Crystal hack: Pokémon Crystal 50 (Prototype, name not final)

[Prof_Oatfield]

Hi, everyone!

I would like to share Pokémon Crystal50 (name not final, suggestions are welcome), a gen. 2 ROM hack I am working on. It is still in its early stages, but receiving feedback early in development is always good, so here it goes.
Note: there is no playable attachment for now, but I should be able to complete a minimal, shareable version soon.

Main idea: All Pokémon are internally set to level 50, at all times. It does not matter what level the UI shows, your stats are always that of a level 50 Pokémon. You still earn experience and gain levels, though, which are used to determine when your Pokémon learns new moves or when it evolves.

Changes to Battle Mechanics: I have a bunch of changes planned, but, for now, I have only implemented changes to how stat stages work. They no longer last indefinitely, but they are generally stronger to compensate, albeit with a lower cap (only from -2 to +2, instead of -6 to +6).

Example: using Swords Dance gives you +2 Attack, which in this hack is equivalent to +3 Attack (tried +4 first, seemed broken), but this buff lasts only 3 turns; then it resets to +0. You get a stronger boost immediately, but you have to set up multiple times to sweep an entire team.

Changes to Healing Items: With all stats set to level 50, items such as Oran Berry and Potion would not make sense, they heal tiny amounts of HP. Thus, I tweaked their healing amounts and split their effects by item category.

Example: Berries heal % amounts and can be used as held items. Potions heal a static amount (nn HP) and can be used in battle, as normal. Drinks (e.g. Fresh Water) heal more than Potions, and are cheaper, but cannot be held or used in battle. Some special drinks (Berry Juice and Moomoo Milk) heal % amounts.

Changes to HM Moves: I have assigned the moves by species. As long as the species is capable of performing the overworld move, you are good to go (after unlocking the move, if applicable). Note that this is different from using the move in battle.

Example: Spearow can learn and use Fly in battle, but it cannot use Fly in the overworld for fast travel, as it is too small to carry a person.

General Changes: Other battle mechanics are generally on par with gen. 8, including move effects (e.g., Rapid Spin raises Speed), removed moves (e.g. Meditate), added moves (e.g. Dragon Dance) and updated learnsets. Obviously, not all moves fit into a gen. 2 game, so I had to make a selection.
Gym leaders have updated teams of 3 Pokémon, trying to include more Pokémon (that make sense) from Johto, rather than Pokémon from Kanto.

Future Work: I have lots of plans for quests, day/night mechanics, redesigning the PP system, capture mechanics, and more. I will work on those as I find free time, and if people seem generally interested in the concept.

Disclaimer: I got this idea from a YouTube video by pimanrules, about a tournament between NPCs all set to level 50 (which I recomment checking out).