Crystal hack: Pokémon Polished Crystal (update 2.2.0)

[Hi-imruss]

Will the odds still be 1/1000ish?

 

[Rangi]

Will the odds still be 1/1000ish?

1 in 4,096, same as canon, with the Shiny Charm boosting them to 3 in 4096 (1 in 1,365). You get the Shiny Charm for completing the Pok?dex.

 

[Hi-imruss]

1 in 4,096, same as canon, with the Shiny Charm boosting them to 3 in 4096 (1 in 1,365). You get the Shiny Charm for completing the Pok?dex.

Shoot, was hoping to do a shiny badge quest, still better than 8192, though

 

[leecher123]

Greatly enjoying this ROM and all the effort and polish that have gone into it. Quick question (I tried searching the thread and didn't find anything):

Since we're using the Gen III+ EV system, have the Power Items/EV reducing berries been implemented? Searching the thread for effort value/macho brace/Pomeg gives no results, so I just wanted to check. Wanted to know if I need to avoid grinding too much with special attackers on the earlier routes if EV's are capped at 510 instead of maxing out each one like in GSC. Thanks!

 

[passarbye]

1 in 4,096, same as canon, with the Shiny Charm boosting them to 3 in 4096 (1 in 1,365). You get the Shiny Charm for completing the Pok?dex.

In addition to this, would you consider adding an NPC that gives you the Shiny Charm if you show them a shiny pokemon?
It would certainly help shiny hunting for those that have no intention of completing the Pok?dex. (I'll still play hours of this game either way)

 

[Deokishisu]

In addition to this, would you consider adding an NPC that gives you the Shiny Charm if you show them a shiny pokemon?
It would certainly help shiny hunting for those that have no intention of completing the Pok?dex. (I'll still play hours of this game either way)

Would be a great idea if not for the shiny Gyarados that's there for anyone and everyone. The Odd Egg is a problem as well.

Unless, Rangi could put an NPC at the Lake of Rage that's all like, "Hey, did you see that weird red Gyarados? Are there other Pokemon with weird colors too? If you show me one, I'll give you this charm I made." (Obviously better dialogue, but you catch my drift.) That way, any shiny other than Gyarados could count, and people who are lucky with shinies could get the Shiny Charm early. I don't know how you would account for the Odd Egg, though, unless he or she only wants to see shiny Pokemon from the wild and not bred ones. It is a great idea, but Polished Crystal basically hands you multiple shinies. I can't think of a great justification for excluding them from being able to get you the Shiny Charm early...

Speaking of breeding, Rangi, how are DVs being passed down now? Are natures/abilites breedable? Are the changes not so severe that you need to change the formula for passing them down? Also, thank you for changing the time boundaries for 3.0 so that night starts at 8pm. When I was going for my living Pokedex in Crystal last year, the time changing at 6pm made finding day Pokemon very inconvenient for me. 6pm is way too early, and the change is appreciated.

 

[BronzeSwagger]

Hi Rangi!
I made anew account just so I could talk to you about your hack, which btw, I love it so far xD

Was hoping to ask if I could PM you some Trainer/Pokemon sprites I made a long time ago for a hack I was going to do, but sadly decided not to. I'd hate for them to go to waste. :S

 

[BronzeSwagger]

I did have something come across my mind last night while playing at Ecruteak, but I wait til the end my report.

Bugs: (I'm sure you hate those)
-One bug I do happen to come across and I wish I could avoid. Is that sometimes when participating on Wonder Trade you'll get sent a Unown. But it ends up being a serious Sprite glitch as it tries to determine which image it is and it fails ultimately. It always ends up being the Letter A when shown during the trade, but before that its a complete horror show. Then sometimes after the trade is done, I can pull up its image in my party and it can be a entirely different Unown symbol.

-Second part to that glitch, and I believe its because I didn't do anything at the Ruins of Alph regarding the puzzles yet and unlocking them. Is that in the Pokedex entry, the Sprite image of Unown is a really distorted Misdreavus sprite. Again, another horror show glitch.

I still haven't found a solution regarding to those glitches, but it could be as simple as doing at least "one" of the Ruins of Alph puzzles before ever attempting the Wonder Trade mechanic. That being said, Idk for sure. I can provide screens if need be.

Other Reports:
- As I said before I've been at Ecruteak and I really love the Shrine wit the maiden. Although, something had came across my mind last night while breeding/battling. In regards to the choice between the "Blessing" and "Battling", it almost seems it would be dumb to ever do the Blessing because it just seems like dialogue alone by itself, (Unless I'm wrong, then correct me) and battling the maiden is obviously the superior choice at any given time. If I could make a suggestion, and you can take this with a grain of salt. What about applying something to the blessing to make it more worthwhile for breeding? (the polar opposite of training) Say if the Blessing was for Eggs you are carrying in your party instead of regular pokemon. By choosing the "Blessing" option for your Egg, you could increase the chances of the Egg being a Shiny by let's say an estimate of 10%. This could give every player the idea of a mini Shiny Charm enabler without having Shiny Charm yet while also providing a more difficult choice between the Blessing and Battling considering its "once per day." Not to mention after obtaining Shiny Charm, it also gives your current Shiny Charm an extra boost in the long run. (Making the choice rather more difficult as the grind for low-levelers are also pretty tasteful by itself)

-Another thing I wanted to add to this game as a suggestion, but is just a personal pref so its ignorable. Is to reduce the party size of some of the Gym Leaders. Its something proving to be over-doing it as far as grinding. I think what you did with Falkner and Bugsy was great. But once you got to Whitney, to me it feels like a Snore-fest. Because from then on its always 5-6 pokemon. And I hate to say it, but I was in my Early 40's with a team of 4 before I even got to Jasmine because of all the other trainers along the way. Plus Morty, Chuck, and Jasmine with a full party of major EXP. I'm assuming the last 2 Gyms are the same. Like I said, its more of a personal pref to me. But when I was doing my old hack I done the party size of the Gym Leaders sort of "back and forth" and only increasing little by little. You can still edit the parties, movesets, and pokemon to make them more difficult than the original games for the player you want to impress. You can just do it with a lighter creative touch.

And for one thing, like Morty for instance. Morty could do without the Gastly and 1 of the Haunters. While Jasmine can just bench the Magnemite as either 1 Haunter (or any other repeat) is more than enough or they are so low tier they don't provide much EXP. (Magnemite/Gastly). The only time I'd ever add a repeat mon is with Clair going a party of 5 but both with different movesets alternating between 1 move, such as Thunderbolt and Ice Beam. (Ex. Seadra, Dragonair w/Thunderbolt, Gyarados, Dragonair w/Ice Beam, Kingdra)

Just a ref, but this is something I've went by, as I've been studying to be a game designer myself someday.

Falkner -3
Bugsy -3 or 4
Whitney -3
Morty-4
Chuck-3 or 4
Jasmine-4
Pryce-4
Clair-5

(Clair being the final gym before the Indigo League, he/she would obviously show off the most EXP and difficulty as a trainer, there for having the most mons out of all the others, it provides a great depth to that charcter yet still not a full party, which is really okay, because none of them need to be extra special before your true test as a trainer when challenging the league to become champion and etc,)

As far as Kanto though, after the Pokemon League, its a post-game enjoyment, so imo, do whatever you'd want, including full party battles. My main point I'm trying to get across is that it should be something considered as a treat to the player him/herself AFTER the main story, and not before until your face-off with the cream of the crop in Johto.

That being said, I really love this game, and I wish you the best, and this comment can probably fly over your head and I'll never know it being on the other side of a computer screen. But if anything I've said ever helped with ideas, or you need those bug report info let me know. I'm a message away. I only want to help the best I can.

 

[uchihamadada]

I did have something come across my mind last night while playing at Ecruteak, but I wait til the end my report.

Bugs: (I'm sure you hate those)
-One bug I do happen to come across and I wish I could avoid. Is that sometimes when participating on Wonder Trade you'll get sent a Unown. But it ends up being a serious Sprite glitch as it tries to determine which image it is and it fails ultimately. It always ends up being the Letter A when shown during the trade, but before that its a complete horror show. Then sometimes after the trade is done, I can pull up its image in my party and it can be a entirely different Unown symbol.

-Second part to that glitch, and I believe its because I didn't do anything at the Ruins of Alph regarding the puzzles yet and unlocking them. Is that in the Pokedex entry, the Sprite image of Unown is a really distorted Misdreavus sprite. Again, another horror show glitch.

I still haven't found a solution regarding to those glitches, but it could be as simple as doing at least "one" of the Ruins of Alph puzzles before ever attempting the Wonder Trade mechanic. That being said, Idk for sure. I can provide screens if need be.

Other Reports:
- As I said before I've been at Ecruteak and I really love the Shrine wit the maiden. Although, something had came across my mind last night while breeding/battling. In regards to the choice between the "Blessing" and "Battling", it almost seems it would be dumb to ever do the Blessing because it just seems like dialogue alone by itself, (Unless I'm wrong, then correct me) and battling the maiden is obviously the superior choice at any given time. If I could make a suggestion, and you can take this with a grain of salt. What about applying something to the blessing to make it more worthwhile for breeding? (the polar opposite of training) Say if the Blessing was for Eggs you are carrying in your party instead of regular pokemon. By choosing the "Blessing" option for your Egg, you could increase the chances of the Egg being a Shiny by let's say an estimate of 10%. This could give every player the idea of a mini Shiny Charm enabler without having Shiny Charm yet while also providing a more difficult choice between the Blessing and Battling considering its "once per day." Not to mention after obtaining Shiny Charm, it also gives your current Shiny Charm an extra boost in the long run. (Making the choice rather more difficult as the grind for low-levelers are also pretty tasteful by itself)

-Another thing I wanted to add to this game as a suggestion, but is just a personal pref so its ignorable. Is to reduce the party size of some of the Gym Leaders. Its something proving to be over-doing it as far as grinding. I think what you did with Falkner and Bugsy was great. But once you got to Whitney, to me it feels like a Snore-fest. Because from then on its always 5-6 pokemon. And I hate to say it, but I was in my Early 40's with a team of 4 before I even got to Jasmine because of all the other trainers along the way. Plus Morty, Chuck, and Jasmine with a full party of major EXP. I'm assuming the last 2 Gyms are the same. Like I said, its more of a personal pref to me. But when I was doing my old hack I done the party size of the Gym Leaders sort of "back and forth" and only increasing little by little. You can still edit the parties, movesets, and pokemon to make them more difficult than the original games for the player you want to impress. You can just do it with a lighter creative touch.

And for one thing, like Morty for instance. Morty could do without the Gastly and 1 of the Haunters. While Jasmine can just bench the Magnemite as either 1 Haunter (or any other repeat) is more than enough or they are so low tier they don't provide much EXP. (Magnemite/Gastly). The only time I'd ever add a repeat mon is with Clair going a party of 5 but both with different movesets alternating between 1 move, such as Thunderbolt and Ice Beam. (Ex. Seadra, Dragonair w/Thunderbolt, Gyarados, Dragonair w/Ice Beam, Kingdra)

Just a ref, but this is something I've went by, as I've been studying to be a game designer myself someday.

Falkner -3
Bugsy -3 or 4
Whitney -3
Morty-4
Chuck-3 or 4
Jasmine-4
Pryce-4
Clair-5

(Clair being the final gym before the Indigo League, he/she would obviously show off the most EXP and difficulty as a trainer, there for having the most mons out of all the others, it provides a great depth to that charcter yet still not a full party, which is really okay, because none of them need to be extra special before your true test as a trainer when challenging the league to become champion and etc,)

As far as Kanto though, after the Pokemon League, its a post-game enjoyment, so imo, do whatever you'd want, including full party battles. My main point I'm trying to get across is that it should be something considered as a treat to the player him/herself AFTER the main story, and not before until your face-off with the cream of the crop in Johto.

That being said, I really love this game, and I wish you the best, and this comment can probably fly over your head and I'll never know it being on the other side of a computer screen. But if anything I've said ever helped with ideas, or you need those bug report info let me know. I'm a message away. I only want to help the best I can.

Totally agree with this...specially about Clair, also in my particular opinion...in her rematch team she has to many Dragonairs...maybe it's possible to add a pkm team with a Little more diversity (Just a suggestion) :)

 

[uchihamadada]

Hi Rangi and community!
I'm wondering if Mewtwo's back sprite will be updated for 3.0?
In Crystal his eyes looks to creepy (like an alien or something like that hahaha)

 

[Rangi]

In addition to this, would you consider adding an NPC that gives you the Shiny Charm if you show them a shiny pokemon?
It would certainly help shiny hunting for those that have no intention of completing the Pok?dex. (I'll still play hours of this game either way)

No, that would (a) be essentially a free Shiny Charm, since Red Gyarados and two gift Eggs are free shinies, and (b) then what would your reward for completing the Pok?dex be? A useless diploma?

Speaking of breeding, Rangi, how are DVs being passed down now? Are natures/abilites breedable? Are the changes not so severe that you need to change the formula for passing them down? Also, thank you for changing the time boundaries for 3.0 so that night starts at 8pm. When I was going for my living Pokedex in Crystal last year, the time changing at 6pm made finding day Pokemon very inconvenient for me. 6pm is way too early, and the change is appreciated.

...I actually still need to update and test the breeding code now that there are three DV bytes and two personality bytes (controlling ability, nature, gender, shininess, and form). Eventually it ought to work like in canon, including the effects of held items like Everstone and Destiny Knot.

One bug I do happen to come across and I wish I could avoid. Is that sometimes when participating on Wonder Trade you'll get sent a Unown. But it ends up being a serious Sprite glitch as it tries to determine which image it is and it fails ultimately. It always ends up being the Letter A when shown during the trade, but before that its a complete horror show. Then sometimes after the trade is done, I can pull up its image in my party and it can be a entirely different Unown symbol.

Now that Wonder Trade forms are set to 1 instead of 0, this appears to be entirely fixed. (Eventually I'll add random form generation for the Pokemon with multiple forms.)

In regards to the choice between the "Blessing" and "Battling", it almost seems it would be dumb to ever do the Blessing because it just seems like dialogue alone by itself, (Unless I'm wrong, then correct me) and battling the maiden is obviously the superior choice at any given time.

Blessing is like haircuts and photographing: it makes your Pok?mon happier.

Another thing I wanted to add to this game as a suggestion, but is just a personal pref so its ignorable. Is to reduce the party size of some of the Gym Leaders. Its something proving to be over-doing it as far as grinding. I think what you did with Falkner and Bugsy was great. But once you got to Whitney, to me it feels like a Snore-fest. Because from then on its always 5-6 pokemon. And I hate to say it, but I was in my Early 40's with a team of 4 before I even got to Jasmine because of all the other trainers along the way.

From the playthroughs I've seen on YouTube, full parties seem pretty balanced. Some people beat them easily, some black out or at least struggle to win. However, now that I've added some new areas (like the whole coastline south of Goldenrod and Cherrygrove), it may need rebalancing. (Those areas are optional, so the game should be reasonably hard whether or not you clear them.) I'll wait and see how people experience 3.0, and adjust difficulty in an update.

And for one thing, like Morty for instance. Morty could do without the Gastly and 1 of the Haunters. While Jasmine can just bench the Magnemite as either 1 Haunter (or any other repeat) is more than enough or they are so low tier they don't provide much EXP. (Magnemite/Gastly). The only time I'd ever add a repeat mon is with Clair going a party of 5 but both with different movesets alternating between 1 move, such as Thunderbolt and Ice Beam. (Ex. Seadra, Dragonair w/Thunderbolt, Gyarados, Dragonair w/Ice Beam, Kingdra)

Yeah, if I reduced their teams, then of course I'd get rid of the duplicate filler Pok?mon.

Totally agree with this...specially about Clair, also in my particular opinion...in her rematch team she has to many Dragonairs...maybe it's possible to add a pkm team with a Little more diversity (Just a suggestion) :)

Well, I'm sure not giving her a Dratini, and Salamence or Goodra are impossible. ;) Seriously, given that I want to reserve Dragonite for Lance, her options are Kingdra, Dragonair, Yanmega (Bug/Dragon in non-Faithful), and Charizard (Fire/Dragon in non-Faithful). She has Kingdra, three Dragonairs with different elemental movesets (which reminds me, they should have different DV-based colors now too), Yanmega, and Gyarados (a "dragon"). Charizard is for Lance.

Hi Rangi and community!
I'm wondering if Mewtwo's back sprite will be updated for 3.0?
In Crystal his eyes looks to creepy (like an alien or something like that hahaha)

The Crystal one looks fine to me, but I suppose it could be updated. How's this?

 

[JasonPK]

Oooh, that Mewtwo backsprite looks a lot nicer. I can kinda see what Uchihamadada was talking about, the original backsprite's eyes (or eye, rather) do look a bit weird. But the updated one looks perfect. :D

 

[BronzeSwagger]

Now that Wonder Trade forms are set to 1 instead of 0, this appears to be entirely fixed. (Eventually I'll add random form generation for the Pokemon with multiple forms.)
That's great then, so as far as that, should I re-download?

Blessing is like haircuts and photographing: it makes your Pok?mon happier.
Ah, I didn't know, I stand corrected then

From the playthroughs I've seen on YouTube, full parties seem pretty balanced. Some people beat them easily, some black out or at least struggle to win. However, now that I've added some new areas (like the whole coastline south of Goldenrod and Cherrygrove), it may need rebalancing. (Those areas are optional, so the game should be reasonably hard whether or not you clear them.) I'll wait and see how people experience 3.0, and adjust difficulty in an update.

Yeah, if I reduced their teams, then of course I'd get rid of the duplicate filler Pok?mon.

Well, I'm sure not giving her a Dratini, and Salamence or Goodra are impossible. ;) Seriously, given that I want to reserve Dragonite for Lance, her options are Kingdra, Dragonair, Yanmega (Bug/Dragon in non-Faithful), and Charizard (Fire/Dragon in non-Faithful). She has Kingdra, three Dragonairs with different elemental movesets (which reminds me, they should have different DV-based colors now too), Yanmega, and Gyarados (a "dragon"). Charizard is for Lance.

Well, like I said before, its more of a personal pref for me, I try to look from the player's point of view and perspective when playing the game and sometimes I can't judge how everyone feels when they play other than nostalgia, I just think full party battles should be a treat of some sort for post-game, because if you build the teams right beforehand during the main story, it can still be balanced and pretty challenging for the player. I know for one that with Jasmine that Skarmory, Magneton, Scizor (or Forretress), & Steelix by themselves were the most challenging of that team and could have provided the proper difficulty by themselves, again though, by the time I reached her I was 4-5+ levels ahead of her. And Of course, like you said, those other areas were optional, but I had done them myself to explore the hack, which further pointed why I was ahead of the game.

 

[Rangi]

That's great then, so as far as that, should I re-download?

Sure, but you'll probably have to restart the game. After 3.0 is released I'll do my best to make updates save-compatible, but anyone compiling the unreleased latest code will probably get save-breaking commits. (And sometimes game-breaking commits.)

Well, like I said before, its more of a personal pref for me, I try to look from the player's point of view and perspective when playing the game and sometimes I can't judge how everyone feels when they play other than nostalgia, I just think full party battles should be a treat of some sort for post-game, because if you build the teams right beforehand during the main story, it can still be balanced and pretty challenging for the player. I know for one that with Jasmine that Skarmory, Magneton, Scizor (or Forretress), & Steelix by themselves were the most challenging of that team and could have provided the proper difficulty by themselves, again though, by the time I reached her I was 4-5+ levels ahead of her. And Of course, like you said, those other areas were optional, but I had done them myself to explore the hack, which further pointed why I was ahead of the game.

I'll consider reducing them to five maximum.

 

[uchihamadada]

Well, I'm sure not giving her a Dratini, and Salamence or Goodra are impossible. ;) Seriously, given that I want to reserve Dragonite for Lance, her options are Kingdra, Dragonair, Yanmega (Bug/Dragon in non-Faithful), and Charizard (Fire/Dragon in non-Faithful). She has Kingdra, three Dragonairs with different elemental movesets (which reminds me, they should have different DV-based colors now too), Yanmega, and Gyarados (a "dragon"). Charizard is for Lance.

The Crystal one looks fine to me, but I suppose it could be updated. How's this?

Well, that Mewtwo's sprite looks "perfect" to me, it's a perfect mix between the facial features of Crystal and those eyes a Little more accurate for Mewtwo...about Clair, I think Yanmega will be an amazing addition to her party :)

 

[SCMidna]

What would a Dragon-type trainer need with a Bug? Never mind, I should learn to read more.

 

[BronzeSwagger]

Just thought I'd ask, does the pokemon in this hack such as Starmie, Ninetales, or Wigglytuff still have the penalty for evolving too soon?

My only real concern was trying to teach my Jigglypuff Play Rough, but gave-in to the Moon Stone when I had reached up to Level 49. (I thought I'd learn it then, but when it was Double-Edge, I had a mini tantrum T_T)

 

[JasonPK]

If memory serves me correctly, even if you missed a pre-evolution's level-up move, can't you "remember" it through the Move Relearner? I thought it worked that way in the later games and thus in PC, since Rangi's incorporated a lot of modern elements.

 

[Rangi]

If memory serves me correctly, even if you missed a pre-evolution's level-up move, can't you "remember" it through the Move Relearner? I thought it worked that way in the later games and thus in PC, since Rangi's incorporated a lot of modern elements.

I didn't know the Gen 4+ Move Reminder allowed that. Thanks for bringing it up. I've added it now, along with support to relearn Gen 7's evolution moves.

 

[JasonPK]

I didn't know the Gen 4+ Move Reminder allowed that. Thanks for bringing it up. I've added it now, along with support to relearn Gen 7's evolution moves.

I've fact-checked myself just to be sure and it looks like it isn't the case. If you miss a preevolution-only level up move it looks like the evolved Pokemon can never ever learn it, like if Eevee evolves before learning Baton Pass then it can never learn it.

So take that as you will. :P Keeping it that way might make more sense in the long run.