Best Pokemon Rom Hacks

Pokemon is a completely massive franchise, to the purpose of arguably being the largest in gaming. Yearly, Game Freak (and Nintendo) appear to drop an official entry, even when they may not at all times be mainline RPGs. Not counting DLC, there have been not less than 8 major releases since 2020, including multiple open-world games that sought to push the IP forward (to mixed results). Mainly, you may live your life playing mostly Pokemon, and you’ll nearly at all times have something fresh at your fingertips. If we take Pokemon ROM hacks under consideration, you won’t ever, ever run out of latest games to play.

Since its Game Boy debut, Pokemon has persevered through many years, consoles, and generations. Anybody born throughout the last three many years could have grown up with Pikachu and company, and lots of of them are actually die-hard fans who look back fondly on their childhood games. They may still adore the brand new projects, or they may take it upon themselves to craft their very own adventures that either harken to the past or enterprise into a completely original direction. Subsequently, let’s have fun an enormous a part of the Pokemon world, highlighting ROMs bursting with love and appreciation for the franchise.

Updated January 14, 2026 by Mark Sammut: As now we have mostly covered all the massive Pokemon ROM hacks, now we have added two recent sections: Quick Picks and What Makes a ROM Hack Value Playing.

Quick Picks: Best Pokemon ROM Hacks by Fan Type

While we’ll get to the person ROMs in a second, let’s first dedicate a bit to spotlighting titles in a couple of categories. Besides providing some quick guidance for newcomers to this world, this section also splits Pokemon ROM hacks into essentially the most common types, providing an idea of what kind of projects fans are likely to create. I’ll include three recommendations for every type, and a number of the games won’t be highlighted individually.

What Makes a ROM Hack Value Playing

Before jumping into the person fan projects, it is perhaps price briefly discussing why Pokemon has such an lively scene. Simply put, hundreds of thousands of individuals grew up with these games, and ROMs function a method to pay tribute to Game Freak’s franchise. Moreover, and crucially, these releases have the liberty to explore ideas which are beyond the official games’ reach, be it through the incorporation of mature themes or perhaps a shift to a special IP.

Finally, Pokemon is everlasting, however the games usually are not. While now we have received some official remakes of the older entries, they’re few and much between, together with being occasionally divisive. Most individuals are attached to the Pokemon games they played during their childhood, and certain ROMs modernize these classics and even use them as a basis to inform completely recent stories.

Pokemon Let’s Go Eevee/Pikachu GBA Version

Modern Update On A Classic Formula

• Game: Pokemon FireRed
• Created By Kevin PokeFan

The Nintendo Switch’s Let’s Go Eevee & Pikachu won’t be considered the best Pokemon games of all time, but they’re nice throwbacks to the classic Kanto-era games. Fittingly enough, a ROM hack is out there that returns these titles to their roots; well, to be exact, Pokemon FireRed.

The largest changes are available the shape of recent Pokemon, improved gameplay, and a few quality of life changes. Pokemon Let’s Go Eevee/Pikachu GBA Version just isn’t ultimately anything too original and, for essentially the most part, will probably only be loved by those that are already infatuated with the Switch games.

Pokemon Nameless

A Dark Change Of Pace

• Game: Pokemon FireRed
• Created By Wind1158

Although most projects are presented as stand-alone, some creators have crafted a series of games that loosely connect. Pokemon Nameless is, technically, the third game in a trilogy, with Resolute and Mega Power coming out before it. Nevertheless, the story is about in-between those two titles, so it just isn’t the ultimate chapter within the saga. More importantly, players can just opt to do this game and mostly ignore the opposite two, that are decent but have quite a couple of quirks that could make them frustrating to take a seat through at times.

“Dark” Pokemon ROMs usually are not all that unusual, and lots of fans have put together stories which are tailor-made for older players. Considering many creators likely fell in love with the franchise once they were kids, the craving for a more mature version that matches their current ages is sensible. That said, simply because something is dark doesn’t robotically make it good. Nameless just isn’t perfect by any means, nevertheless it offers a comparatively refreshing try and shake up the formula by moving away from the road to the Pokemon League structure. As an alternative, the story follows a lady who’s attempting to escape from an empire, and things get heavy and intense in a short time. The campaign even goes through a time-skip.

Dragon Ball Z: Team Training

A Super Saiyan Twist

• Game: Pokemon FireRed
• Created By Z-Max

Now for something barely different, Dragon Ball Z: Team Training takes Pokemon Fire Red and offers it a Saiyan-themed makeover. Combining two of the most well-liked Japanese anime properties of all time, Team Training drops players right into a world crammed with wild Nappas and Krillins; the truth is, the sport has over 170 Fighters which are just waiting to be caught. While the sport largely plays out like a typical Pokemon title, it’s exciting to go right into a Gym and find Bulma armed with a Super Saiyan 2 Gohan.

Unlike lots of the best Pokemon ROM hacks which are meant specifically for die-hard fans of Game Freak’s franchise, Team Training is certainly one of those rare cases of a project that may mainly be really useful to individuals who love a very different IP. Considering great Dragon Ball RPGs usually are not plentiful, this hack is perhaps certainly one of the higher options on the market for people craving something that just isn’t a fighting game. That said, Team Training doesn’t change all that much beyond throwing in DB characters and moves. Otherwise, this can be a pretty standard Pokemon experience, including a mostly unchanged Kanto map and a storyline that doesn’t take full advantage of its chosen franchise. Still, as someone who loves Dragon Ball as much as Pokemon, this can be a combo made in heaven.

Pokemon Adventures Red Chapter

Adapting The Pokemon Adventures Manga

• Game: Pokemon FireRed
• Created By Aethestode

Although nowhere near as mainstream because the games or the anime, Pokemon Adventures is mostly thought to be certainly one of the franchise’s higher media. The manga tries to adapt the games fairly accurately, reasonably than using them as a launching pad to inform Ash’s story. Each arc is called after certainly one of the important titles and features different protagonists. If anyone is a fairly large fan of Game Freak’s projects, they need to check out the manga.

As a result of the manga covering the games, a ROM that adapts the previous might sound redundant on paper; nonetheless, Pokemon Adventures has a singular identity that sets it other than its inspiration. Consequently, Pokemon Adventures Red Chapter is a special beast than the unique games, and it’s certainly one of the more ambitious fan games available on the market. It’s considerably darker than the usual entry within the franchise, reflecting the manga’s mature tone. To be fair, the sport does have its share of juvenile humor, but plenty of it’s pulled from the source material.

Pokemon Adventures Red Chapter tells a reasonably long story that features two regions, together with introducing fake Pokemon through the post-game. While largely sticking to the manga, the sport also includes some original content, mostly in the shape of side quests. The latter elements are quite divisive, though. The combat just isn’t that far faraway from the bottom FireRed, nevertheless it is usually serviceable.

Pokemon Light Platinum

A Typical Pokemon Adventure (& That Is A Good Thing)

• Game: Pokemon Ruby
• Created By Wesley FG

Although the name suggests the sport is about in Sinnoh, Pokemon Light Platinum takes place in a completely recent region, Zhery. Boasting vibrant graphics, every Pokemon from Generation 1 to 4, and recent Gym Leaders and rivals to fight, the creation is a conventional tackle a Pokemon game. It provides an evil team, a League to overcome, and a Pokedex to finish — all while being a standalone experience.

The sport is a re-skin of Pokemon Ruby but takes elements from later Generations, comparable to the Distortion World and the Pokemon World Championship. It’s an easy-to-play, visually stimulating experience that fans unfamiliar with ROM hacks or fan games should begin with.

Pokemon One Piece

Catch All The Pirates & Marines

• Game: Pokemon FireRed
• Created By Nosta11

Just like Dragon Ball Z: Team Training, Pokemon One Piece‘s appeal lies within the unexpected mash-up of two major anime/manga franchises. The changes on this game don’t go too far beyond the addition of One Piece characters, although the story does throw out a couple of curveballs along the best way.

So, if anyone ever wishes to travel through Kanto with the Straw Hats, Pokemon One Piece will scratch that itch. It’s also a reasonably difficult game, so players may have to earn the precise to call themselves a Pokemon Master (or Pirate King). Just like the DBZ hack, this offering is only for fans of Eiichiro Oda’s manga, with the important change being primarily the character swaps. The hack is entertaining, so long as anyone can tell their Zoros from their Sanjis. And, there are way fewer great One Piece games than there are DBZ titles, so this ROM has arguably more value.

Pokemon Emerald Rogue

A Pokemon Roguelite

• Game: Pokemon Emerald
• Created By Pokkabie

On occasion, a ROM hack comes around that raises a very important query: why does this not exist already and officially? Pokemon Emerald Rogue takes the franchise’s standard formula and runs it through a roguelite filter, making a game that just works and is not possible to place down when you accept its rhythm. The premise is easy: Go on repeat adventures with a purpose to obtain all of the badges. Ultimately, you’re still striving to do the identical thing as every other Pokemon game, but Emerald Rogue shakes things up through randomizations, restarts, and a continuously growing hub area that adds a fun element of progression.

The ROM provides quite a little bit of customization options to assist cater the experience to someone’s liking, while still being primarily built on randomness (which greatly helps replayability). After picking a Pokemon and leaving the hub area, you’ll drop into an overworld crammed with random routes, allowing you to fight trainers, catch Pokemon, and eventually face a Gym Leader. Should you lose, you come back to the Hub without your caught Pokemon and your original partner is reduced to their base level. When you obtain a badge, you may either proceed or finish the journey to finish quests and receive rewards.

The repetition might sound dull, but Emerald Rogue properly accelerates the leveling-up process.

Pokemon Recordkeepers

Well, Why Not Try One other Pokemon Roguelite?

• Game: Pokemon Emerald
• Created By Turtleye & Hedara

Nintendo and the Pokemon Company should listen; clearly, there’s a craving for a well-done Pokemon roguelike, as each of those highlighted roms are addictive, novel, and just plain old fun. I’d say in comparison with Pokemon Emerald Rogue, Recordkeepers is a bit messier, and its implementation of random elements is usually a touch more frustrating, not less than until you begin to know how all the pieces works. As Tiana, you’re a recordkeeper who goes into “stories” to effectively complete challenges and defeat Pokemon. You may have a important boss you’re ultimately aiming for, but you always go around fighting enemies so which you could be rewarded with recent moves, which you’ll then equip to your three Pokemon.

A extremely cool concept is that Recordkeepers has an asymmetrical turn-based combat system, meaning you may switch between three Pokemon on the fly. The Pokemon are assigned to you depending on some selections you make before entering a map, so you aren’t getting to select (but you may have some selection).

Pokemon Celebrations

Nostalgia But Higher

• Game: Pokemon Red or Blue
• Created By CreamElDudJafar

The Pokemon ROMs that are likely to get essentially the most attention are massive projects that create recent stories or significantly revamp the combat system. Nevertheless, there’s something to be said about releases that mostly strive to raise the vanilla games, and Pokemon Celebrations is a reasonably great example of one of these ROM. Quite than using Red & Blue as a launchpad, the hack focuses on adding quality-of-life improvements to assist make these bona fide Game Boy classics easier to revisit nearly three many years later.

Should you usually are not an enormous fan of Red & Blue, Celebrations might be not price a download since its value is not less than partially determined by your nostalgia. Conversely, for those who grew up with the originals and are craving a replay, this ROM is an awesome alternative to try, because it delivers a well-known experience that also holds its share of surprises.

Pokemon Ash Gray

Ash’s Original Adventure

• Game: Pokemon FireRed
• Created By Metapod23

Game Freak’s Pokemon RPG series just isn’t the one a part of the franchise that holds a special place within the hearts of hundreds of thousands of individuals; the anime can also be huge. Within the late ’90s, Ash’s adventures helped introduce many children to Japanese animation, and the unique series continues to be highly regarded today.

While the games and anime share loads of things in common, Ash just isn’t certainly one of them, not less than in terms of official releases. Ash Gray rectifies this by turning FireRed into an adaptation of the anime’s first season. The Pokemon ROM hack gives players the liberty to make a decision how faithful their adventure is to the anime, although Ash Gray does reward those that willingly walk in Ketchum’s shoes.