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![[PokeCommunity.com] Ultra Something (an 807/difficulty/etc. hack for USUM) [PokeCommunity.com] Ultra Something (an 807/difficulty/etc. hack for USUM)](https://i.imgur.com/Gw1OKgh.png)
v1.2.1
Last updated: 26th June 2024
Ultra Something is a ROM hack of Pokémon Ultra Sun and Pokémon Ultra Moon. I originally made it for my own enjoyment, but since it took me a fairly long time to complete, I thought it might be worth putting it somewhere public in case anyone else finds it interesting/useful. If not, no big deal; I can still play it myself.
It's not a radical overhaul of the game by any means - just a fairly standard difficulty hack (intended to be playable with the Exp. Share off) where you can catch all 807 Pokémon, with some extra changes on top. Basically every edit I made was done via pk3DS.
I'm not very good with names, hence why it's called Ultra Something.
Note that this hack is not designed to be compatible with Pokémon Bank, other official Pokémon games, or anything similar. I wouldn't recommend trying to connect it with any official Pokémon titles.
Features
There are quite a lot of things I've changed in this hack, so I've put some of the more interesting features below. I've also added some screenshots to help demonstrate what's changed.
A changelog and a documentation folder are also included in the Google Drive files, which contains 16 text files' worth of documentation and explanation of the hack's features. Probably a bit excessive, really, but it's there if you need it.
Pokémon changes
Spoiler:
- Nearly every Pokémon has had their level-up moveset overhauled.
- They now learn more moves by level-up than before, and their movesets can include moves they can't normally learn in USUM, but can learn in other games. This covers everything from new moves in the Scarlet/Violet DLC (such as Knock Off Tyranitar) to Game Boy-era moves (such as Lovely Kiss Snorlax).
- Egg moves have been altered too - I've removed Egg moves that Pokémon can now learn by levelling up, and added some (mostly useless) extra moves that might have some niche applications.
- TM and Move Tutor compatibility has been updated; if a Pokémon can learn a given TM/Tutor move in any official game, it is compatible with that TM/Tutor move in Ultra Something.
- Pokémon now have their Hidden Ability as one of their regular Abilities, if they didn't already have two regular Abilities.
- Some Pokémon who only have access to certain Abilities in other games can now use those Abilities in this hack: Gengar can have Levitate, the Koffing line can have Stench, and the Piplup line can have Competitive (though they keep Defiant as their Hidden Ability).
- A few Pokémon with excessively late evolution levels can now evolve a bit earlier (e.g. Deino evolves at Level 35 and then Level 54, instead of 50 and 64).
- Pokémon who evolved by being traded now have alternative evolution methods that can be used instead.
- Some of the more complex evolution methods (e.g. Inkay and Sliggoo) have been simplified into regular "evolves at Level X" evolutions.
- Every Pokémon also has a chance of holding an item when encountered in the wild. Most of them aren't massively useful, but you might get some nice Berries or other items from it.
Note that I haven't made any changes to Pokémon's base stats or types, or given them brand-new Abilities they've never had before - I wanted to combine all the things they've already had access to across all the vanilla Pokémon games, rather than adding new things myself.
As far as I'm aware, there aren't any "illegal" moves in this hack (i.e. ones that Pokémon have never been able to learn in any official game), apart from a few instances on alternate forms of Pokémon (such as Totem-sized Pokémon being able to learn some Egg moves that their regular forms can learn, and Pikachu with caps being able to learn Calm Mind like regular Pikachu).
Screenshots:
Spoiler:
![[PokeCommunity.com] Ultra Something (an 807/difficulty/etc. hack for USUM) [PokeCommunity.com] Ultra Something (an 807/difficulty/etc. hack for USUM)](https://i.imgur.com/p9h4fBr.png)
![[PokeCommunity.com] Ultra Something (an 807/difficulty/etc. hack for USUM) [PokeCommunity.com] Ultra Something (an 807/difficulty/etc. hack for USUM)](https://i.imgur.com/rYu2Yae.png)
![[PokeCommunity.com] Ultra Something (an 807/difficulty/etc. hack for USUM) [PokeCommunity.com] Ultra Something (an 807/difficulty/etc. hack for USUM)](https://i.imgur.com/KPZVcwU.png)
![[PokeCommunity.com] Ultra Something (an 807/difficulty/etc. hack for USUM) [PokeCommunity.com] Ultra Something (an 807/difficulty/etc. hack for USUM)](https://i.imgur.com/ntzBvuX.png)
Wild Pokémon changes
Spoiler:
- You can obtain all 807 Pokémon in this hack, so naturally, wild Pokémon are a lot more varied than in vanilla USUM.
- Every non-Legendary/Mythical Pokémon should be available before the Pokémon League, and even among the Legendary/Mythical Pokémon, there are only about 20 that can't be caught before the postgame.
- You can also obtain all the forms of Pokémon such as Unown and Vivillon. I threw in Eternal Flower Floette as well, because I felt bad leaving it out.
- While this does mean the wild encounter tables are a bit messy and cramped, I've tried to space things out as well as I can. You can find new species of Pokémon in nearly every storyline location, from Route 1 to Mount Lanakila.
- The Island Scan feature now exclusively finds Mythical Pokémon. The same set of 7 Pokémon can all be found on one day of the week on each of Alola's islands.
- The "regular" Pokémon found through Ultra Warp Ride are now all Legendary Pokémon, Mythical Pokémon or Ultra Beasts. This allows you to catch Pokémon that otherwise aren't available in USUM, or catch multiple copies of Pokémon that are otherwise only available once.
- Nearly all wild Pokémon can call for help, and all unevolved Pokémon have a chance to summon their evolved forms. This chance is higher in locations that you reach later in the game.
- If a Pokémon calls for help during rain, hail or a sandstorm, it might summon a completely different species of Pokémon that you otherwise wouldn't encounter in that location. This can help if you want to want to catch certain "late-game" Pokémon a bit earlier on.
- In the postgame, you can rarely find wild Cosmog on the eastern half of Poni Island, and they summon various Legendary Pokémon depending on the location. This lets you catch Legendary Pokémon that would otherwise be exclusive to the other game version.
Screenshots:
Spoiler:
![[PokeCommunity.com] Ultra Something (an 807/difficulty/etc. hack for USUM) [PokeCommunity.com] Ultra Something (an 807/difficulty/etc. hack for USUM)](https://i.imgur.com/LQoMB5z.png)
![[PokeCommunity.com] Ultra Something (an 807/difficulty/etc. hack for USUM) [PokeCommunity.com] Ultra Something (an 807/difficulty/etc. hack for USUM)](https://i.imgur.com/pAIU92f.png)
![[PokeCommunity.com] Ultra Something (an 807/difficulty/etc. hack for USUM) [PokeCommunity.com] Ultra Something (an 807/difficulty/etc. hack for USUM)](https://i.imgur.com/IR29RJu.png)
![[PokeCommunity.com] Ultra Something (an 807/difficulty/etc. hack for USUM) [PokeCommunity.com] Ultra Something (an 807/difficulty/etc. hack for USUM)](https://i.imgur.com/k8BYxiU.png)
Trainer/Trial changes
Spoiler:
- The game is generally more difficult than the vanilla games, though not ridiculously so.
- All Trainers are notably more competent, having better AI and maxed IVs, carrying more Pokémon on average, and using a greater variety of Pokémon.
- Their Pokémon also have hand-picked movesets and Abilities, instead of carrying the default moves for their level like wild Pokémon.
- Having said that, they shouldn't be unbeatable. However, Ace Trainers and Veterans (and Black Belts to an extent) do carry more "competitive" teams, so be careful when battling them.
- I don't personally like giving important "boss" Trainers full teams of 6 by default, so you won't see them with full teams until the Elite Four, but they should pose a challenge regardless.
- They will use Mega Evolutions too, but only in the postgame, since that's when they first become available to you.
- Totem Pokémon have been altered to put up more of a fight as well.
- Their ally Pokémon have also been edited - and in some cases, replaced with new Pokémon - as well as the other Pokémon that appear during their Trials.
I've tried to balance the hack so that you can play with the Exp. Share off, but if you're falling behind a bit or finding things too difficult, feel free to switch it on if that helps you enjoy the game more. The level curve should stay on par with vanilla USUM; again, this assumes the Exp. Share is off, but you can play however you wish.
Screenshots:
Spoiler:
![[PokeCommunity.com] Ultra Something (an 807/difficulty/etc. hack for USUM) [PokeCommunity.com] Ultra Something (an 807/difficulty/etc. hack for USUM)](https://i.imgur.com/bZ4M2k6.png)
![[PokeCommunity.com] Ultra Something (an 807/difficulty/etc. hack for USUM) [PokeCommunity.com] Ultra Something (an 807/difficulty/etc. hack for USUM)](https://i.imgur.com/iGMWPO1.png)
![[PokeCommunity.com] Ultra Something (an 807/difficulty/etc. hack for USUM) [PokeCommunity.com] Ultra Something (an 807/difficulty/etc. hack for USUM)](https://i.imgur.com/Ln4ZPMQ.png)
![[PokeCommunity.com] Ultra Something (an 807/difficulty/etc. hack for USUM) [PokeCommunity.com] Ultra Something (an 807/difficulty/etc. hack for USUM)](https://i.imgur.com/4vjPK3B.png)
Battle facility changes
Spoiler:
- All of the 996 Pokémon sets used in the Battle Tree have been edited.
- Some of them have had their forms changed, so you might get to battle things like Dusk Form Lycanroc or Ash-Greninja, who never appeared in the Battle Tree in vanilla USUM.
- I've removed lots of "hax" from their sets, so things like evasion-boosting moves, Quick Claws and OHKO moves won't show up. Now it's harder to lose because of pure luck (or blame your losses on RNG).
- Generally speaking, even the low-quality sets will simply be a bit gimmicky (e.g. a Rock Polish Avalugg with attacks that can cause flinching) instead of being outright bad (e.g. a special attacking Avalugg).
- Each possible opponent Trainer still uses the same species of Pokémon as before.
- Trainers who use teams that rely on setting up certain types of weather, or Trick Room, will still have those moves on the same Pokémon as before; I didn't want to mess around with their strategies.
- These changes are mostly geared towards Single Battles, so there are no Helping Hand users or similar sets. They'll still show up in Double/Multi Battle formats too, and should still provide a challenge in those formats.
- I didn't edit the Battle Agency itself, but since it uses the same pool of Pokémon as the Battle Tree, these new Pokémon sets will also show up in the Battle Agency as well.
Screenshots:
Spoiler:
These screenshots were taken from the Battle Agency for the sake of convenience. These Pokémon will show up in the Battle Tree as well, but they'll always be Level 50 there.
![[PokeCommunity.com] Ultra Something (an 807/difficulty/etc. hack for USUM) [PokeCommunity.com] Ultra Something (an 807/difficulty/etc. hack for USUM)](https://i.imgur.com/1f181Uc.png)
![[PokeCommunity.com] Ultra Something (an 807/difficulty/etc. hack for USUM) [PokeCommunity.com] Ultra Something (an 807/difficulty/etc. hack for USUM)](https://i.imgur.com/x6FwJh5.png)
![[PokeCommunity.com] Ultra Something (an 807/difficulty/etc. hack for USUM) [PokeCommunity.com] Ultra Something (an 807/difficulty/etc. hack for USUM)](https://i.imgur.com/URCedJM.png)
![[PokeCommunity.com] Ultra Something (an 807/difficulty/etc. hack for USUM) [PokeCommunity.com] Ultra Something (an 807/difficulty/etc. hack for USUM)](https://i.imgur.com/dxfbCnz.png)
Shop item changes
Spoiler:
- All Poké Marts now sell Adrenaline Orbs right after you complete your first Trial (meaning Poké Toys are now only available after your third Trial).
- The Route 2 Poké Mart sells Apricorn Poké Balls.
- The Route 8 Poké Mart sells most Evolution items, while Evolution stones can be purchased in Konikoni City; some are sold in Olivia's jewellery store, while others are sold at the Poké Mart.
- Mount Hokulani's Poké Mart sells Feathers (formerly known as Wings) instead of vitamins, and Feathers now provide 4 EVs per use instead of 1 EV.
- The Tapu Village Poké Mart sells EV-reducing Berries.
- The BP shops found on beaches sell various new items, including Sacred Ashes, Ability Capsules and Bottle Caps.
- The Battle Royal Dome now sells PP Ups and PP Maxes in addition to the regular vitamins.
- The held items sold at the Battle Royal Dome are a lot cheaper, and have changed slightly.
- The Battle Tree also sells different items for lower prices than usual, including Mega Stones, which now cost 8 BP each instead of 64 BP.
- You can also buy Master Balls at the Battle Tree for 48 BP. It's not as if catching Legendary/Mythical Pokémon is particularly hard anyway with items like Timer Balls and Rotom Powers, so it doesn't seem unfair to be able to buy Master Balls at a fairly steep price once the storyline is basically over.
- Move Tutors teach the same moves as before, but they're slightly cheaper overall.
This isn't an exhaustive list of all the shop changes, but it covers the more interesting ones. A full list of changes is included in the documentation.
Screenshots:
Spoiler:
![[PokeCommunity.com] Ultra Something (an 807/difficulty/etc. hack for USUM) [PokeCommunity.com] Ultra Something (an 807/difficulty/etc. hack for USUM)](https://i.imgur.com/8KBvXmL.png)
![[PokeCommunity.com] Ultra Something (an 807/difficulty/etc. hack for USUM) [PokeCommunity.com] Ultra Something (an 807/difficulty/etc. hack for USUM)](https://i.imgur.com/2QUmcqU.png)
Other changes
Spoiler:
- You can now receive different Pokémon from the in-game trades with NPC Trainers throughout Alola. They usually offer Pokémon that you otherwise wouldn't be able to obtain until late-game.
- The Pickup Ability can now find different items, generally of a higher quality than before.
- Some Pokémon have had their experience groups changed. The only ones that are now in the "Slow" experience group are Legendary and Mythical Pokémon, and Ultra Beasts.
- Every Pokémon has a 50:50 gender ratio, provided they could be male or female already.
- I believe I've removed all the Shiny locks on Pokémon that you can actually catch (e.g Ultra Necrozma won't be shiny when you fight it at Megalo Tower, but it could be when you can catch it later on). I haven't tested this though.
- The Rotom Dex has had some of its dialogue reduced in length, specifically when it gives advice you didn't ask for.
- Some other small changes I've made can be found in the Misc. Changes document.
Downloads and installation
You can find the game files here.
You need to have the version 1.2 title update for your game version installed for this hack to work. Otherwise, Poké Marts will freeze your game.
Make sure you use the correct files for your game version. It doesn't make much difference which version you choose to play, but you will be unable to catch 2 species of Ultra Beast if you use the wrong files.
If you're using Luma3DS on a hacked console:
- Enable game patching in the Luma3DS settings menu (you can access this by holding Select while booting up the console).
- Navigate to the /luma/titles/(TitleID)/ folder on your SD card. (Create that folder if it doesn't exist.)
- (TitleID) should be named 00040000001B5000 if you're playing Ultra Sun.
- If you're playing Ultra Moon, (TitleID) should be named 00040000001B5100.
- In the Google Drive folder for your chosen game version, copy the romfs folder and place it in the (TitleID) folder on your SD card. Once that's done, the hack should be successfully installed.
- If you've started a new game, you can verify that the hack was installed correctly on the language selection menu; the bottom screen should say "Welcome to Ultra Something!" in green text.
If you're playing on Citra or something else, I don't know how to use them, so I can't give any sort of tutorial. That said, I can't see any reason why they wouldn't work if you already know how to install/play ROM hacks on them.
Glitches and issues
Spoiler:
- The events associated with some Mythical Pokémon don't work properly unless they have a fateful encounter flag; if they were caught in this hack, they won't have that flag. You can add this flag with a save editor such as PKHeX (just rename it to PKHaX first), but in case that's not an option, I've implemented some workarounds where possible:
- Mew can't be used to receive the Mewnium Z (renamed Mewnium ZX in this hack; see below) in Heahea City, but Mewnium ZX can be found held by wild Mew. The item they hold is the Key Item version; you need to remove their held item and give it back to them before it will work as a Z-Crystal.
- Shaymin can't use the Gracidea to transform into its Sky Forme. I couldn't find any way around this, unfortunately.
- Keldeo can't be taught Secret Sword by the Move Tutor at the Hano Grand Resort, nor can it transform from Ordinary Form to Resolute Form. It learns Secret Sword at Level 52 instead, and will be in its Resolute Form when caught; it will stay in this form until it forgets Secret Sword.
- Meloetta can't be taught Relic Song by the Move Tutor at the Hano Grand Resort, but it can learn Relic Song at Level 55.
- Diancie can't be used to receive the Diancite in Konikoni City, but Diancites can be purchased at the Battle Tree.
- Marshadow can't be used to receive the Marshadium Z (renamed Marshadium ZX in this hack) in Heahea City, but Marshadium ZX can be found held by wild Marshadow. As with Mew, you need to remove their held item and give it back before it will work.
- The species-exclusive Z-Crystals (such as Pikanium Z and Snorlium Z) now have an X on the end of their names, e.g. Pikanium ZX. This was a workaround to a problem I was having with pk3DS, and without it, I wouldn't be able to make Mew or Marshadow's Z-Crystals available.
- Some bits of text (usually related to the Rotom Dex or Battle Royals) are slightly glitchy, sometimes adding blank lines or parentheses where they shouldn't be. The text is still readable, though.
- Since this is a USUM hack, the storyline still contains the same levels of dialogue and cutscenes and tutorials and so on. Unfortunately, there's not much I can do about this.
One thing you could do, if you have access to PKHeX, is make all the game's text appear instantly. To do this, rename PKHeX.exe to PKHaX.exe; this helps ensure that it doesn't flag any strange ROM hack stuff as illegal. Then, open up your save file in PKHaX, open the Block Data menu, scroll down to Config and set TalkingSpeed to 3, then restore your save file. That should make it a bit easier to skip through any boring bits. (Just be careful when your Pokémon levels up or evolves, in case it tries to learn a new move while you're mashing buttons.)
Things I might add in the future:
Although Ultra Something is in a completed state, there are a few things I'm considering adding to it in the future:
Spoiler:
- Whenever new main-series Pokémon games are released, I'll have a look and see if any Pokémon from the first 7 generations receive any useful new moves; if those moves exist in USUM, I'll add them to those Pokémon's movepools in this hack.
- The Pokémon sets used by your opponents at the Battle Royal haven't been touched, so I could maybe redo those. However, since I'm not that keen on the Battle Royal myself, I don't really want to edit 498 Pokémon sets for a fairly niche battle mode that I probably won't even play.
Credits
Anyone involved in the creation of these programs/games/etc.:
- pk3DS
- PKHeX
- Luma3DS
- JKSM
- Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon
- Notepad++
- Probably something else I forgot
One last thing
I'm not very good with people, so please don't take it personally if I don't respond to your posts or questions. I'm still not entirely sure how I managed to get it working on my 2DS in the first place, so I'm not going to be very good at tech support-type things. Sorry.
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