Catalyst - A story-driven, RPG-esque mystery dungeon prequel

I just wanted to share some concepts a little project I've been working on for a short while now.

There are a lot of hacks that add new regions and fakemon. While I love those kind of hacks, they tend to get repetitive, and they style themselves after the "formula" Nintendo seems to stick to. (Get gym badges, defeat evil team, become champion, etc.) There's a reason that Pok?mon is no longer considered a "real" RPG by many, and that's because there is little real plot or character development. Take Sun and Moon, for example. For the majority of the entire game, can you truly say there is any real plot other than following the pre-existing formula? Everything in the game leading up to Po Town felt like it was just randomly thrown in there, with all the respective trial leaders and such serving to purpose to the story whatsoever other than taking part in the (contrived) island challenge.

Now don't get me wrong, I can see why people play hacks that follow Nintendo's formula, with a shiny fresh coat of paint. Waiting for a new generation can test your patience, and you want a similar expirience to hold you over. For me, however, I play hacks for their story - that's what truly makes a hack stand out, after all.

That's why I set out to make Catalyst. It most likely being one of the last binary hacks before the decompilations are finally complete, I want to make sure FireRed goes out with a bang and not a whimper. It is intended to be a loose prequel to the Mystery Dungeon series of games. If you aren't familiar with the series, _{go play it you normie} it's basically a world without humans, and only Pok?mon, who have made their own society. The issue of how this happened is never addressed, but that is where my hack comes in. You wake up one morning to find your trainer - and every human in town - has mysteriously vanished without a trace. It's up to you to find out why.

I don't want to spoil much of the actual plot, but I might release teasers in the future. (and there might be some hints scattered below.)

Hack Features:

Play as a Pok?mon. As a Psyduck with no battle experience, you'll quickly find that you have your work cut out for you as you quickly try to find party members to join you on your quest. The story focuses on the character development of your dynamic quintet of teammates, as you will need to settle your differences and bind together, as failure is not an option.

A strange sickness arises. Many wild Pok?mon have been affected by what may come in some years' time to be known as the dungeon sickness. They can't be reasoned with. Only fought.

Re-explore Kanto like never before. A familiar region, featuring both the original locations (such as extended maps in the Kanto Power Plant) and many new areas as well, further fleshing out the region's worldbuilding.

Choices matter. There are multiple paths to take in this hack, and entire areas of the map can change depending on your decisions. The story is affected by certain in-game events such as evolution or item use. Beloved party members can also permanently die if you are too reckless or if certain conditions are not sufficiently met.

Multiple Endings. Various variations of the "Normal" ending, as well as a "Good" ending where the events of Mystery Dungeon are prevented completely. And then there's the... other ending. 'Nuff said.

Bonus Cutscenes and Extra Dialogue. Rushing to the endgame isn't always the best idea. I'm running the extra mile and fleshing out the story, but you'll miss a lot if you make a beeline towards your destination.

Custom Music. Imported from Mystery Dungeon, the main series titles, Ace Attorney and Cave Story.

Dynamic battle system. Are you getting stronger? So are they.

Dry, witty humor. Not actually sure if this is a feature or a bug.

Dream sequences. ...


Anyways, that's the gist. There's obviously a lot more but since it's story-related I'm just gonna can it for now. Let me know what you guys think of this concept, if I should change it, scrap it, etc. Thanks for reading this horribly written post because its 1 in the morning and i cant stop typing _{please someone send help call 911 my fingers wont stop pressing the keys and im still waiting for half life 3}

That sounds AMAZING!