r/PokemonROMhacks

I recently posted the demo of my game (https://www.reddit.com/r/PokemonROMhacks/s/0DG9ukhsB6) and some people were interested in how the in battle idle animations are implemented.

It will alway be cleaner if you make custom animations for every Pokémon but that's huge time sink and you could easily reach the game's site limit.

So my solution is to simply reuse what is already in the game (first 3 gifs). Emerald already has many animations that can be applied to each Pokémons. But to really give each Pokémon their own personality the real game changer is to use the unique animation that we already have: the entry animation (4th gif).

My method is the simply divide all the Pokémons into classes (17 for now) and to each of those classes I give: one idle animation amongst the generic animation and one second animation for diversity sake.

Then I play: idle animation twice, entry animation, idle x2, second animation -> restart the cycle (5th gif)

I find that it works pretty well. For some I combine two effects such as a glow+an animation but there isn't much more to it than that.

I'm sure this can be made even cleaner/better with more classes and maybe other cycles but I'm still happy with the result

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!

The region is set East of the Sinnoh region. Both regions have close ties with each other, meaning you'll also be able to explore parts of Sinnoh!

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,
7. Follow Pokemon,
8. Reusable TMs, 100 custom TMs etc.
9. HM moves cane be forgotten.
10. 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.

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.

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

Walter White is going to be a gym leader.

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

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! 😅

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.

https://preview.redd.it/34h9sa7rs4kh1.jpg?width=1439&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6aa73a1c82eb5eede7d5217152e98a3f968deca8

https://preview.redd.it/revh91mrs4kh1.jpg?width=1438&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ad4b2a46a414632bb2320bbccddfa25d99eb8972

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

 

Two years ago, I made this post⁠ asking whether it would be possible to continue a Pokémon Red journey in Pokémon FireRed

Today, I’m happy to say that I built it!
pkmn 2.0 can convert a Pokémon Red save into a working Pokémon FireRed save. Think like how you migrate your iPhone 13 to an iPhone 17 Pro. You get back all your data (not only iCloud) with the added 17 Pro features. The same way is what my project successfully does. It’s able to transfer your entire save progression from pokemon red to fire red. No one has ever done it and I though this would be an
Amazing project because I have dreamed of playing my pokemon red save on fire red without having to replay the game (I could have just replayed cuz it could have taken less time but doing this project now anyone with a click of button can convert their red save to fire red!)

Red and FireRed have completely different save structures, so this isn’t a matter of copying bytes from one save to another. The converter instead translates the meaning of the Red save into the corresponding FireRed state.

It also generates a conversion report explaining what was transferred, what had to be changed, and what was safely defaulted when the two games don’t have a direct equivalent.

I tested the complete conversion in an emulator: the converted save loaded successfully, the Pokémon and supported progress appeared correctly, and FireRed could save and reload normally afterward.

The project is free and open source, and it does not include or distribute any ROMs.
GitHub (pls star and share the project so people can hear about it): https://github.com/AAAMAQ/pkmn-cli

A huge thank you to everyone who encouraged the original idea, the pret decompilation contributors, the Pokémon Community Conversion Standard and Poké Transporter GB teams, StrategyWiki contributors, and everyone else who helped preserve and document knowledge about these games.

I also used OpenAI Codex as a research and engineering collaborator throughout the project, while I directed the work and personally performed the gameplay verification. There may be glitches or issue, if any is there feel free to report it!

Two years ago, this was only an idea.
Now it works. ❤️🔥

I LOVE YOU FIRE RED!

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

The rom hack is mainly an enhancement AND hack featuring

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,
7. Follow Pokemon,
8. Reusable TMs, 100 custom TMs etc.
9. There are four trainer facilities / gauntlet to help players level up,
10. multiple Map revamps, Day Night system, Battle Frontier also features upto gen 7 pokemons,
11. 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],
12. 20% chance of wild double battles,
13. Features two large post game Islands.
14. Mints, improved battle backgrounds etc.
15. 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.
16. Trainer Parties have been changed such as Elite 4 and Wallace's team featuring stronger Candidates.

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.

There is a patch file repository for this game right here but it is 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.

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 .

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.

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?

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!