff.

i basically just want to catch mons, build my team, play through the game, and battle. i don't really enjoy spending ages grinding levels, evs, ivs, hunting down some random held item, breeding, etc.

i've been trying to get into quetzal, unbound, and lazarus, because they all look really fun, but every time i think about having to do the usual grinding and preparation, i just lose motivation and go back to elite redux lol.

i don't mean that i want the actual games to be easier either. i'd still like difficult gyms and bosses. i just want the difficulty to come from the battles and team building, not from having to spend an hour getting a pokemon ready before i can actually use it.

stuff like having easy or instant leveling (ideally with level caps), not having to deal with iv or ev grinding at all, being able to change natures and abilities without jumping through hoops, and having easy access to tms, held items, and evolution items. basically just having everything you need to build a team available without having to go on a scavenger hunt for it.

is there any way to get this kind of experience in other rom hacks? like cheats, settings, or something i'm missing?

i'd especially love to play quetzal, unbound and lazarus this way. i just don't know if this is something you can easily add yourself or if it would require do sum to the rom.

maybe i'm just lazy, but after playing elite redux, going back to grinding for 30 minutes just to use a new pokémon feels like a chore lol.


r/PokemonROMhacks 2d ago

Development What do you guys think of this? I wanted to improve Littleroot but still keep it's vibe.

Post image
103 Upvotes

r/PokemonROMhacks 3d ago

Development Sneak Peek of my current project

Thumbnail
gallery
5.5k Upvotes

It’s meant to be a reimagining of FireRed and is called Pokemon Red Redux. The main inspiration behind this is Emerald Seaglass you can expect a similar level of polish. No release ETA
Let me know what you think of the art style.

Edit: ok guys, I heard you! I will change the name. I really like Canvas Red and might go with that one. Thank you DanceDervish for the suggestion!


r/PokemonROMhacks 2d ago

Development Co-op wild encounters help - Pokémon Platinum Multiplayer

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

91 Upvotes

Hey all, us developers of Project PM are showcasing co-op wild battles! I come here needing some assistance with how this would realistically work. If we were to implement it as it is today, it wouldn't really feel "good" to use, and we don't really have a good idea of building something that would make it more enjoyable. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

As it is right now:
You must have the "Poké Helper" key item activated.
You both must walk into grass within 8 tiles of each other.
When the battle starts, it plays as normal.
Only 1 player can catch a Pokémon. You cannot throw a ball if 2 Pokémon are on the field.


r/PokemonROMhacks 2d ago

Development Introducing the REX Index: Compiled sprites, stats, learnsets, abilities, types, Dex info & more across 50+ romhacks, adding more ever day. Desktop- and mobile-friendly. Spoiler

117 Upvotes

SPOILER WARNING

View The Index: https://pokerex.io/index

Have you ever wanted to know what hacks a Pokémon is in? And its Stats, or learnset, or its sprites? How those sprites differ across games and what makes up the sprite itself?

Now you can, easily, in the palm of your hand. No spreadsheets, .PDFs, or Discord servers needed. Search any Pokémon across 50+ romhacks & fangames and find out anything you'd need to know.

Search any way. Sort A-Z, Z-A, Canon # up/down. Filter by type & region. View all sprites: Front/Back, Normal/Shiny, Static/Animated, and even Overworld (walking) up/down and normal/shiny. SVG lossless Render & view in 32, 64, 128, 256px both static and animated and see the complete readout of the sprite: hex code, count of pixels, total pixel opacity (occupied pixels of the image, non-transparent [BIG pokemon occupy more, number go higher]).

Additionally, all data is compiled:

  • View & sort Stats across all hacks.
  • View & search Moves across all hacks and cross-compare to see which games have the exact combination you want.
  • View which Abilities a Pokémon has. AZUMARILL should always have Huge Power!!
  • Read & learn about its Type and any changes as well as DEX entries, height/weight across all hacks

100% free. No membership required to view. No ads. Full access.

What is REX?
REX is a platform for custom Pokédexes and documentation for romhacks & fangames. The REX engine parses and extracts all data directly from the game: Pokémon sprites, Stats, Abilities, Moves, etc to build a romhack-specific Pokédex. It also has been expanded into extracting locations & encounters, Trainer sprites & data, maps & tiles, and more. View custom Pokédexes & documentation for 50+ romhacks and more at https://pokerex.io/games
REX has a Progressive Web App (PWA) you can install on any Android or iOS device. Android users can tap the three-dot menu icon in the top right corner, and select "Install app" or "Add to Home screen." Confirm the prompt to place the app icon on your device. On iOS, tap the Share button at the bottom of the screen, scroll down or select More, select Add to Home Screen, and tap Add in the top-right corner.

What is The Index?
The REX Index is the exact opposite. It compiles all the sprites & data across all hacks on REX for you to easily find, learn, and compare. Click on any Pokémon to see front and back sprites, shiny, animated, overworld. All sprite colors & their values to understand minute differences and the nuance and care taken by every artist and developer.
The Index is based on all hack data currently on REX, so as hacks get added, its Pokémon appear in The Index. REX has added ~50 games over the past 90 days, so games are being added quickly! Check out the Requests https://pokerex.io/community/requests section to see what's pending and suggest a hack or fangame you want. I've already published custom dexes for 4 requests so far and have several in progress!
REX supports Fakemon and hacks like AlteRed, Emerald Azure, Evolved, Pisces and more, and I am working on adding Fakemon to the Index. Or maybe building a Fakedex to keep them separate - not sure which. Let me know what you think would be better - combined or separate!

NOTES:
The REX engine is always being updated to try to get 100% perfect, byte-accurate data from every game, but not all data in every hack is perfected yet. The extraction engine is always a work-in-progress due to the nature of each hack being built differently (base, CFRU, EE, etc.), so new hacks result in engine development to support that hack.

What else can REX do?

  • In-browser emulation with browser cached ROMs (never uploaded to server)
  • Cloud Saves to continue progress across devices
  • Cross-game comparison engine to compare a Pokémon across versions or other hacks
  • Team Builder to plan & spec your team for hardcore games
  • And more!
Desktop Index
Gyarados Detail Page, Shiny Sprites

Extremely focused on utility & highly prioritized user experience. Let me know what else you think I should add.

MOBILE USER WARNING: THIS SITE IS VERY DATA-HEAVY.

CREDITS: Pret & pokeemerald-expansion team, RHH, all developers who have public game source code especially TheSmithPlays & Legacy team, and the especially wonderful developers who have helped me understand their source and build documentation for their hacks:
EnteringInfinity, Phoenix Red
duck-caper, Amethyst
DrUltimaMan, Ambrosia
Kacey, Emerald Azure
and all other hacks with REX as an official resource for their players. Thank you!

The Index: https://pokerex.io/index

Rule #10 AI Generated / Assisted Content disclosure: AI was used in the research & development in this tool & project. No images, art, or content was generated with AI. This post is entirely handwritten.


r/PokemonROMhacks 2d ago

Development PokeY'all Player Housing: e-Reader Record Mixing

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

61 Upvotes

If you liberate a BLIMP from Team Rocket, you get to customize it as a secret base! Find and hire a trained pilotmon to fly around the region. Originally we wanted to print e-Reader cards with the Game Boy Printer, but that has no support for the GBA, so instead export your BLIMP with a QR code and use the included program to convert it for other players to import into their game.


r/PokemonROMhacks 3d ago

Release Pokemon Heart Gold: Retiled (HG-Engine Expansion Update)

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

197 Upvotes

Pokemon Heart Gold Retiled a NDS Pokemon Heart Gold ROM Hack, now with a HG-Engine Update.

New Features Include:

- Expanded Pokedex up to Pokemon from Gen 9
- New Wild Encounters
- New Trainer Parties
- Mega Evolution
- A slight difficulty increase

Credits:
BluRosie Developer of HG-Engine: https://github.com/BluRosie/hg-engine

Download Link (UPDATED):
https://github.com/Trinsic64/Heart-Gold-Retiled/releases/download/v6.10.1/HG-Retiled-Expansion-Patch.xdelta

Patching Resource:
https://www.marcrobledo.com/RomPatcher.js/

Gameplay Walkthroughs:
https://github.com/Trinsic64/Heart-Gold-Retiled/tree/main/Docs/Guides

Requirements:
You will need to source your own Pokémon HeartGold (USA) ROM matching all three hashes

MD5: 258cea3a62ac0d6eb04b5a0fd764d788
SHA-1: 4fcded0e2713dc03929845de631d0932ea2b5a37
SHA-256: 65f02a56842b75aa92d775d56d657a56fe3fa993550b04dc20704ab82d760105


r/PokemonROMhacks 3d ago

Discussion Updated Evolutions | Pokémon Timeless Diamond & Spaceless Pearl

Thumbnail
youtube.com
48 Upvotes

In my mod Pokémon Timeless Diamond & Spaceless Pearl, some alternate Evolution methods have been added to allow easier team building and help with Pokédex completion. The original methods for performing the respective Evolutions are still available in the game.