Play Discussions: Are there any hacks that function like DLCs, adding extra content to the post-game as opposed to modifying the main game itself?

[Novial]

Almost every Pokémon hack I've seen revolve around things like an expanded Pokédex, updated physical/special split and adding the Fairy type, modified Pokémon sprites, difficulty balancing, updated maps and sometimes things like modifications of the main story. However, are there any hacks that function more like DLCs, in that the base game is preserved, but adds new content to the game, such as new locations to visit post-game and so on? I'm thinking along the lines of something like SWSH's Isle of Armor/Crown Tundra, or the Sevii Islands. Meaning adding new locations you can visit via the ferry, where you can catch new Pokémon or legendaries, explore new maps, do additional quests, and so on.


I remembered that back when I was little, I didn't have a lot of games, so I tried to squeeze as much content as I could out of Pokémon emerald, catching every post-game legendary and visiting every single location I could find in the game. I remembered being sad that there were no more locations left to explore after I had explored every single part of Hoenn. Sometimes I would Google for Pokémon Emerald hacks, hoping I would find some fanmade DLCs, but have not found any so far.

I think that part of the reason there are rarely hacks that add DLCs is because nobody would want to have to play through an entire game before being able the enjoy the contents of the hack itself, but someone could possibly make a hack that can be patched over the base game to add the DLC, as well as a patch to update the user's (completed) game save to make it compatible with the DLC-patched game.