- 7
- Posts
- 4
- Years
- Age 32
- Celadon
- Seen Dec 9, 2019
Pokémon Chari and Pokémon Zard
Download / Patching at the bottom !
Origins
It all started with a meme I did on reddit about supposed gen 9 games, where every mon was a variant of Charizard, as a response to the trend Game Freak seem to be having by giving something special to the pokémon for each of the last 3 generations of games.
There were several comments requesting a ROM hack for this, similar to the marvelous Bidoof Version (seriously, look it up). Since I was already a little familiar with the source code for the Generation 1 games, graciously made accessible by pret on his easily-findable-so-I-won't-risk-a-link github, and had fiddled with it in the past, I decided to make the ROM hack myself.
So here you have it, Pokémon Chari and Pokémon Zard, based on Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue ! There is a discord for the community, which can be found here.
Here is a complete list of changes I have done :
Charizardification
Every mon has been Zardified. This means that every mon now :
- has its name changed to a Zard-themes name
- has a special Zard sprite (including Ghost, and museum Fossils)
- has its secondary type replaced by Fire
- knows Ember at level 1, learns Flamethrower at level 35, and can learn TM 38 Fire Blast
This includes gimicky mons, like Ditto, Magikarp, or Metapod. (For clarity's sake, I will keep refering to mons by their original names here)
I originally released the hack under a week after doing the original reddit post, and wanted it done quick before the meme died. So I haven't done a full 151-sprites conversion. Rather, I made about 35 sprites that are shared over several mons depending on which was best fitting. If played with an emulator on SGB mode (Super Game Boy) , you'll get unique tints on the sprites that help tell them apart and feel like they're still the original mon. For instance, Bulbasaur, Oddish, and Belsprout all use the same plant-based sprite, but are different colors.
I'll also point out that I didn't change the mons' cries for variety's sake : everything already looks like a Charizard, and it helps distinguishing everything. I also didn't change the party sprites, once again to have an easier time telling mons apart. I have tried both and neither felt quite right, so I reverted them.
But the mons aren't the only thing that got the Zard treatment ! Dialogues, pokedex entires, menus, some items, have been zardified if deemed appropriate. Including the catching tutorial.
And I thought it only fair, in true Game Freak spirit, to make Charizard a Fire / Fighting type. The whole Charmander line learns fighting moves as it gains levels, starting with Double Kick at level 10. (This will also help with Brock if you pick the fire starter.)
On a finishing note, and since it's such a special mon, I thought it would only be fair to give Charizard an extra evolution, using a Fire Stone.
Dex completion and QoL changes
There are a couple of changes I wanted to try out. They are entirely optionnal and you can play without them if you so choose. They are almost all about being able to complete your pokedex on your own.
- Version exclusives are now fully available. Chari is essentially Red and Zard is Blue.
--- Ekans / Sandshrew is at 4 % on route 4
--- Oddish / Bellsprout 4 % on route 5
--- Mankey / Meowth 4 % on route 6
--- Vulpix / Growlithe 4 % on route 8
--- Magmar / Electabuzz are now regularly available in both versions (Power Plant / Mansion B1)
--- Scyther / Pinsir in most of the Safari Zone areas.
- Trade Evolutions now also evolve at level 42.
- Moon Stones are now buyable
But also :
- The two unchosen starters are in pokeballs somewhere in the pokemon world.
- The other fossil is in the house of someone known to collect fossils.
- The dojo now gives you the choice between a Tyrogue and another Tyrogue.
- Eevee and it's evolutions can all evolve into one another by using the appropriate stone (e.g. Jolteon to Vaporeon with a Water Stone). Using the same Stone as its current form will turn it back to an Eevee. Do note that on evolution, a mon will try and learn a move it would have learned by leveling up to it's current level : this means that evolving an Eevee to all its forms, one after the other, on level 31, for instance, will make it learn Ember, Water Gun, and Thundershock. You can also take advantage of each form's learnable TMs.
- Ditto evolves into Mew at level 30.
- Cubone has an alternative evolution into Kangaskhan at level 42.
Mr. Mime, Lickitung, Jynx, and Farfetch'd can still only be obtained through in-game trades, Lapras and Eevee only through gift, and all static mons (Birds and Mewtwo) are still one of a kind.
All mons' wild availability are shown in the pokédex.
I didn't edit any catch rates, but Master Balls are buyable at Indigo Plateau for 50.000, making it easier to get legendaries, but still expensive enough and late enough in the game to not be too exploitable.
The starting PC item is now a Lemonade for those who want earlier acces through Saffron. Details below.
TMs have been made reusable, and cost 3x as much since you'll only need one. Since you have limited invntory and PC space, I made it so you could still sell them if you didn't need/want them.
Most glitches should still work. I know for sure the trainer-fly glitch does. I could not edit any Missigno Sprites since they aren't sprites : they are glitchy because they try to read non-sprite data as sprites.
(Changing sprites in general was a huge hassle and I don't think I'll be doing it again. This is also why I didn't edit trainer sprites to have Charizard heads. The mon sprites are stored a certain way that can't be transposed to non-mon sprites, and I already spent most of my time un-glitching what I was doing to the mon sprites in the first place.)
Extended Kanto Dex
But wait, there's more ! Every mon from gens 2+ that is related to a gen 1 mon has been added. That means mons like Pichu, Blissey, Mime Jr, Magmortar, Sylveon, etc have been added. I also added Sirfetch'd, as well as Heracross, because why not. I have edited trades and a few wild encounter tabels, especially in the early game, to adapt to this. The Kanto dex is now 186 mons long. Prof oak's reviews and the complete dex diploma now depend on this value.
Most of the new mons evolve by stone. I obviously couldn't replicate the special conditions for every one of them (friendship, held items, location, etc), so you'll have to make do with stones. A few still evolve by level up (Baby pokemon at level 10 or 30 depending on the species, Farfetch'd at level 42, Chansey at level 55, one secret bonus mon at level ??). A detailed list about stone evolution methods can be found below.
I obviously had to add a couple of stones for this to work. They can all be bought in various stores : Ice stone in Celadon, Sun/Moon stones in Saffron, Shiny Stone at Indigo Plateau. A Sun Stone can also be found in Pokemon Tower, a Shiny Stone in Pokemon Mansion.
I have also added a bunch of very special mons that you'll only be able to get to in the endgame. I will say no more about this.
Most of the new mons all have their movesets/learnsets copied from whatever they evolve from/to. Chances are I'll never change this : I'd also have to update all other mons to be fair, and I can't be bothered. Also cries are copied. Also dex entries.
Added Fairy/Dark/Steel types, along with two moves for each type. Only very few mons learn them. I also fixed Ghost>Psychic effectiveness while I was at it, but that only affects the move Lick so whatever.
Known Issues
These are all minor glitches, but worth noting :
- Some of the trainers may have been automatically set to "spin". They will notice you, and walk to you, even through walls. This shouldn't be an issue in large open maps, but it might get you stuck on smaller cramped maps, like the rocket hideout. I honnestly don't believe it will, but I haven't tested every configuration yet. Just make sure you have an escape rope/dig at all times just in case.
- The extra bonus secret mons, for some reason, appear with the grey palette when viewed in the status screen. This does not happen in battle nor in the pokedex.
- Sometimes, after viewing mons in the pokedex, status screen, or evolution, the player/npc sprites may not reappear when closing the menu. Or the pokemon sprites will still be there on the left side. Pressing Start and returning to the pokemon/dex menu and pressing B fixed it every time. I could not get it to replicate consistently.
- A few of the stone evolutions I added aren't displayed as "ABLE" in the pokemon menu, but still work. I especially noticed this around the new eeveelutions, but haven't tested every mon yet. This is why I'll be adding a list of the stones used to evolve each compatible mon
- Some mons seem to have glitched Lv0 movesets. I have no idea how widespread this is, nor if it affects the game in any other way.
Stone Evolutions
- Eevee/lutions : any stone works. Using the same stone turns it back into an Eevee.
- Tyrogue/Hitmons : same deal, but with Sun(Lee)/Moon(Chan)/Shiny(Top) stones only.
Other than that :
- Sun stone evolves Gloom into Bellossom, Poliwhirl into Politoed, Porygon into Porygon2, Lickytung into Lickilicky
- No new Moon stones evolutions other then Eevee/Hitmons. It has quite a few evolution lines already.
- Water Stone evolves Slowpoke into Slowking, Seadra into Kingdra
- Fire Stone evolves Magmar into Magmortar
- Thunder Stone evolves Electabuzz into Electivire, Magneton into Magnezone
- Leaf Stone evolves Tangela into Tangrowth
- Ice stone is only used for Glaceon
- Shiny Stone evolves Onix into Steelix, Scyther into Scizor, Rhydon into Rhyperior, and Porygon2 into PorygonZ
Custom trainers
5 trainers have been modified to suit the wishes of the 5 most active members of the community !
- A meme-y yet spooky Chaneler in Pokemon Tower.
- A Beauty that didn't make it to being a Nurse Joy, on Route 15.
- A Gentleman on the SS Anne who doesn't like being disturbed.
- A Cooltrainer(M) in Victory Road, on his way to Indigo Plateau.
- A veteran Cooltrainer(M) in Victory Road, the final challenge before the Pokemon League !
Misc & Observations
The everything-is-a-Fire-type thing can easily be exploited with a good Water/Rock/Ground type. This is a joke hack, so balance wasn't really my prioity (and never will be for this project). You can either take advantage of it (starting with Squirtle makes the game really easy), or try and challenge your way through. Bulbasaur is neutral resistant to fire (being part-fire itself), but it essentially hard mode since most mons will resist its attacks.
The Lemonade in the starting PC, if you're not familiar with gen 1, means you can essentially skip Misty, SS Anne, Rock Tunel, etc. When getting to Cerulean, go talk to Bill up North, and the Dig-House will be open. Beat the Rocket and you can waltz in through Saffron, bribing the guards with the Lemonade. This'll unlock 90 % of the map early, use this responsibility as you want : maybe you can get an early Eevee to make it your main mon, or maybe you want to head south to the Safari and get some mons down there ?
I tried to make all of these QoL things as optional as possible : people who don't want to play with them can just chose not to do them.
Once again, please join Chari and Zard's discord server to join the community, report bugs, or suggest anything !
Future changes ?
I am satisfied with the state of this ROM and will likely never update it, unless it's to fix some minor issues I can do something about.
I might one day make all of the present dex/QoL changes on a regular Red ROM. But I feel like there are already quite enough hacks attempting to do their own version of an ''Ultimate Red'' Version. I highly prefer doing my changes on something I consider more unique and memorable.
Credits
I made the hack entirely by myself, but there were a couple of external resources I used, namely pret's pokered dessasembly. Not sure if I should link it here so I'll let you guys google it if you're interested.
I made most of the sprites myself, but a few of the ones for bonus mons were found online. As far as I can tell, they were made by :
- r0bojack on tumblr link
- axel-comics on devientart link
- monnotonnouspixels on tumblr link
- fexiled on tumblr link
- leparagon on deviantart link
I had to rework them somewhat, but the main credit is theirs.
Do note these links contain spoilers for end-game special mons !
Download / Patching
Download the patches on the discord, in the #files channel. Or simply download them below.
The patches are made for each specific version : Chari on Red, Zard on Blue.
They'll technically work the other way around, but you probably won't be able to get a full dex, and some other things might behave weirdly.
I believe most of you already know this, but I might as well write it down :
To patch the file on a ROM, I recommend Lunar IPS on Windows.
If you're on Android, I beleive there's one called ROM Patcher in the store for free.
Beware : patching will override the original ROM, so be sure you make a backup of your original Red/Blue ROM.
Download / Patching at the bottom !
Origins
It all started with a meme I did on reddit about supposed gen 9 games, where every mon was a variant of Charizard, as a response to the trend Game Freak seem to be having by giving something special to the pokémon for each of the last 3 generations of games.
There were several comments requesting a ROM hack for this, similar to the marvelous Bidoof Version (seriously, look it up). Since I was already a little familiar with the source code for the Generation 1 games, graciously made accessible by pret on his easily-findable-so-I-won't-risk-a-link github, and had fiddled with it in the past, I decided to make the ROM hack myself.
So here you have it, Pokémon Chari and Pokémon Zard, based on Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue ! There is a discord for the community, which can be found here.
Here is a complete list of changes I have done :
Charizardification
Every mon has been Zardified. This means that every mon now :
- has its name changed to a Zard-themes name
- has a special Zard sprite (including Ghost, and museum Fossils)
- has its secondary type replaced by Fire
- knows Ember at level 1, learns Flamethrower at level 35, and can learn TM 38 Fire Blast
This includes gimicky mons, like Ditto, Magikarp, or Metapod. (For clarity's sake, I will keep refering to mons by their original names here)
I originally released the hack under a week after doing the original reddit post, and wanted it done quick before the meme died. So I haven't done a full 151-sprites conversion. Rather, I made about 35 sprites that are shared over several mons depending on which was best fitting. If played with an emulator on SGB mode (Super Game Boy) , you'll get unique tints on the sprites that help tell them apart and feel like they're still the original mon. For instance, Bulbasaur, Oddish, and Belsprout all use the same plant-based sprite, but are different colors.
I'll also point out that I didn't change the mons' cries for variety's sake : everything already looks like a Charizard, and it helps distinguishing everything. I also didn't change the party sprites, once again to have an easier time telling mons apart. I have tried both and neither felt quite right, so I reverted them.
But the mons aren't the only thing that got the Zard treatment ! Dialogues, pokedex entires, menus, some items, have been zardified if deemed appropriate. Including the catching tutorial.
And I thought it only fair, in true Game Freak spirit, to make Charizard a Fire / Fighting type. The whole Charmander line learns fighting moves as it gains levels, starting with Double Kick at level 10. (This will also help with Brock if you pick the fire starter.)
On a finishing note, and since it's such a special mon, I thought it would only be fair to give Charizard an extra evolution, using a Fire Stone.
Dex completion and QoL changes
There are a couple of changes I wanted to try out. They are entirely optionnal and you can play without them if you so choose. They are almost all about being able to complete your pokedex on your own.
- Version exclusives are now fully available. Chari is essentially Red and Zard is Blue.
--- Ekans / Sandshrew is at 4 % on route 4
--- Oddish / Bellsprout 4 % on route 5
--- Mankey / Meowth 4 % on route 6
--- Vulpix / Growlithe 4 % on route 8
--- Magmar / Electabuzz are now regularly available in both versions (Power Plant / Mansion B1)
--- Scyther / Pinsir in most of the Safari Zone areas.
- Trade Evolutions now also evolve at level 42.
- Moon Stones are now buyable
But also :
- The two unchosen starters are in pokeballs somewhere in the pokemon world.
- The other fossil is in the house of someone known to collect fossils.
- The dojo now gives you the choice between a Tyrogue and another Tyrogue.
- Eevee and it's evolutions can all evolve into one another by using the appropriate stone (e.g. Jolteon to Vaporeon with a Water Stone). Using the same Stone as its current form will turn it back to an Eevee. Do note that on evolution, a mon will try and learn a move it would have learned by leveling up to it's current level : this means that evolving an Eevee to all its forms, one after the other, on level 31, for instance, will make it learn Ember, Water Gun, and Thundershock. You can also take advantage of each form's learnable TMs.
- Ditto evolves into Mew at level 30.
- Cubone has an alternative evolution into Kangaskhan at level 42.
Mr. Mime, Lickitung, Jynx, and Farfetch'd can still only be obtained through in-game trades, Lapras and Eevee only through gift, and all static mons (Birds and Mewtwo) are still one of a kind.
All mons' wild availability are shown in the pokédex.
I didn't edit any catch rates, but Master Balls are buyable at Indigo Plateau for 50.000, making it easier to get legendaries, but still expensive enough and late enough in the game to not be too exploitable.
The starting PC item is now a Lemonade for those who want earlier acces through Saffron. Details below.
TMs have been made reusable, and cost 3x as much since you'll only need one. Since you have limited invntory and PC space, I made it so you could still sell them if you didn't need/want them.
Most glitches should still work. I know for sure the trainer-fly glitch does. I could not edit any Missigno Sprites since they aren't sprites : they are glitchy because they try to read non-sprite data as sprites.
(Changing sprites in general was a huge hassle and I don't think I'll be doing it again. This is also why I didn't edit trainer sprites to have Charizard heads. The mon sprites are stored a certain way that can't be transposed to non-mon sprites, and I already spent most of my time un-glitching what I was doing to the mon sprites in the first place.)
Extended Kanto Dex
But wait, there's more ! Every mon from gens 2+ that is related to a gen 1 mon has been added. That means mons like Pichu, Blissey, Mime Jr, Magmortar, Sylveon, etc have been added. I also added Sirfetch'd, as well as Heracross, because why not. I have edited trades and a few wild encounter tabels, especially in the early game, to adapt to this. The Kanto dex is now 186 mons long. Prof oak's reviews and the complete dex diploma now depend on this value.
Most of the new mons evolve by stone. I obviously couldn't replicate the special conditions for every one of them (friendship, held items, location, etc), so you'll have to make do with stones. A few still evolve by level up (Baby pokemon at level 10 or 30 depending on the species, Farfetch'd at level 42, Chansey at level 55, one secret bonus mon at level ??). A detailed list about stone evolution methods can be found below.
I obviously had to add a couple of stones for this to work. They can all be bought in various stores : Ice stone in Celadon, Sun/Moon stones in Saffron, Shiny Stone at Indigo Plateau. A Sun Stone can also be found in Pokemon Tower, a Shiny Stone in Pokemon Mansion.
I have also added a bunch of very special mons that you'll only be able to get to in the endgame. I will say no more about this.
Most of the new mons all have their movesets/learnsets copied from whatever they evolve from/to. Chances are I'll never change this : I'd also have to update all other mons to be fair, and I can't be bothered. Also cries are copied. Also dex entries.
Added Fairy/Dark/Steel types, along with two moves for each type. Only very few mons learn them. I also fixed Ghost>Psychic effectiveness while I was at it, but that only affects the move Lick so whatever.
Known Issues
These are all minor glitches, but worth noting :
- Some of the trainers may have been automatically set to "spin". They will notice you, and walk to you, even through walls. This shouldn't be an issue in large open maps, but it might get you stuck on smaller cramped maps, like the rocket hideout. I honnestly don't believe it will, but I haven't tested every configuration yet. Just make sure you have an escape rope/dig at all times just in case.
- The extra bonus secret mons, for some reason, appear with the grey palette when viewed in the status screen. This does not happen in battle nor in the pokedex.
- Sometimes, after viewing mons in the pokedex, status screen, or evolution, the player/npc sprites may not reappear when closing the menu. Or the pokemon sprites will still be there on the left side. Pressing Start and returning to the pokemon/dex menu and pressing B fixed it every time. I could not get it to replicate consistently.
- A few of the stone evolutions I added aren't displayed as "ABLE" in the pokemon menu, but still work. I especially noticed this around the new eeveelutions, but haven't tested every mon yet. This is why I'll be adding a list of the stones used to evolve each compatible mon
- Some mons seem to have glitched Lv0 movesets. I have no idea how widespread this is, nor if it affects the game in any other way.
Stone Evolutions
- Eevee/lutions : any stone works. Using the same stone turns it back into an Eevee.
- Tyrogue/Hitmons : same deal, but with Sun(Lee)/Moon(Chan)/Shiny(Top) stones only.
Other than that :
- Sun stone evolves Gloom into Bellossom, Poliwhirl into Politoed, Porygon into Porygon2, Lickytung into Lickilicky
- No new Moon stones evolutions other then Eevee/Hitmons. It has quite a few evolution lines already.
- Water Stone evolves Slowpoke into Slowking, Seadra into Kingdra
- Fire Stone evolves Magmar into Magmortar
- Thunder Stone evolves Electabuzz into Electivire, Magneton into Magnezone
- Leaf Stone evolves Tangela into Tangrowth
- Ice stone is only used for Glaceon
- Shiny Stone evolves Onix into Steelix, Scyther into Scizor, Rhydon into Rhyperior, and Porygon2 into PorygonZ
Custom trainers
5 trainers have been modified to suit the wishes of the 5 most active members of the community !
- A meme-y yet spooky Chaneler in Pokemon Tower.
- A Beauty that didn't make it to being a Nurse Joy, on Route 15.
- A Gentleman on the SS Anne who doesn't like being disturbed.
- A Cooltrainer(M) in Victory Road, on his way to Indigo Plateau.
- A veteran Cooltrainer(M) in Victory Road, the final challenge before the Pokemon League !
Misc & Observations
The everything-is-a-Fire-type thing can easily be exploited with a good Water/Rock/Ground type. This is a joke hack, so balance wasn't really my prioity (and never will be for this project). You can either take advantage of it (starting with Squirtle makes the game really easy), or try and challenge your way through. Bulbasaur is neutral resistant to fire (being part-fire itself), but it essentially hard mode since most mons will resist its attacks.
The Lemonade in the starting PC, if you're not familiar with gen 1, means you can essentially skip Misty, SS Anne, Rock Tunel, etc. When getting to Cerulean, go talk to Bill up North, and the Dig-House will be open. Beat the Rocket and you can waltz in through Saffron, bribing the guards with the Lemonade. This'll unlock 90 % of the map early, use this responsibility as you want : maybe you can get an early Eevee to make it your main mon, or maybe you want to head south to the Safari and get some mons down there ?
I tried to make all of these QoL things as optional as possible : people who don't want to play with them can just chose not to do them.
Once again, please join Chari and Zard's discord server to join the community, report bugs, or suggest anything !
Future changes ?
I am satisfied with the state of this ROM and will likely never update it, unless it's to fix some minor issues I can do something about.
I might one day make all of the present dex/QoL changes on a regular Red ROM. But I feel like there are already quite enough hacks attempting to do their own version of an ''Ultimate Red'' Version. I highly prefer doing my changes on something I consider more unique and memorable.
Credits
I made the hack entirely by myself, but there were a couple of external resources I used, namely pret's pokered dessasembly. Not sure if I should link it here so I'll let you guys google it if you're interested.
I made most of the sprites myself, but a few of the ones for bonus mons were found online. As far as I can tell, they were made by :
- r0bojack on tumblr link
- axel-comics on devientart link
- monnotonnouspixels on tumblr link
- fexiled on tumblr link
- leparagon on deviantart link
I had to rework them somewhat, but the main credit is theirs.
Do note these links contain spoilers for end-game special mons !
Download / Patching
Download the patches on the discord, in the #files channel. Or simply download them below.
The patches are made for each specific version : Chari on Red, Zard on Blue.
They'll technically work the other way around, but you probably won't be able to get a full dex, and some other things might behave weirdly.
I believe most of you already know this, but I might as well write it down :
To patch the file on a ROM, I recommend Lunar IPS on Windows.
If you're on Android, I beleive there's one called ROM Patcher in the store for free.
Beware : patching will override the original ROM, so be sure you make a backup of your original Red/Blue ROM.
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