Crystal hack: Pokemon Crooked Crystal v1.3 (Help Prof. Elm get out of gambling debt!)

[based wex]

Pokemon Crooked Crystal is a basic hack of Pokemon Crystal that aims to make the gameplay more compelling, without sacrificing the classic feel. One small example is that HM03 Surf is now a Key Item called the Lapras Suit, but you can still get a (reusable) TM for Surf right around the same time.

Now, about the storyline. In this reimagining of Pokemon Crystal, Professor Elm is in deep debt to Team Rocket due to an unfortunate bet he made on the Bug Catching Contest. When he found out the contest had been rigged, he refused to pay Team Rocket. Now, your job is to raise a Pokemon for Elm's protection while you try to figure out a way to expose Team Rocket as crooked, or raise enough money to pay off Elm's debts. You'll travel Johto, gathering Gym Badges and thwarting Team Rocket's plans, until their more sinister plot is uncovered...

In this more challenging version of Crystal, you'll experience a more diverse array of wild and trainer Pokemon, a beefier Team Rocket/Radio Tower storyline, lore explaining Kanto's famously limited map, and much more! At least for now, this game requires version 1.1 of base Pokemon Crystal to patch.

Documentation is here, and there's more information in the zip file as well.

This game includes:

• All NPC dialogue has been replaced with silly nonsense. For example, Falkner thinks if he eats enough birdseed, he'll become a bird. The other Violet Gym trainers are worried about this
• All 251 Pokemon are available, including added storylines for Gen 1 legendaries
• An updated storyline that introduces additional wrinkles to Team Rocket's plot, including an explanation for Kanto's infamous limited map
• Key Item replacements for HMs
• Routes/caves/water etc. have higher diversity, with rare species becoming available earlier on
• Trade evolutions now either use Stones or evolve by level up
• Revivable fossils
• Leveling curve has been modified to be more challenging
• Much stronger Trainers, Rival encounters, Gym Leaders, Team Rocket, Elite Four, and Red
• Unlimited rematches of the Elite Four and 15 of 16 Gym Leaders (not Whitney lol)
• Some TMs are different
• Updated Game Corner prizes and Move Tutor
• Updated NPC trades
• Some moves have been updated
• No more annoying Trainer phone system (sorry if you enjoyed this, to me it was always a bother)
• Useful items (including Kurt's Pokeballs) are more plentiful and available earlier. Can also get items from Rock Smash
• Updated Mart inventory across Kanto and Johto
• Wider Pokemon movesets/learnsets
• Move Reminder replaces the Move Deleter (since HMs are gone)
• Infinitely reusable TMs
• Some item SELL values have been modified
• Your team gains experience when you catch a Pokemon
• Pocket PC allows you to access the PC anywhere
• Added the GS Ball event, for catching Celebi
• Probably more!

Crooked Crystal uses the Pokecrystal disassembly code as a base. Thank you to everyone who helped compile the source code, as well as those who contributed to the Pokecrystal tutorial pages.



I'll try to answer any questions in the comments below.

 

[Basil48]

So how am I supposed to download this hack exactly and yes I did build myself a copy of Pokecrystal via the Github repository thinking that I needed that specific version so I can patch it to the ROM and such but I am still dealing with the ROM checksum mismatch when I tried patching on JS Rom Patcher. Is there something I'm missing here I didn't find much instructions in the README on the documentation nor did I find anything in the documentation either. Update: I eventually figured out that I needed version 1.1 of base Pokemon Crystal not always used to needing version 1.1 for patching.

 

[based wex]

So how am I supposed to download this hack exactly and yes I did build myself a copy of Pokecrystal via the Github repository thinking that I needed that specific version so I can patch it to the ROM and such but I am still dealing with the ROM checksum mismatch when I tried patching on JS Rom Patcher. Is there something I'm missing here I didn't find much instructions in the README on the documentation nor did I find anything in the documentation either. Update: I eventually figured out that I needed version 1.1 of base Pokemon Crystal not always used to needing version 1.1 for patching.

Thanks for pointing this out, I'll look into some ways to improve this experience.

 

[MattyBraps9424]

Is there a Pokemon location list?

 

[based wex]

Is there a Pokemon location list?

I don't have one handy, but luckily the Pokedex works so that all the new locations are properly shown.

 

[DirtyBird]

Are there any working cheats for this game or do I need to grind it out?

 

[based wex]

There aren't any cheats, where are you in the game?

 

[DirtyBird]

There aren't any cheats, where are you in the game?

I'm currently grinding to face Morty. Mainly because I don't quite know what to expect with him. I retract my question because I've actually begun to enjoy the grind a bit though which is refreshing because it gives it a bit more of a real Pokemon game feel. Great game, btw. I've enjoyed the tweaks you've made to the dialogue and even laughed out loud at times. Your Pokemon locations are on point as well because I've been able to use some Pokemon that I've always wanted to use, but haven't been able to because of how late I could get them in the original games. Only issue I think I've experienced thus far is the lack of cheats (which as stated before isn't so much a problem to me anymore; it's a refreshing challenge), and that one random trainer in the National Park that wHooped my ***. Lol

 

[based wex]

I'm currently grinding to face Morty. Mainly because I don't quite know what to expect with him. I retract my question because I've actually begun to enjoy the grind a bit though which is refreshing because it gives it a bit more of a real Pokemon game feel. Great game, btw. I've enjoyed the tweaks you've made to the dialogue and even laughed out loud at times. Your Pokemon locations are on point as well because I've been able to use some Pokemon that I've always wanted to use, but haven't been able to because of how late I could get them in the original games. Only issue I think I've experienced thus far is the lack of cheats (which as stated before isn't so much a problem to me anymore; it's a refreshing challenge), and that one random trainer in the National Park that wHooped my ***. Lol

Hey, that's awesome! It's really great to hear that you're enjoying it, and all the feedback is very appreciated. The dialogue took ages to implement lol, so I'm glad it's being appreciated.

The National Park trainer was a mistake, my apologies. I looked in the National Park file, and it looks like it had something to do with battles pulled by parts of the leftover phone system code. Either way, I've updated the file so that the trainer, Schoolboy Jack, no longer has overleveled Pokemon. For anyone playing through before I had a chance to fix the patch to be CrookedCrystalPatch1.1, just make sure you take precautions before challenging the trainer located in this area:



As far as grinding goes, a helpful tip is that each Gym Leader's final Pokemon will usually be 5 levels stronger than the previous Gym Leader's final Pokemon.

 

[ablahblah987]

It would be nice to see what edits have been made to moves, TMs, learnsets, stats, evolutions, trades, etc.

I appreciate the effort here in any case.

 

[DirtyBird]

It would be nice to see what edits have been made to moves, TMs, learnsets, stats, evolutions, trades, etc.

I appreciate the effort here in any case.

Some of this is available in the Documentation for the game. https://guidetonote.com/2024/12/pokemon-crooked-crystal-documentation.html That should help some. I personally would like to see a bit more on the documentation side though.

 

[based wex]

I personally didn't make that website, but it's cool to see someone did! You can also check out my documentation for the game at the link below, which is likely to stay more up-to-date than the 3rd party site. This link was included in the README, but I probably should've also linked it on the actual post.

Speaking of the README, I managed to add a new file adjacent to the README that shows you all the moves that each Pokemon can learn while leveling up. When building out the new learn sets, I emphasized incorporating in Egg moves, for ease of access. Is there anything else that would be useful to include?

Crooked Crystal Metadata

docs.google.com

 

[Garbuntor]

is there an easier way to patch than to mess with codes?

 

[based wex]

is there an easier way to patch than to mess with codes?

Apologies, it looks like I forgot to upload an updated version of the zip file containing the download materials during the last edit. Should be there now.

 

[DirtyBird]

The documentation says there is a move tutor available after either defeating Pryce or Clair that can teach Thunderbolt, Flamethrower, and Ice Beam. I've defeated both, and I had understood it was supposed to be somewhere in the Game Corner. Apparently not? Where do I find them?

 

[based wex]

The documentation says there is a move tutor available after either defeating Pryce or Clair that can teach Thunderbolt, Flamethrower, and Ice Beam. I've defeated both, and I had understood it was supposed to be somewhere in the Game Corner. Apparently not? Where do I find them?

GoldenrodCityMoveTutorCallback:
    checkevent EVENT_BEAT_CLAIR
    iffalse .MoveTutorDone
    readvar VAR_WEEKDAY
    ifequal SUNDAY, .MoveTutorAppear
    ifequal MONDAY, .MoveTutorAppear
    ifequal TUESDAY, .MoveTutorAppear
    ifequal WEDNESDAY, .MoveTutorAppear
    ifequal THURSDAY, .MoveTutorAppear
    ifequal SATURDAY, .MoveTutorAppear
    ifequal SUNDAY, .MoveTutorAppear

I'm not sure why he's not showing up, it should be a Dragon sprite out front of the Game Corner. You can see what it should look like in the first image of the photo showcase. However, I will admit that Goldenrod City's overworld code is finnicky (in part because of how it changes with the Team Rocket takeover) so this could very possibly be an unfortunate bug that occurred somehow after it had been tested, so if that's the case, sincere apologies, especially if you were banking on having one of those moves round out one of your party's movepool. It's definitely a consolation prize, but alternatives like Fire Blast are within the Game Corner, albeit for more coins.

I'm with my family for the holidays, but will work on verifying this bug and providing a solution or a new patch as soon as I can.

 

[B0zo]

(REPOSTING THIS ONE BECAUSE I FOUND A WATER STONE AND MY COMMENT SHOWED AS INVISIBLE WHEN I REPLIED TO THE THREAD. IM NOT SURE IF YOU WERE ABLE TO SEE IT SO IM POSTING IT HERE AGAIN)

GoldenrodCityMoveTutorCallback:
    checkevent EVENT_BEAT_CLAIR
    iffalse .MoveTutorDone
    readvar VAR_WEEKDAY
    ifequal SUNDAY, .MoveTutorAppear
    ifequal MONDAY, .MoveTutorAppear
    ifequal TUESDAY, .MoveTutorAppear
    ifequal WEDNESDAY, .MoveTutorAppear
    ifequal THURSDAY, .MoveTutorAppear
    ifequal SATURDAY, .MoveTutorAppear
    ifequal SUNDAY, .MoveTutorAppear

I'm not sure why he's not showing up, it should be a Dragon sprite out front of the Game Corner. You can see what it should look like in the first image of the photo showcase. However, I will admit that Goldenrod City's overworld code is finnicky (in part because of how it changes with the Team Rocket takeover) so this could very possibly be an unfortunate bug that occurred somehow after it had been tested, so if that's the case, sincere apologies, especially if you were banking on having one of those moves round out one of your party's movepool. It's definitely a consolation prize, but alternatives like Fire Blast are within the Game Corner, albeit for more coins.

I'm with my family for the holidays, but will work on verifying this bug and providing a solution or a new patch as soon as I can.

Heyo. So I just started the game yesterday and was curious, where could I find the Amulet Coin? Also, is there a reward for talking to Earl at the Pokemon School?

 

[based wex]

(REPOSTING THIS ONE BECAUSE I FOUND A WATER STONE AND MY COMMENT SHOWED AS INVISIBLE WHEN I REPLIED TO THE THREAD. IM NOT SURE IF YOU WERE ABLE TO SEE IT SO IM POSTING IT HERE AGAIN)


Heyo. So I just started the game yesterday and was curious, where could I find the Amulet Coin? Also, is there a reward for talking to Earl at the Pokemon School?

I didn't see the previous post, but this one I can see fine.

Amulet Coin can be found in Goldenrod Pokemart B1F, and also for sale in Olivine City's Pokemart.

No reward around Earl, it's just one of the sillier dialogue changes.

 

[B0zo]

I didn't see the previous post, but this one I can see fine.

Amulet Coin can be found in Goldenrod Pokecenter B1F, and also for sale in Olivine City's Pokemart.

No reward around Earl, it's just one of the sillier dialogue changes.

Oh ok thanks. BTW one more question is physical special split in this game?

 

[based wex]

Nah, no physical/special split. It was tempting, but I wanted to try and keep it closer to the original Crystal in that aspect.

Although, I tried to give Pokemon that would benefit most from the split some better level up moves, like for example Sneasel gets Slash (25), Double-Edge (33), and Metal Claw (41) by level up, as well as some good new physical TMs like Iron Head and X-Scissor. It's of course not as good as STAB Ice Punch, but makes him at least a little more viable.

Also, feel free to ask as many questions as you want, I enjoy answering them. I'm working on fixing the Goldenrod City tutor issue right now so will be online and available to answer for the next little bit.

EDIT: Reflecting on Sneasel's moveset, the cadence seemed a little weird. Now, it's been changed to Slash (25), Metal Claw (33), Double Edge (41).