[Released] Pokémon: Kanto Reloaded (Now in Open Beta)

[Smithereens]

NOW IN OPEN BETA

Download Link (MediaFire) | Discord Server​

Pokémon: Kanto Reloaded is a non-profit fan remake of the original Red/Blue (or more specifically FireRed/LeafGreen), created in Pokémon Essentials v20.1, with updated mechanics, extra maps, and a massively expanded roster of Pokémon, wrapped in a pseudo-random presentation to make no two playthroughs exactly the same.

If you've played a Kanto game before, it's a near-guarantee that you've faced down Brock with a Mankey and your starter, after wading through hordes of Caterpie and Weedle in Viridian Forest. Perhaps you chose Bulbasaur for the type advantage over the first three gyms. And you've definitely braced yourself for an onslaught of Zubat in Mt. Moon. That predictability is what Reloaded seeks to eliminate, instead presenting you with a game in which you'll never quite know what's around each corner - and in which every single playthrough is unique. You'll still get all that nostalgic Gen 1 goodness (in GBA graphics style), but you might run into Starly, Wurmple, and Weedle in the Forest, while another player is catching Pidgey, Blipbug, and Scatterbug, and while yet another sees Pikipek, Weedle, and Caterpie (and so on). Trainers and Gym Leaders are similarly randomized: any one of 18 different Leaders might call Pewter City their home!

Traditional randomizers are fun in their own right, but they often destroy the difficulty curve when you can pick up, for example, a Snorlax on Route 1. Here, you'll still go from catching birds and bugs early to encountering sea monsters late, preserving the game's natural arc. But rather than a set roster of Pokémon species available to you, the 'mons you come across will be a unique combination of creatures that fit each route. Each Reload aims to present you with a different experience while still retaining the feel and the spirit of the familiar game we all know and love.

Kanto Reloaded uses remixed/remastered music tracks. If you would prefer the original GBA & DS music, download this file and follow the instructions in the readme.

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Features

Randomized wild Pokémon encounters in each playthrough!
Essentially, each wild Pokémon "slot" features one Pokémon randomly selected from a set list, which is rolled upon starting a new game and then stays constant, resulting in quite literally millions of possible combinations while retaining the overall curve of the game. You'll always find a bird and a critter on Route 1, but which ones they'll be is anyone's guess. Every non-legendary Pokémon through Gen IX is potentially available, but only ~250 will be catchable in any one game.

(Semi-)Random trainers with (semi-)random teams!
Trainers are no longer completely static, but will appear and disappear from routes based on a hidden variable that will change as you play the game. There is no VS Seeker or phone, so each can still only be challenged once, even if they appear to "reset," but the world will feel a bit more alive as they rotate in and out. In addition, each individual trainer will randomly choose their team from a hand-crafted set of Pokémon, no longer limited by region or generation.

Mystery Gyms and a new Elite Four!
A grand total of 18 Gym Leaders are programmed into the game, one for each Pokémon type. Seven of these will be randomly selected to populate the first seven Gyms (Giovanni, for story purposes, will always be the 8th Leader - though he's been given a type-neutral team to compensate). To complement this, you'll face some combination of 8 different, custom Elite Four members, each of which follows a theme instead of a single type, so you'd better come prepared with a versatile team of your own! Each Leader will scale based on when they appear - Brock won't just be using Geodude and Onix if he's running Cinnabar Island - and all Gym Leaders, as well as your Rival, are subject to the same pseudo-random team selection as regular trainers.

A revamped Kanto with new areas to explore!
All maps have been recreated from scratch; some have only minor variations from their official counterparts, but others have undergone major redesigns. In addition, expect to see a couple of completely new areas of Kanto along the way, including the snowy top of Mt. Moon and the swampy Fuschia Moor. The story has also been expanded upon: you'll take part in a series of events loosely following the canon of the Kanto region. Mewtwo has escaped from Team Rocket, and has a terrible plan to retaliate against his tormentors. A race between Oak, Giovanni, and Mewtwo to capture the three legendary birds ensues, and provides the backdrop for your journey through the region.

Following Pokémon, Gameplay Modes, and other QoL Adjustments!
Your Pokémon will follow you around outside of its Pokéball, just like in HeartGold/SoulSilver. You'll also have the option to play in different modes, like Double Battles, Level Cap, and Limited (where you can only use as many Pokémon as your opponent). HMs are replaced with key items (with an unlockable Fast Travel system to replace Fly), TMs can be duplicated at PokéMarts, and breeding has been replaced with a much more accessible "cloning" system. This is all on top of multiple save files, a speed-up switch, and a whole host of other balance changes!

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Additional Notes & Screenshots​

Spoiler: Features & Details

• Many evolution mechanics have been changed. Pokémon who evolve via trading or any non-standard method (Inkay, for example), have had their evolution methods normalized. Most Pokémon have also seen moveset or ability tweaks, for balance, or to make 'mons that occupy the same role more "equal" to each other. The in-game Pokedex screen will list all of these details; no guesswork will be needed. All Pokémon will also have minor gender differences, just for funsies.
  NOTE: Movesets are being worked on piecemeal over the course of the Beta. Not every species has had their details finalized yet.
• The very nature of the game is to promote replayability, so many of the minmax team-building features from current official games have been excluded. There is limited access to Ability Capsules and Mints, no Super Training, no way to reliably max out IVs or EVs - what you catch is what you get, and if you don't like it, catch something else, or breed a new one. Hidden Abilities also now spawn rarely on wild Pokémon, and using Honey will give you a better chance for higher stats.
• The team-building options that ARE included are focused on movesets and team composition. The new variation on breeding involves duplicating your Pokémon as though it had been left at the daycare with a Ditto, while also giving you much easier access to egg moves. Move Tutors for many common moves have been scattered across the map. And you'll have the ability to transfer up to 6 Pokémon per save file for use on another playthrough - allowing you to, for example, use both Krabby and Corphish on your team, even though the two occupy the same encounter slot and are normally mutually-exclusive.
  NOTE: Most Pokémon currently only have placeholder egg moves, as this is a fully-custom system. They will be updated as their movesets are finalized.
• There are new encounter methods for caves and surfing! Chalk this one up to personal preference, but I've always hated having to pop repels while surfing or else run into 20 Tentacool just trying to get through a route. There are now "shallow water" and "rocky ground" tiles that function just like the "tall grass" tiles on standard routes, and no Pokémon will be found outside of those tiles. This also completely replaces fishing.
• As far as moves and mechanics go, most follow modern standards, but they're an overall mix, based on my personal preference and for balance. For example, HMs have been done away with, just like recent games, but the EXP Share now functions as a held item like it used to. TMs are single-use, Berry plants are available, etc. etc.
• Despite the whole National Dex being used, very few legendaries/mythics/Ultra Beasts will make any appearance in-game (you won't be able to complete the National Dex in any given playthrough anyway, so this is not a huge loss). Lugia and the three Legendary Birds play a large role in the expanded story, as do Mew and Mewtwo. But as story-important characters, not to mention Legendary Pokémon, they don't occupy the same role as they usually would. The usual National Dex, with all numbers intact, is available in-game despite the voids that the Legendaries will leave. In addition, however, is a modified National Dex that skips the Legendaries and places evolutionary lines together. You are free to use whichever you like.
• Every non-Legendary Pokémon, however, is potentially encounterable in-game, from Gen 1 through Gen 9. Gigantamaxing/Dynamaxing and Z-moves are not included; Mega Evolutions may be included at a later date, but are currently not available. Pokémon Centers include a tracker system to let you see which Pokémon are available on nearby routes, as well as which ones you've already caught.
  NOTE: Gen 9 Pokémon are being added over the course of the Beta; only a few species are available at the moment.
• To compensate for the fact that you might wind up with a roster of encounters without a single Moon Stone evolution, evolution stones have been condensed into a new Prism Shard item. You will unlock the ability to convert Prism Shards to whatever evolution stone you desire over the course of the game. TMs, similarly, are able to be duplicated through a new Blank CD item, giving them reusability without being infinite.
• Shiny rate has been increased, to make it a bit more likely you'll find one.

Spoiler: Behind-the-Scenes Randomizer Info

Wild Pokémon: When a new game is started, along with the initial boot sequence, a long list of variables are generated for that particular save file. Each Pokémon that is encounterable in the wild is assigned one of these variables. Encounter tables in-game are still technically static; when the game determines that you've encountered a wild Pokémon, it uses which Pokémon you would have encountered to determine which one you actually encounter.

For example, let's say you get into an encounter that the game determines will be with a Pidgey. Once it knows you're going to face a Pidgey, it then checks Pidgey's encounter variable, and based on that number, it will then send you into an encounter with either a Pidgey, Starly, Fletchling, Pikipek, Rookidee, or Pidove. Every Pidgey that you encounter in the wild will use the same variable, thus effectively "replacing" Pidgey with whichever Pokémon is rolled.

Trainers: Trainers are randomized in multiple ways. First, which trainers you actually see in the Overworld are controlled by a hidden set of variables. These variables change at various points throughout the game, thus "re-rolling" the trainers. Each trainer event is tied to one of these variables, usually paired with one or two other trainers. Based on the variable, sometimes Trainer A will appear, sometimes Trainer B, and sometimes both or neither. This means that if you go back to a route you've previously completed, for training or what have you, you may very well find new trainers to face.

In addition, each individual trainer's team is randomized by selecting a set number of Pokémon from a list of candidates for that trainer. For details on how this works, see Kotaro's Randomized Trainer Teams plugin. This is the only randomization some trainers get, but many are given further variation by the game randomly selecting one of multiple versions of the trainer before battle, and important trainers, such as Gym Leaders, have a set of hand-crafted teams the game chooses from. This is the biggest reason why the VS Seeker is not implemented; making the game "remember" which team each trainer used would be too much work for too little payoff. The game DOES, however, remember the team of the trainer you last lost to, preventing any changes to their team if you re-challenge them (unless, of course, you lose to another trainer before doing so).

Gym Leaders: Alongside the wild Pokémon variables, 7 Gym variables are also rolled when creating a new game, each one corresponding to one of the 18 Gym Leaders. This means that there are 7 different variations of 18 different Gyms programmed into the game, with the trainers and Leader inside each having level-appropriate Pokémon for whichever city you encounter them in.

Between Kanto and Johto, most of the 18 types were covered by pre-existing Leaders, but alterations did have to be made:

• Brock, Misty, Lt. Surge, Erika, Koga, Sabrina, Blaine, Falkner, Bugsy, Whitney, Jasmine, and Pryce all retain their usual typings.
• Ghost is represented by Agatha from the Kanto E4, with Morty becoming the Dark-type Leader.
• The Dragon-type Leader is Lance, since he's single-handedly cooler than Claire.
• Bruno, also from the Kanto E4, is the Fighting Gym Leader; Chuck, another canon Fighting-type user, slides over to fill the Ground-type hole left by Giovanni.
• Fairy is represented by Janine from Gold/Silver.

NOTE: Only 6 Gym Leaders have been made available in this Beta at the moment. More are coming, but each one is a very extensive addition.

Items: There's some minor randomization of Item Ball items on every map, as well; using a third set of variables, certain item balls can appear in multiple spots, and others may have random contents. Just enough to make sure that everything isn't in the same place twice.

Spoiler: Beta Notes

Saves from the Alpha demo SHOULD be 100% compatible with the Beta version, however do note that all the Alpha features like re-rolling Gym Leaders, changing your character, and the free Bicycle have been removed. Make sure you're content with your gamestate before updating.

Diglett's Cave is incomplete. It will be one of the next maps I work on, I just ran out of time for this release. It still functions as a shortcut between Vermilion and Pewter, but eventually it will have encounters, be necessary for the Fly sidequest, and have one of the new Rare Berries growing within it.

Speaking of the Fly sidequest… In the initial version of the game I had envisioned, you were still going to receive the Shears (the Cut item) in Vermilion City. That has changed, and you now have to backtrack up to Mt. Moon before receiving them. This puts the first step in the Fly sidequest - which requires the Shears - in a bit of an awkward spot that requires you to head back down to Vermilion immediately after leaving it, and could therefore be easily missed entirely. I'm a fan of the game not holding your hand, but for something as important as your Fast Travel ability, I'm still deciding if there's a better way to implement it.

Two minor NPC rewards have been left unfinished: the Happiness Checker in Vermilion does not give out a prize for showing her a Pokémon with maxed-out happiness, and even though Oak instructs you to show him your Pokédex progress, he gives you nothing for it. This is because I'm still not 100% sure what these rewards will be, and they're good chances for me to keep a slot open for items that I wind up without a location for. These events will be updated in future releases.

I am planning on "finalizing" a few species of Pokémon with every update during the Beta. This includes their sprites, moveset (including egg moves), abilities, and details like Pokédex entries and steps to hatch. As such, expect these things to change regularly over the course of the Beta.

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Spoiler: Screenshots

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What's included in the Beta?​

The game is fully playable up through the 3rd Gym, plus a story segment after it, capped at the entrance to Lavender Town. There are currently only 6 Gym Leaders programmed in (Brock, Misty, Falkner, Erika, Bugsy, and Lt. Surge), but the randomizer will work on those six. More will be added as the Beta progresses. Other than minor details, such as item locations or Pokémon spawns, which are subject to change at any time, the game should essentially be in a finished state for every area you have access to. I plan on updating the game in play order, finishing each map and story beat in sequence, allowing saves to be continued seamlessly throughout the Beta.

Please note that I am currently the only one working on this project; I have a strong desire to see it through to completion, but it's a hobby I do in my free time, and it won't happen overnight.

To update the game: Simply extract (or copy/paste) the new download into the same directory as the original. Replace all files if asked. Your saved games are stored elsewhere, so they will not be overwritten.

If you are updating from the Alpha demo: DELETE YOUR ENTIRE KANTO RELOADED FOLDER BEFORE UPDATING. Then extract the new download as normal. As above, this will not affect your saved games.

Download Link (MediaFire) | Discord Server
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Spoiler: Known Issues

• Some custom moves don't have animations. I'll get around to that; the moves still work as intended.
• Following Pokémon don't like stairs. This is a known visual glitch with the plugin.
• The Location screen in the Pokédex will not work 100% correctly, due to the way I've randomized Pokémon. It currently displays the areas where a Pokémon COULD spawn, but does not take into account whether that Pokémon WILL spawn in your save file. I may or may not look into fixing this.
• On infrequent occasions, saving in an S.S. Anne cabin and re-loading the save will cause the background music to disappear. I have no idea what is causing this.
• In-battle sound effects are a little jarring right now. That is low on my to-do list, but it is on there.
• Quitting to the main menu and then loading another save file often causes some weird behavior from your following Pokémon. If this happens, shut down the game without saving and relaunch it.

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Spoiler: Changelog

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0.3.2
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NEW FEATURES:
Game is playable through Rock Tunnel/Route 10
All Gen IX Pokémon have been coded into game
(will require new save file for most to appear in the wild)

MINOR CHANGES:
Selecting Level Cap mode in Pokémon Centers now tells you what the current level cap is
Changed display of PokéCenter scanners
Adjusted a few spawn locations to eliminate chance of Pokémon spawning in multiple slots
Added rewards from Prof. Oak for filling Pokédex
Reduced cloning wait time to 10 minutes & grooming wait time to 30 minutes
Trading UI now plays music
Finalized Pokémon Movesets & Sprites:
(includes all evolutions, pre-evolutions, and alternate forms unless otherwise noted)
Spearow Mareep Shinx

BUG FIXES:
Blacking out and returning to your house no longer causes player to get stuck in table
Fixed bug causing wild Pokémon's gender/form to be determined by original encounter, not randomized replacement
Fixed bug causing Pokémon with gender-specific forms (Meowstic, etc.) to always use male sprites in trainer battles
Pokédex entries no longer list gender-specific forms as "male male" and "female female"
Fixed oversight causing cloned Pokémon with multiple base forms (regionals, etc.) to not inherit the original's form
Fixed bug causing Applin to be able to evolve directly into Flapple/Appletun, skipping new middle-stage Dipplin
Fixed bug sometimes causing all wild Pokémon to spawn with Hidden Abilities
Fixed game crash when attacking an ice-type Pokémon during Hail

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0.3.1 HOTFIX
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BUG FIXES:
Location page in Pokédex is now working (mostly)
Fixed bug causing crash during character selection
Removed black spaces visible at edge of Pewter City
Fixed Team Rocket sprites reappearing after cutscene in Mt. Moon
Fixed bug causing game freeze when entering Route 22 pre-Pokédex
Fixed Daisy's sprite not appearing on S.S. Anne
Fixed bug causing game freeze during Prof. Hawthorn's introduction
Quietly removed debug options accidentally left in game (shh)

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0.3.0
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First official Beta release

NOTE: To continue a save from the Alpha release, DELETE THE ENTIRE Kanto Reloaded folder before extracting

NEW FEATURES:
Game is playable up to Pokémon Center on Route 10
Game now runs at 60 fps
Added support for multiple save files
- Current limit is 3; may be changed in future
Added Transfer Station inside Pokémon League Gate on Route 22
- Will allow you to transfer Pokémon between save files
Many evolution methods overhauled (see full changelog file for boring details)
Completed move functionality overhaul (see full changelog file for even more boring details)
Pokémon cloning (breeding replacement) now available in Lab on Route 5
- Very few Pokémon have egg moves programmed yet
Added option to increase game speed

MINOR CHANGES:
All main maps now have at least one hidden item on them
All music tracks updated to remastered music
Added all Hisuian forms and evolutions of pre-Gen 9 Pokémon
Added Gen 9 starters plus Rellor/Rabsca and Tinkatink/Tinkatuff/Tinkaton to game
Added Ethan & Lyra from HGSS as character choices
- Lyra's outfit has been recolored
Added option inside Pokémon Centers to switch gameplay modes
Riding a bicycle no longer completely prevents wild encounters
- Reduces encounter rate by 60% instead
The Pokémon encountered when using Honey will scale based on your party's average level
- Additionally, they are drawn from a separate encounter table, with a higher chance for rares
- These Pokémon also have a better chance to be shiny, have their hidden ability, or have one perfect IV
Altered Route 4 to be backtrack-able only after receiving Shears (Cut)
Majority of moves now have animations
Finalized Pokémon Movesets & Sprites:
(includes all evolutions, pre-evolutions, and alternate forms unless otherwise noted)
Bulbasaur Charmander Squirtle
Pidgey Jigglypuff Eevee (not evolutions)
Shroomish Bidoof Cranidos
Bounsweet Sprigatito Fuecoco
Quaxly

BUG FIXES:
Choosing Mudkip as your starter no longer displays Torchic's sprite
Bluk Berry is now properly consumed on use
Large following Pokémon no longer cast reflections at edges of indoor maps
Oran Berry now restores proper amount of HP when used from menu
Fixed bug causing trainers in Brock's Vermilion Gym to instantly challenge the player upon exiting and re-entering Gym
Mt. Moon signpost now displays correctly when entering from Route 4
Fixed collision issue with planters in Vermilion City
Fixed collision issue inside Erika's gym AGAIN
Fixed bug sometimes causing hidden item on Route 22 to have collision

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0.2.0
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Final Alpha release

NEW FEATURES:
Game is playable up through the third Gym
Daisy at her house functions as she does in FR/LG, grooming your Pokémon to make them happier once per day
(Unlocked after defeating the second gym)

MINOR CHANGES:
The game now remembers the team of the most recent trainer you lost to, preventing them from being randomized on a re-challenge
(unless, of course, you lose to another trainer before facing them again)
Tynamo now evolves at Level 20
Added Nacli/Naclstack/Garganacl and Shroodle/Grafaiai to game
Rebalanced audio

BUG FIXES:
The Gym Guide in Vermilion no longer tells you Surge is up on Cerulean Cape
Fixed issue causing gym trainers in Cerulean to use default trainer music
Erika no longer awards you her badge without battling her (lol whoops)

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0.1.3 HOTFIX
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MINOR CHANGES:
Adjusted Pokémon spawns in Viridian Forest

BUG FIXES:
Other cabins on the S.S. Anne are no longer visible at the edges of the map
Fixed game crashing when speaking with Sailor on S.S. Anne
Fixed game crashing when partnered Gym Leader runs out of Pokémon
Fixed collision issue with flowers in Erika's gym
Fixed all Gym trainers being listed as Campers
Removed residual sprites accidentally left in Viridian City
Updated Brendan's sprite during character selection to correct color palette

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0.1.2
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NEW FEATURES:
Game is playable through the S.S. Anne questline
Added Lt. Surge as a potential Gym Leader
Began planned changes to move functionality (moves beginning with A-D done); see complete list below for details
(Individual Pokémon movesets remain unchanged)

MINOR CHANGES:
Began randomization of item balls (Only on Route 22 and S.S. Anne right now)
Added option to select random starter Pokémon
Erika's backsprite has been updated
Gym Trainers now have unique music riff upon noticing player
Hatenna/Impidimp now evolve at Lv22
(first of many balance changes to evolutions)
Removed hotkey to toggle following Pokémon on/off
(Added option in Options menu instead)
Updated trainer AI
Added Wattrel/Kilowattrel to the game

BUG FIXES:
Fixed trade NPC in Vermilion exiting dialogue early
Limited Mode now allows correct number of Pokémon in Cerulean Gym Leader battle
Fixed oversight causing Gym Leader battles to not display proper background/base after losing to and re-challenging the Leader
Fixed music stuttering when entering Bill's Cottage
Fixed bug causing other events to freeze after Rival battle in Cerulean
Draws against your Rival now send you back to the Pokémon Center after the battle

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0.1.1
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NEW FEATURES:
Game is playable up to boarding the S.S. Anne
Smashing a rock or cutting down a tree now has a small chance to award the player an item, such as a Heart Scale or Honey

MINOR CHANGES:
Split shallow water, rocky ground, and tall grass into separate encounter methods (will allow water Pokémon to only appear in water tiles within a route, etc.)
(As of right now, no changes have been made to previously-completed maps)
Updated all placeholder NPCs with actual dialogue
(except for the bike rider in Pewter City, because I like him)

BUG FIXES:
Fixed Bugsy having Erika's sprite in Pewter Cave event
Fixed ability to get out of bounds on Route 5
NPC south of Cerulean City now has dialogue
Statues in Erika's Cerulean City gym no longer say Pewter City
Fixed bug that made smashed rocks not disappear from the map

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0.1.0
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NEW FEATURES:
Game is fully playable up through Gym #2
Erika has been added as a potential Gym Leader
Wild Pokémon now have a 1% chance to spawn with their Hidden Ability (if they have one)

MINOR CHANGES:
Tweaked berry plant yield to make plants require a little less attention
Pared down item list; some species given placeholder evolution items for now
Updated all trainer backsprites to 4th-Gen detail; changed Brendan sprite to Emerald color palette
Adjusted music played during Team Rocket appearances
Pokémon acquired from in-game trades can be nicknamed, will not disobey commands, and will not gain boosted EXP

BUG FIXES:
Cerulean City houses no longer play Pewter City background music
Fixed bug causing guide who randomizes Pewter City gym to also also randomize your Rival's team
Game no longer crashes when loading a save file with a large following Pokémon indoors
(As a side effect, large Pokémon no longer stop following you when indoors)
Fixed trainers in Bugsy's gym not noticing player

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0.0.4
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NEW FEATURES:
Game is now playable until the Rival battle in Cerulean
Hold Items now occupy their own pocket in the bag (this will not affect items you have already been given in a continued save)
Added TM Duplication Stations inside Pokémarts (requires Blank CD)

MINOR CHANGES:
Gym Leaders now have unique dialogue if you lose to and re-challenge them
Gym Trainers award you more money than their base trainer types
Added Prism Shard item - will be able to convert into evolution stone of player's choice
Adjusted critical hit mechanics to Gen V standards
Oran Berry now restores 1/8 HP (10 HP minimum)
Added new move: Sure Footing (+Speed/+Accuracy) (currently only accessible via Move Tutor)
Rival has unique battle music

BUG FIXES:
The custom female character's icon now displays properly on the Town Map screen
Fixed Falkner sometimes not showing up in Pewter Gym
Old Man in Viridian City no longer calls you "sonny" regardless of gender
Fixed bug making player unable to plant in berry patch outside Berry House
Rival's Eevee is now a set gender in subsequent battles
Fixed following Pokémon sinking into floor of Misty's gym

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0.0.3
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NEW FEATURES:
Enemy trainers now use Pokémon of random genders (instead of always the same gender as the trainer)
Overhauled trainer randomization using Kotaro's Randomized Trainer Teams plugin
Route 3 now accessible

MINOR CHANGES:
Updated gym battle bases
Removed Swinub/Sandshrew slot from Pewter Cave
Nidoran's Male/Female form is now a gender difference instead of a separate species
Gave Mud Slap an animation (as a test of the editor)

BUG FIXES:
Fixed wrong destination bug when exiting Pokémon League Gate
Escape Rope no longer being sold for $0
Fixed player getting stuck when leaving Viridian Forest
Fixed issue with move routes during Rival battle on Rt.22

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0.0.2
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Updated from Essentials v18 to v20
First official Alpha release


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FULL LIST of Gameplay Changes & Tweaks:
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Your choice of any of the canonical 24 starter Pokémon (your Rival starts with an Eevee)
Randomization of every playthrough:
- Wild Pokémon unique to each save file
- Variable trainers and trainer teams
- 18 possible Gym Leaders in each city (one for each type)
- 6 currently available in-game
- Gym Leaders, your Rival, and Giovanni all use one of six possible teams
- Item balls can appear in various locations
- Gift Pokémon (like the Mt. Moon Magikarp) and in-game trades give you one Pokémon from a set list
"Rocky Ground" and "Shallow Water" tiles replace Cave and Surf encounters
Wild Pokémon have a 1% chance to spawn with their hidden ability
Shiny rate increased to 1/400
Riding a bicycle reduces chance of wild Pokémon encounters
Three optional difficulty modifiers:
- Doubles Mode (all trainer battles are double battles)
- Level Cap Mode (caps EXP gain based on the number of badges you've obtained)
- Limited Mode (you are only allowed to use as many Pokémon as the enemy trainer uses)
A large roster of Move Tutors are scattered across the map
You select one of two TMs upon defeating each Gym
TMs are single-use BUT can be duplicated in Pokémarts by using a new "Blank CD" item (many can also be purchased in later Pokémarts as well)
Evolution stones are acquired via a new "Prism Shard" item, which can be turned into any stone of your choice
Overhauled list of berries with a few new effects:
- Oran Berry restores 1/8 max HP (minimum of 10)
- Figy Berry restores 1/3 max HP and automatically confuses the user
- Pomeg Berry increases friendship without lowering any EVs
- Razz Berry cures infatuation
- Pinap Berry restores niche abnormal statuses (same effect as Mental Herb)
- Nanab Berry raises a lowered stat (same effect as White Herb)
- Qualot Berry makes a 2-turn move ready on turn 1 (same effect as Power Herb)
- Bluk Berry makes a not-very-effective move deal 150% damage instead
- Removed all "restores HP but confuses" berries except Figy; removed all "raises friendship and lowers EVs" berries except Pomeg
- Removed all poffin-making berries and other outlier berries
"Rare Berry" sidequest to find 8 unique berries across Kanto (rewards include many hold items)
Hold Items occupy their own pocket in your bag
Enemy trainers use Pokémon of random genders
Pokémon acquired from in-game trades can be nicknamed, will not disobey commands, and will not gain boosted EXP
Almost all Pokémon evolve by either level-up, friendship, or evolution stone, with additional caveats (day/night, male/female, held item)
HMs are replaced with Key Items; obstacles like Cut Trees are permanently removed once dealt with
Smashing a rock has a small chance to award you one of the following items:
- Heart Scale
- Prism Shard
- Stardust/Star Piece
- A random EV item
Cutting down a tree has a small chance to award you one of the following items:
- Honey
- Tiny Mushroom
- A random Mint item
Sidequest to unlock a Fast-Travel system that replaces Fly
Breeding is simplified to Cloning, allowing Pokémon duplication for nature/IV rerolls
- Egg moves are teachable this way, for a price
- Steps needed to hatch eggs have been dramatically reduced
EXP Share functions as a hold item; EXP All implemented as key item, as well
Critical Hit mechanics use Gen V standards (2x damage instead of 1.5x)
Pokémon Centers include scanners to check which Pokémon appear in surrounding routes
Pokédex gives expanded information, including all learnable moves, abilities, and evolution methods
Expanded UI shows abstracted IV info in summary screen and detailed move info in battle
Notable map changes:
- Expanded Viridian Forest
- New Location: Pewter Cave
- 2F floor added on Mt. Moon
- Now possible to backtrack on Route 4 using Cut
- Route 25 changed to Cerulean Cape, given beach aesthetic
- Underground Path changed to Subway System, now has wild encounters
- Diglett's Cave moved to other end of Route 11
- Removed Route 11 gatehouse
- Shortened Rock Tunnel, lengthened Route 10

Spoiler: Credits

(See Credits text file in download for more detailed breakdown and links to resources)

"Pokémon Essentials" was created by:

• Flameguru
• Poccil (Peter O.)
• Maruno

With contributions from:

• AvatarMonkeyKirby
• Marin
• Boushy
• MiDas Mike
• Brother1440
• Near Fantastica
• FL.
• PinkMan
• Genzai Kawakami
• Popper
• Golisopod User
• Rataime
• help-14
• Savordez
• IceGod64
• SoundSpawn
• Jacob O. Wobbrock
• the__end
• KitsuneKouta
• Venom12
• Lisa Anthony
• Wachunga
• Luka S.J.

and everyone else who helped out

"mkxp-z" by:
Roza
Based on "mkxp" by Ancurio et al.

Generation 8 Pack v20.1:

• Gen 1-5 Pokemon Sprites - veekun
• Gen 6 Pokemon Sprites - All Contributors To Smogon X/Y Sprite Project
• Gen 7 Pokemon Sprites - All Contributors To Smogon Sun/Moon Sprite Project
• Gen 8 Pokemon Sprites - All Contributors To Smogon Sword/Shield Sprite Project
• Gen 6+ Berry Tree Overworlds - Anarlaurendil
• Gen 6 Pokemon Overworlds - princess-pheonix, LunarDusk, Wolfang62, TintjeMadelintje101, piphybuilder88
• Gen 7 Pokemon Overworlds - Larry Turbo, princess-pheonix
• Gen 8 Pokemon Overworlds - SageDeoxys, Wolfang62, LarryTurbo, tammyclaydon
• Gen 1-5 Pokemon Overworlds - MissingLukey, help-14, Kymoyonian, cSc-A7X, 2and2makes5, Pokegirl4ever, Fernandojl, Silver-Skies, TyranitarDark, Getsuei-H, Kid1513, Milomilotic11, Kyt666, kdiamo11, Chocosrawlooid, Syledude, Gallanty, Gizamimi-Pichu, 2and2makes5, Zyon17,LarryTurbo, spritesstealer, LarryTurbo
• Gen 1-6 Pokemon Icon Sprites - Alaguesia
• Gen 7 Pokemon Icon Sprites - Marin, MapleBranchWing, Contributors to the DS Styled Gen 7+ Repository
• Gen 8 Icon Sprites - Larry Turbo, Leparagon
• Gen 1-6 Pokemon Cries - Rhyden
• Gen 7 Pokemon Cries - Marin, Rhyden
• Gen 8 Pokemon Cries - Zeak6464
• Golisopod User, Luka S.J., UberDunsparce

Generation 9 Pack v20.1:

• Scripts and Adaptation - Caruban, Lucidious89, Eskiss
• PBS for Gen 9 - Caruban, PorousMist, DJChaos, Futuresushi
• Gen 9 Battler Sprites - KingOfThe-X-Roads, Mak, Caruban, jinxed, leParagon, Sopita_Yorita, Azria, Mashirosakura, JordanosArt, Abnayami, Katten, Divaruta 666, Clara, Skyflyer, AshnixsLaw, Scept, NanaelJustice, SoyChim, KRLW890, AnonAlpaca, PokeJminer, Red7246, Carmanekko, Eduar, Lykeron, GriloKapu10, Mesayas, Erkey830, QDylm, PorousMist, OldSoulja, AlexandreV2.0, Z-nogyroP, lennybitao, Ruben1986, Blaquaza, KattenK, Travis, G.E.Z., SpheX, Hematite
• PLA & Gen 9 icons - ezerart, JordanosArt, Vent, Katten, leParagon, Cesare_CBass, AlexandreV2.0, Carmanekko, LuigiTKO, Pikafan2000, MultiDiegoDani, JWNutz
• Gen 9 followers - Azria, DarkusShadow, EduarPokeN, Carmanekko, StarWolff, Caruban
• PLA & Gen 9 footprints - Caruban
• Gen 9 Cries - Lightblade Absol, HeroLinik
• Gen 9 Item icons - Caruban, lichenprincess

Thundaga's Tutorial Series
JohtoBlaziken's Bootleg FireRed

==PLUGINS & SCRIPTS==
Essentials Deluxe 20.1 & Enhanced UI by Lucidious89
Modular Title Screen by Luka S.J.
Following Pokémon EX by Golisopod User

• Help-14
• zingzags
• Rayd12smitty
• mej71
• PurpleZaffre
• Akizakura16
• Thundaga
• Armin (Fairies Resource Pack)
• Maruno

Always Inside Bushes and Randomized Trainer Teams by Kotaro

• Titania318
• Kleinstudio
• derFischae

Control Mapping, Party Select Feature, Advanced Pokédex, and Character Selection Screen by FL
Fluid Badges script by TechSkylander1518
Trade With Friends plugin by drdoom76
Advanced HM Items & Field Moves by Bergium
Improved Battle AI by KRLW890
Auto Multisave by http404error & thatonekriegerwriter
Speed Up 2.0 by phantombass

==GRAPHICS==
Logo Font: "Adventure" by Neale Davidson
Character Customization Resources from Poltergeist
Puddle Animation by Boonzeet
HGSS Overworld sprites in GBA style by aveontrainer
Red, Blue & Leaf sprites by Flamejow
Professor Ivy sprite by Daman
Brendan sprite by hyo-oppa
Ethan sprites by Marnic & RichardPT
May backsprite by StreakOfSprites
Red, Leaf, and all Gym Leader backsprites by mid117
Snowy Tileset by Fanking Omega, Magiscarf, and Dawn Bronze
Legendary Bird drawings by Knust-Seier-VI
Armored Mewtwo sprites by Othienka
Official game sprite rips from:

• Sapphire_Dragon
• Omegafire
• Eevee, Zhen Lin, Pika, Pipian
• Lan
• Nx-Kun
• Barubary
• KyogreMaster (compiled)
• PoffinCase
• art-56
• A.J.Nitro
• NickAlert
• MufasaKong

Train track tiles by DestinedHero
Ekat's Public Tileset

• Ekat
• Heartlessdragon
• Vurtax

The Gen 9 Move Animation Project:

• The entire Pokemon Reborn team
• StCooler, DarrylBD99, WolfPP, ardicoozer, riddlemeree
• BellBlitzKing
• KRLW890 Nut0066, Toxillian, QuahogTheCreator, Lcorp, Shashu-Greninja

==AUDIO==
"Fall on foam splash" sound effect by Envato Elements
"Rumbling Rocky Sound" sound effect by Opsaaaaa
"Industrial Drilling" sound effect by Fronbondi_Skegs
"Sucked into Classroom," "Wet Steps on Liquid & Dirt," and "Diesel Truck Idling Front" sound effects from Pixabay
"Awkward Meeting" by Kevin MacLeod
Remixed/remastered music courtesy of

• Zame
• KunningFox
• The Noble Demon
• Pokestir
• Wurtzel
• Pokeli
• PokeRemixStudio

Official audio from Pokémon FireRed/LeafGreen, Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee, HeartGold/SoulSilver, and Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire

==PROGRAMS UTILIZED==
RPG Maker XP by Enterbrain
Audacity
Adobe Photoshop CS6
Notepad++

Pokémon is owned by:
The Pokémon Company
Nintendo
Affiliated with Game Freak

This is a non-profit fan-made game.
No copyright infringements intended.
Please support the official games!

 

[UltimateNPC]

This looks really interesting! Can't wait to see where this goes!

 

[kouhumi]

Just play the alpha version, the idea of randomization is amazing, it's just, I don't feel so excited when a starly jumps out when it is supposed to be a pigeot, because so many other pokemon games have provided similar experiences.
And, the idea of non-static trainers is a good point. Currently the in-game experience doesn't feel so much different, but this approach is definitely worth the effort.
The plot seems to be great. I think if the main plot is very original, it would be more intriguing to design a new start for the game, eg. loading the game -> seeing Mewtwo escape -> picking up random pokemon -> fight against rocket team with Daisy ...

It's very fascinating to add a different taste to the originial red/blue game! As a player, I might be more interested if there are more fundamental changes that bring unique gaming experiences :)

 

[Smithereens]

Just play the alpha version, the idea of randomization is amazing, it's just, I don't feel so excited when a starly jumps out when it is supposed to be a pigeot, because so many other pokemon games have provided similar experiences.
And, the idea of non-static trainers is a good point. Currently the in-game experience doesn't feel so much different, but this approach is definitely worth the effort.
The plot seems to be great. I think if the main plot is very original, it would be more intriguing to design a new start for the game, eg. loading the game -> seeing Mewtwo escape -> picking up random pokemon -> fight against rocket team with Daisy ...

It's very fascinating to add a different taste to the originial red/blue game! As a player, I might be more interested if there are more fundamental changes that bring unique gaming experiences :)

Appreciate the feedback, and overall I hear you. On the other hand, I really wanted to recapture the essence of the Gen 1, 2, and 3 Pokemon games. They're what I grew up on, and I miss them terribly (I'm really not a fan of the most recent games). But the more I replayed them, the more repetitive they became. Hence, this project. So I don't think I'll be deviating a whole lot from the games' original structure.

 

[SkyShad0w]

I love this concept!
I'm waiting for update!

 

[Smithereens]

KR v0.0.3 is out! Fixed some game-breaking map transition issues, opened up Route 3 (no Mt. Moon yet, though), and overhauled trainer randomization! Gym Leaders and some trainers with more complex teams are still randomized the original way, but the majority now utilize Kotaro's Random Trainer Teams plugin, making their teams more variable AND keeping them the same if you lose and re-challenge them.

In addition, trainers will now use Pokemon of random genders, something that's always bugged me about the official games.

If you're using a save file from v0.0.2, once you've beaten the Pewter Gym, make sure to talk to the Hiker standing in front of Route 3 (this will randomize the Pokemon slots that weren't included in the previous version).

 

[Smithereens]

The release has been updated to v0.0.4!

I had been hoping to get Gym #2 finished for this version, but Routes 24/25 are going to be more involved than in the original games, so I decided to cut it in half and stop at the Rival battle in Cerulean instead. Cerulean itself is about 3/4 finished - one house and the bike shop are currently inaccessible.

As far as features go, I reorganized the bag to put Hold Items in their own pocket (getting rid of Mail), but note that this will unfortunately not affect any items you've previously received, if you're continuing a save. And that Blank CD from Pewter Cave now has a use inside the Pokémarts - you can use one to copy any TM you currently own (I wanted to strike a balance between single-use TMs and infinite-use TMs). Also re-coded the Oran Berry to be a little more effective beyond earlygame. Check the changelog for all the minor tweaks.

Finally, I want to highlight that your Rival has been given his own battle music, a remix from the wonderfully-talented Zame. I hope to ultimately use remixes/remasters for all the music in-game, though right now the new Rival battle theme will sound a little incongruous against the rest of the GBA music.

EDIT: I've just noticed the missing tile graphic above the entrance to Mt. Moon. Please pay it no mind.

 

[Sirius Black]

This looks great! I'll give it a shot and let you know what I think. :)

 

[Smithereens]

Been almost a month since the last update; just want to confirm that I'm still working on this. Next update has a lot of little parts to it that are taking some time. Adding a new Gym Leader, a small new story section up on Cerulean Cape (which is requiring backsprites for all the Gym Leaders), 5 different versions of Cerulean Gym itself, and the modified Daycare on Route 5... it's adding up, even though it probably won't feel like a lot was added once it's released. But I am still plodding along.

 

[Wizarmonfan]

What are the new shiny odds for this game? Can the starters be reset for?

 

[Smithereens]

What are the new shiny odds for this game? Can the starters be reset for?

Shiny odds were increased to 1/400. Starters can be reset for, though saving and reloading in the middle of the event where you receive your starter might screw up the following cutscene (should still play out unless I missed something, though).

 

[Wizarmonfan]

I like the new odds. And gotcha, I won't reset then.

 

[Smithereens]

Update #0.1.0

All of Cerulean City is done! This update also includes the all-new Cerulean Cape area, Erika as a new Gym Leader possibility, and better-detailed 4th Gen backsprites for trainers (including custom Gym Leader backsprites!). You'll also see the first major story deviation when you enter Bill's Cottage.

Two minor notes:
1) If you're continuing from a prior save, the scanner in the Cerulean Pokémon Center will not show the correct wild Pokémon in Cerulean Cape until you cross Nugget Bridge for the first time. After that, it will function correctly.
2) Erika does not currently have a trainer backsprite. If she is your double battle partner, you will see Cheryl from DPPt instead, as a placeholder.

And one bug note: Bugsy currently uses Erika's sprite during the Pewter Cave event. Since this is purely graphical, I'm leaving it until the next update.

 

[Shishiboo]

In the new update - When you talk to the 1st box in Bills house, it changed my sprite from Male to the character Leaf - Female.

 

[Smithereens]

In the new update - When you talk to the 1st box in Bills house, it changed my sprite from Male to the character Leaf - Female.

So yeah that was a debug event for my own use that I forgot to remove lol. Sincerest apologies but thank you for letting me know. Gonna update the download real quick to get rid of that.

 

[Smithereens]

Version 0.1.1 is out, taking us into Vermilion City!

As usual, to update, just extract the zip to the same location as the previous version and you're good to go.

This one took a while due to real life getting busy on me (and the fact that it required a lot of new maps). The next update shouldn't take too long, but after that things might slow again. I'm going to be introducing gym puzzles beginning in Gym #3, which means a slight re-design of each gym for their Vermilion versions. That'll take a bit. In addition, I REALLY need to start working on movesets. Each time I add a route (and therefore, more wild Pokemon) to the game, I currently have to make sure each new Pokemon has access to the TMs and Move Tutors that are currently in-game (and vice versa when I add a new TM or Move Tutor). It will make my life significantly easier to get all the movesets and TM lists done and out of the way now. But hoo boy, that's a project.

Anyway, the only new feature of note is that using Rock Smash and Cut (or rather, their Key Item equivalents) now has a 20% chance to award you an item. Note that obstacles are permanently removed, though, so your chances at items are limited. Behind the scenes, I made the decision to split the three encounter tiles (tall grass, rocky ground, and shallow water) into separate encounter types, allowing me to combine them on routes and still only spawn water Pokemon on water tiles - you'll see this in action on Route 6, where two grass-types spawn exclusively in grass, and two water-types only in the water. Also, has anyone made the trade with the kid in Cerulean yet? It's a damn good deal!

Finally, for anyone curious enough to read it, I updated the changelog with a long list of everything that has changed - or will change - from the official games.

 

[Safr]

Version 0.1.1 is out, taking us into Vermilion City! Download HERE.

As usual, to update, just extract the zip to the same location as the previous version and you're good to go.

This one took a while due to real life getting busy on me (and the fact that it required a lot of new maps). The next update shouldn't take too long, but after that things might slow again. I'm going to be introducing gym puzzles beginning in Gym #3, which means a slight re-design of each gym for their Vermilion versions. That'll take a bit. In addition, I REALLY need to start working on movesets. Each time I add a route (and therefore, more wild Pokemon) to the game, I currently have to make sure each new Pokemon has access to the TMs and Move Tutors that are currently in-game (and vice versa when I add a new TM or Move Tutor). It will make my life significantly easier to get all the movesets and TM lists done and out of the way now. But hoo boy, that's a project.

Anyway, the only new feature of note is that using Rock Smash and Cut (or rather, their Key Item equivalents) now has a 20% chance to award you an item. Note that obstacles are permanently removed, though, so your chances at items are limited. Behind the scenes, I made the decision to split the three encounter tiles (tall grass, rocky ground, and shallow water) into separate encounter types, allowing me to combine them on routes and still only spawn water Pokemon on water tiles - you'll see this in action on Route 6, where two grass-types spawn exclusively in grass, and two water-types only in the water. Also, has anyone made the trade with the kid in Cerulean yet? It's a damn good deal!

Finally, for anyone curious enough to read it, I updated the changelog with a long list of everything that has changed - or will change - from the official games.

Thank you for keep working at this fangame 🙏👍🙇🏽

 

[oscariothetrainer]

I will see if I will play this game its just i am not really into that much randomized stuff its a little bit much for my taste

 

[burningclaw2]

I've tried downloading and playing the game twice, both times I got an error when I tried starting it saying I was missing game.ini or something like that.

 

[Smithereens]

I've tried downloading and playing the game twice, both times I got an error when I tried starting it saying I was missing game.ini or something like that.

Welp, that's because the game.ini file was missing from the download, my apologies! Try again, it should be all set now.