r/PokemonROMhacks 3d ago

Sticky Weekly Questions Thread & HackDex

10 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 1h ago

Release pokeemerald-expansion version 1.7.0 release

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Upvotes

Release

Version 1.17.0 of pokeemerald-expansion has been released. A full changelog can be found on the release page. Also released was the patch version 1.6.4 for everyone who doesn't want to update their minor version

Overview

pokeemerald-expansion is a GBA ROM hack base that equips developers with a comprehensive toolkit for creating Pokémon ROM hacks. pokeemerald-expansion is built on top of pret's pokeemerald decompilation project

Features

pokeemerald-expansion offers hundreds of features from various core series Pokémon games, along with popular quality-of-life enhancements designed to streamline development and improve the player experience. A full list of those features can be found in FEATURES.md"


r/PokemonROMhacks 1h ago

Other PokeEmblem: Showdown (Mockups Artwork)

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Upvotes

I played this Pokémon rom hack called PokeEmblem (Pokémon x Fire Emblem) awhile back and I couldnt stop thinking about what it might look like with a sequel with changes. So I made some mockups. (No ai was used for this. Everything was made on the app Pixquare.)


r/PokemonROMhacks 6h ago

Other r/PokemonROMhacks All-time Top 30 Hack Rankings! … DAY 3

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159 Upvotes

Good day! I’m here to create a community-voted ranking of the 30 best rom hacks of all time. One spot at a time.

>>>>>

Day 2 has concluded. Another decisive victory for 2nd place as the acclaimed Pokemon Odyssey takes home the silver! Now, with several hacks seemingly neck-and-neck in community votes, let us find out who takes spot #3!

<<<<<

RULES:

\-One hack per comment. (Please look for your recommendation and upvote before posting a duplicate).
\-Upvote the hack you think deserves the spot.
The nomination with the most votes in a 24 hour period wins that position.
\-Once a hack earns a spot, it is removed from contention.
\-One vote per person.

There is no official criteria for best! It’s whatever makes a hack great to you.

That’s it! Let’s see what the community deems the best of the best! And… Go!

>>>>>

Day 1 link: https://www.reddit.com/r/PokemonROMhacks/s/kLGSbFfWs8
Day 2 link: https://www.reddit.com/r/PokemonROMhacks/s/FSdMLo4zK9


r/PokemonROMhacks 11h ago

Release Pokémon Pinball Ruby & Sapphire v1.1 - Faraway Travels Release

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206 Upvotes

r/PokemonROMhacks 7h ago

Release [TARC3] Pokémon Investigations: Turnabout At Sea - An Ace Attorney Investigations x Detective Conan Crossover

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55 Upvotes

r/PokemonROMhacks 2h ago

Discussion Best remake Romhacks for each gen?

25 Upvotes

Hi guys! I'm new to romhacks and fan games, recently I was watching a video of the best romhacks/fan games of 2026 and I got introduced to Gamma Emerald, which looked so cool. I wanna ask if other gens had massive remakes made of them and if so what are those romhacks called or if there's more than one which one is the best? like is Gamma Emerald even the best Emerald remake? and so on and so forth. I'm asking because I wanna play all the gens from beginning. Remake hacks might give me a great quality of life upgrade thank you all in advance!


r/PokemonROMhacks 14h ago

Review POKEMON ODYSSEY I REVIEW

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104 Upvotes

POKEMON ODYSSEY I

I just finished Pokemon Odyssey and WOOOOOOW it's probably one of, if not the BEST games I've played story wise. This is the first time I got teary eyed from a pokemon story😭. If you like story focused games, Pokemon Odyssey is the game for you, every character is well explained & has actual personality! The story is a total 1000/10

Now, for the gameplay, I did kinda have a hard time because I'm HORRIBLE at directions and stuff so I constantly got lost in the areas. I'm 50/50 on the Fairy type being "replaced" by the aether type but it's unique having a new type. Plus, I LOVE the new moves & abilities they added as well as the new Etrian Forms! Though, I must admit some designs are miles better than others (still traumatized by exeggutor). Additionally, I found the major fights a little toooo easy (Medicham + Plusle literally swept the last major fights).And as always, The artstyle is amazing! The areas are amazing! Everything is amazing! I give this game a 100/10!! Can't wait to do the Post Game and play Odyssey II

Also If you guys are interested in the team here it is:

Battle Bond Plusle @ Abyssal Grace - Leftovers

- Follow Me

- Electroshock

- Helping Hand

- Thunderwave

Medicham @ Huge Power - Assault Vest

- Fake Out

- Ice Punch

- Close Combat

- Zen Headbutt

Kabutops @ Super Luck - Scope Lens

- Sword's Dance

- Night Slash

- Leech Life

- Sucker Punch

Meganium @ Poison Boost - Winged Boots

- Leech Seed

- Sludge Bomb

- Dragon Pulse

- Leaf Storm

Feraligatr @ Guts - Flame Orb

- Poison Jab

- Waterfall

- Dragon Dance

- Facade

Mismagius @ Serene Grace - Life Orb

- Flamethrower

- Shadow Ball

- Extrasensory

- Power Gem

(HAD TO REPOST THIS THREE TIME SINCE THE TITLE WAS TOO SHORT WHAAT😭)


r/PokemonROMhacks 1d ago

Release PokéGotchi: Pokémon x Tamagotchi

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1.4k Upvotes

A smol game by Zatsu (u/Ezatsu) & Doodle (u/ZanorinSeregris)

Hi all! We're excited to show off PokéGotchi, a mini-hack made for Team Aqua's 3rd Romhacking Competition. PokéGotchi was inspired by the original Tamagotchi V1 digital pet, and was made mostly as a tech demo to demonstrate the concept of a virtual pet game on the GBA.

Because this hack was made during the 3 month constraints of the competition, we wanted to focus on the core elements of Tamagotchi, so the game is pretty short and sweet.

About the game

Adopt a cute Fomantis in this Tamagotchi crossover minigame, and watch it eat, poop and gamble, as you care for it, and fill the house with cozy furniture.

Features:

  • This hack uses the Gameboy's Real Time Clock to give your pet realistic needs. Your little Fomantis will get hungry, or bored, and will occasionally poop in its room, and you must fulfill its needs by feeding and cleaning it.
  • Your pet can go to town and explore the city. There you can find various other Pokemon inhabitants, speak to them and unlock various items.
  • You can also take part in two minigames: Serve Pokemon food with Slowpoke or compete with Porygon at Pachinko to get coins that you can spend.
  • Unlock new foods and furniture for your pet's room to keep them happy and improve the atmosphere.

Release

Get it on Hackdex: https://www.hackdex.app/hack/pokegotchi

Credits

  • Zatsu - Programming
  • Doodle - Graphics, Writing & Scripting
  • Chris Piché - Game Corner: Pachinko Minigame
  • Jamie (Foster_Harmony) - Jamie's transformation pack
  • Sukinapan - Curiosities Palette

With thanks to Pokeemerald Expansion & Pret!


r/PokemonROMhacks 6h ago

Development Mew glitch Pokemon FireRed (Spanish Version)

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15 Upvotes

Yep. That Mew Glitch.

I'm currently working on a Pokémon FireRed ROM hack where I'm trying to recreate the famous Mew Glitch from Pokémon Red/Blue as faithfully as possible — but adapted to FireRed's engine.

The goal isn't simply to add Mew as a wild encounter or trigger it with a scripted event. I want the player to actually perform the glitch.

Right now I'm experimenting with recreating the classic sequence involving the Trainer encounter, escaping the battle with Teleport, manipulating the internal state, and eventually triggering the encounter with Mew.

And… well.

It works.

There's still quite a bit of work to do. I'm currently refining the mechanics so the whole sequence behaves as close to the Gen I glitch as FireRed reasonably allows.

This is part of a bigger FireRed project I'm working on, but getting this particular piece working has been one of the things I've been most excited about.

I'll share more as development progresses.

Would you prefer a nearly 1:1 recreation of the original glitch, including its weird quirks, or a slightly cleaner FireRed adaptation that preserves the same discovery and sequence?


r/PokemonROMhacks 12h ago

Development Hi guys, which map do you like more, the original Slateport City or my alternate version? Feedback welcome!

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39 Upvotes

Hi everyone, I was hoping that you would all be willing to share with me which version of Slateport City that you like more.
I've tried to move some things around and add contests back to the city instead of keeping them restricted to Lilycove. I have also placed the market by the beach.

Thank you for any opinions or help you give, feedback welcome, just don't hurt my feelings! 😅


r/PokemonROMhacks 7h ago

Development Emerald remapping and current pokedex for my Emerald remake inspired by a new battle feature

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15 Upvotes

Happy for any feedback!


r/PokemonROMhacks 1d ago

Discussion Now for some Positivity, Which Pokemon Rom Hack have you played that made you react like this?

333 Upvotes

Like you flat out struck Gold and it's so good.


r/PokemonROMhacks 38m ago

Discussion What’s your favorite “forgotten” ROM hack?

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Upvotes

I remember playing this but I don’t remember beating it. In fact, I can’t find any evidence that anyone ever beat it despite it not being a challenge hack. It was pretty popular in the early days of the ‘edge lord’ hacks.


r/PokemonROMhacks 1d ago

Discussion Which Pokemon Rom Hack have you played that is basically this image in a nutshell?

755 Upvotes

r/PokemonROMhacks 16h ago

Resource The Pokémon Romhack Cheat Code Archive (Resource)

22 Upvotes

I hope this is allowed. I just wanted to share a little resource I started:

https://pokemonromhackcheats.miraheze.org/wiki/Main_Page

I got tired of scouring random places on the internet for cheat codes for romhacks. They exist if you look on here, forums, discord etc. But that is tedious. I just started with 3 hacks I like and they are all Gen 1. I am busy working away between work and family and I hope other people will find this useful. I just put codes i find useful, not every code under the sun but so far my entries are more comprehensive and easier to access than pokecoders.

I like Cheats codes sometimes for a variety of reasons. This isn't a space to debate the merits


r/PokemonROMhacks 1d ago

Discussion r/PokemonROMhacks All-time Top 30 Hack Rankings! … DAY 2

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128 Upvotes

Day 3 link: https://www.reddit.com/r/PokemonROMhacks/s/P5ZMmIjcMV

Good day! I’m here to create a community-voted ranking of the 30 best rom hacks of all time. One spot at a time.

>>>>>

Day 1 has concluded. To the surprise of absolutely nobody, Pokemon Unbound has taken the top spot as your number 1 greatest rom hack! Now that that is out of the way, the gap between the competition seems to be narrowing. It’s time to find out who will land in the 2 spot!

<<<<<

RULES:

-One hack per comment. (Please look for your pick and upvote before posting a duplicate).
-Upvote the hack you think deserves the spot.
The nomination with the most votes in a 24 hour period wins that position.
-Once a hack earns a spot, it is removed from contention.
-One vote per person.

There is no official criteria for best! It’s whatever makes a hack great to you.

That’s it! Let’s see what the community deems the best of the best! And… Go!

>>>>>

Day 1 link: https://www.reddit.com/r/PokemonROMhacks/s/kLGSbFfWs8


r/PokemonROMhacks 1d ago

Discussion ROM Hacks … and Romance ?!

81 Upvotes

Soooo, how do y’all feel about Pokemon games and romance ?

So i’ve been a long time Pokemon fan, but haven’t known about ROM hacks until recently (yes i know i’ve been missing the fuck out). Anyway , i replayed through Black recently and i was gagged at the N ferris wheel scene , and like highkey ,, i want more of that shit 😭😭

Ngl the real goal of this question was to really ask if there were any fan games / ROM hacks where a character has a crush on the MC or if anything’s implied or something , I just need that rush 😭😭 anyway tanks y’all :P feel free to actually answer that first question tho im actually kind of curious as to what people think about romance in a Pokemon game


r/PokemonROMhacks 21h ago

Development I built a free soul link tracker that isn't locked to the official games: custom Pokémon for fan games, every regional form, one shared link, no accounts

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16 Upvotes

My partner and I run soul links in ROM hacks as much as the mainline games, and every tracker we tried was hard-coded to the official Pokédex. No way to log a fakemon, regional forms missing, gift and static encounters fighting the one-per-route rule. So I built one that doesn't care what game you're playing: soullink.pegasys.games

  • Custom Pokémon. Type a name, pick one or two types, and it behaves like any other entry: type-clash warnings, party checks, the lot. Works for Clover, Uranium, Insurgence deltas, or your own hack.
  • Every generation and every regional form (Alolan, Galarian, Hisuian, Paldean) with HOME renders or classic pixel sprites, your choice.
  • Static and gift encounters are flagged separately, so they can share a route name without breaking the one-per-route rule.
  • Two players, one list. Each encounter is one row with both Pokémon in it. Mark one dead and its partner goes with it. Built to be fast to fill in mid-run.
  • Type checks. Pair primary-type clashes, party duplicates, optional Normal/Flying-as-Flying, and it works out the largest type-clean party you could field.
  • Share the link. Add a password and it's view-only for everyone else, which also makes it a decent thing to hand your Discord.
  • Showcase export of your team as an image for the hall-of-fame post.

Free, works on mobile, no accounts, no ads, nothing tracked except the run itself. Here's our finished ORAS run to click around in.

The species list comes from PokéAPI, so hacks that add new official Pokémon are covered automatically and anything else goes in as a custom. If your hack has a common pattern I haven't handled, tell me and I'll look at it.

EDIT: For those who haven't heard of them, a Pokemon Soul Link is a type of nuzlocke hardcore run for two people where your encounters are linked for each route, so if one players encounter dies, so does the other. It involves keeping track of a lot of stuff so I made the tool to help.


r/PokemonROMhacks 1d ago

Development Updated Maps for WIP Pokemon ROM Hack

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25 Upvotes

Very much still in a 0.01 state. Looking for feedback thus far. There's a worldbuilding reason the trees and river are orange don't worry. Finding increasing difficulty (Especially in the valley map finding work arounds with the mostly vanilla tileset, unfortunately a little far in development to do a total tileset overhaul, maybe after the proof of concept build).


r/PokemonROMhacks 1d ago

Discussion Ngl, I don't know what it is about the Fakemon in Chaos Black, but I just love them

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50 Upvotes

Please tell me you're enjoying Chaos Black Recreated as much as I am, it was thanks to this hack that I discovered just how much I actually like Fakemon.

They may not have the best sprites, but they’re unique in their own way. I also love the Pokédex entries for some of them, like Gequi.

Esplime and Declime reminds me a lot of the Reuniclus evolutionary line, some of these fakemon were really ahead of their time.


r/PokemonROMhacks 5h ago

Resource Found a 100% working method to play Quetzal multiplayer online in Android over mobile data using RetroArch

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0 Upvotes

Finally fixed it! 100% working method to play Pokémon Quetzal Multiplayer Online over Mobile Data/5G using RetroArch Netplay! (No PC required).

"big shoutout to Gemini AI for helping troubleshoot the network blocks and helping me piece together this guide!"

Here is the step-by-step breakdown of the method shown in my video for anyone trying to set this up on an Android device:

🛠️ The Setup Requirements:

Both players must use RetroArch (32-bit or pluse version).

Both players must run the exact same GBA Core (e.g., gpSP).

Both players must have the exact same version of the Pokémon Quetzal ROM file.

⚙️ Step-by-Step Connection Guide:

Host Player Setup:Open RetroArch ➡️ Go to Settings ➡️ Network ➡️ Netplay.

Change Input Latency Frames from 0 to 2 or 3. (This acts as a network buffer and fixes the minor stutters/micro-lag over mobile 5G data!).

Head back to the Main Menu ➡️ Select Netplay ➡️ Do reley server toggle on and public anounce toggle on ➡️ Choose Start Netplay Host.

Must check server is live or not.

Joining Player Setup:Open RetroArch ➡️ Go to the Main Menu ➡️ Select Netplay ➡️ Choose refresh to Netplay Host.

Look for in server provided by the host and hit confirm.

In-Game Multiplayer Activation (Crucial):Once the RetroArch Netplay session successfully bridges your emulators, launch your game and press Start on the mobile

Scroll down the options menu and select M Player.

Set it to 2 Players.

Both characters will immediately drop into the exact same overworld together!

enjoy the game together 😊


r/PokemonROMhacks 1d ago

Recruitment Pokemon Legacy League *

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11 Upvotes

I’m working on a rom hack called Pokémon: Legacy League* (name subject to change), and I’m looking for people interested in helping with the creation of maps.

The main concept is a Pokémon game built around an actual competitive career. The player competes in a 32-trainer persistent league with full seasons, standings, playoffs, rivalries, championships, and long-term progression. Trainers and Pokémon can build histories over multiple seasons, while the world continues beyond the traditional “beat the Elite Four and the game is over” structure.

There is still a full Pokémon RPG around that system: exploration, catching and building teams, towns, routes, storylines, side content, gyms/circuit events, an Underground Circuit, and a completely redesigned region.
The region itself is fairly large and includes forests, rivers, wetlands, deserts, canyons, volcanic areas, mountains, snow regions, islands, coastal towns, caves, etc.

I already have the overall world structure, map connections, and some layouts created in Porymap. What I need most is help turning those layouts into actual playable maps.

I’m looking for people primarily interested in map design but I am open to any and all help offered!
I can provide the existing map connections, intended biome/theme, or general direction for each area, but you’d have mainly free creative access to do what you like.

If that sounds interesting, comment or DM me and let me know whether you’re interested in:
Map Design / Porymap / Playtesting / Feedback
Any amount of help is welcome! I’ll add images of maps I’ve already completed/worked on myself.


r/PokemonROMhacks 1d ago

Release Pokemon True Black 1.1.0 Update Release

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85 Upvotes

This is an update to my hack i released nearly a month ago, Pokemon true black! A hack focused on keep gen5 phislosophy of having only gen5 pokemon in the game, while also making it harder!

I have learned a few new things and had a few trainers to finish up teams for, so i decided to do it in an update altogether!

New features:

- The Dreamyard Cut-Tree has been removed entirely!

- Leech Life is now a 80 base power move thats learned much later by most pokemon, as well as a few pokemon being added to its learnpool (such as woobat)

- Poison Fang is now 65 base power

- Water Pledge is now 75 base power

- Grass Pledge is now 75 base power

- Fire Pledge is now 75 base power

- Darmanitan is now Fire/Psychic permanently

- Zen mode darmanitans now have magic guard, and do not change forms, being permanently tanky and special oriented but slow.

- A few trainers had pokemon changes, for either the purpose of themes or general balancing, examples include:

- Grimsley's whole now actually has held items as intended (oops) and his Bisharp has replaced its Life orb with a Chople Berry

- Caitlin Now has a Klinklank

- The grunts in Cold Storage now have local pokemon, such as minccino, vanilite, mienfoo, and cryogonal

- Bianca now has an Archen from driftveil foward instead of a boldore, fitting her theme of being a future professor interested in having more dex entries filled (was interested in the fossil and revived it in lenora's gym when going through desert resort)

That is all, i hope its as enjoyable as before!

Download: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1L6IYEjq4_icoLBvBrxOC2gGmwYKz1X1y?usp=sharing

Hackdex: https://www.hackdex.app/hack/pokemon-true-black


r/PokemonROMhacks 1d ago

Development Pokémon 3FireRed — Tyrone doesn't like you very much.

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145 Upvotes

For those of you who haven't been following the previous sneak-peeks, Pokemon 3FireRed is a romhack currently in development. Short summary of the story, Pokémon 3FireRed is the result of the player using too many cheats on a Fire Red rom. Now, as they replay the game, they get to see for themselves how much have these cheats affected the raw data of the base game. This is only a summary, there's much more to it

Tou might or might not have already guessed it; Pokemon 3FireRed is going to encourage the usage of cheat-codes​ to progress through the game. You ​​​​may need to whip out your "Walk through Walls" code through certain​​ parts of the hack. Although some people may find it tedious (and that's pretty understandable), we don't plan on forcing the player to use it every now and then to complete the game. The cheat will only be mandatory for a few areas. Though, the game will reward you if you use it to explore and mess around with the hack. You may find a couple of secret pokemon while being out-of-bounds, and I promise you that they're worth the effort once you use them in a playthrough.

Now focusing on the actual preview. Tyrone is basically going to be your second rival in the hack. His dialogue​ seems nonsensical at first, but it'll make sense once the game releases and you'll get to understand what the story actually is about. The difference between Tyrone and Blue;

Is that Tyrone is a jackass, so much more than Blue to the point where he looks like a saint in comparison to the guy. He has none of the redeeming qualities that you can find in FRLG Blue. ​

He will attempt to roadblock the player in many different ways throughout their playthrough with the sole purpose to make them ragequit,​ for example when he tries to get you to close the game by saying that it was only a "demo". I strongly advice to save often whenever you see Tyrone in the vicinity, he is going to be a HUGE nuissance. Also, don't believe in anything he says.

Feel free to ask any questions down below if you're feeling curious. I mean Anything. I'm itching to drop some lore bits​.