Major Agnostic
Pokemon Crystal Ultimate Developer
- 60
- Posts
- 8
- Years
- Seen Jun 8, 2023
Greetings, folks! Today I have for you a working demo of my upcoming ROM hack: Pokemon Crystal Ultimate!
This is an improvement/difficulty hack that is currently playable up until Olivine City (including the Lighthouse, but not the gym) and wild encounters up until that point have been mostly scaled to the new level curve (main exceptions are Routes 37, 38, and 39, aka just before and after Ecruteak). I am looking both for feedback on the game thus far and to generate some hype for this project that I've already put a few hundred hours into! The goal of this hack is to be the Ultimate version of the traditional Pokemon Crystal experience. Think of it as something in between Perfect/Polished Crystal.
So let's begin with the details regarding what's changed, but note that some of these, while in the game, will not be available in the playable section of the demo for obvious reasons (e.g. legendary encounters, post-game stuff, etc.):
POKEMON:
- Base stats have been revised so as to make every Pokemon worth using when they are obtained and the vast majority (discounting pre-evolved) are viable even for endgame/meta (e.g. Sneasel no longer has great attack and terrible sp atk, Farfetch'd has stats closer to Sirfetch'd's); see the README at the end for details
- A few type changes: Sudowoodo is now Grass/Rock, Magcargo is pure Fire, Smeargle is Ghost/Normal, and Azumarill is Water/Normal
- Wild encounters: greater variety (e.g. Mareep and Kabuto before Falkner, Diglett in Union Cave, Pikachu in Ilex Forest, Heracross during the bug contest) and higher level, gen 2 Pokemon are all found in Johto, and you don't need the Super Rod to catch Qwilfish/Remoraid
- All 251 Pokemon are obtainable (well, not in the demo lol) and the diploma now requires all of them, not just 249. Trade evolutions have now been replaced with evolutionary stone evolutions (see README for details), now available at both department stores for $10000
- The fossil Pokemon can now be obtained from their respective item chambers in the Ruins of Alph, which means that Kabuto (level 10) can be obtained before Falkner, as mentioned. However, the Aerodactyl chamber is now only accessible with Whirlpool
- Starters are available from the Celadon Game Corner on different days of the week and come with a Normal Box/Silver trophy
MOVES:
- All moves have been reviewed and the majority have seen some changes. Although many are simply slight adjustments to PP, power and accuracy, or have been updated to later gen versions (such as Dig having 80 Pow) quite a few have been revamped. For example, Egg Bomb and Barrage (140 Pow with False Swipe effect) are now Fire type, so as to take advantage of their users' high Sp Atk, and trapping moves have been reworked to be more viable (Fire Spin has a 100% burn chance instead of a trap effect, Bind is now Rock type, 65 Pow and lowers evasion). There are a LOT of changes here, so please see the README
- Hidden power now ignores DVs for the power calculation and always has a power of 70
- HM moves are much better, with Cut being Bug type, 70 Pow and 20% flinch chance; Fly and Strength have more Pow; Flash has 95 Acc; Waterfall flinches like in later gens; Whirlpool is now like Aqua Jet, but with 60 Pow (no more trapping effect)
- Additions to move tutoring and deleting (see QOL section below)
- Learnsets have almost all been revised, taking into consideration the level at which Pokemon are caught, some event moves are now learned, moves are learned at more reasonable levels, and many Pokemon learn new moves (e.g. Togetic learns Aeroblast); see README for all changes
- Pokemon can be taught new moves to make them more competitive and match their versatility in later gens (Poli- line can be taught Dream Eater, more Fire types can learn Solarbeam and Earthquake, Gligar can learn Fly and Earthquake, quite a few Pokemon learn the new move tutor Rock Slide, etc.); see README for all changes
TRAINERS:
- AI: all trainers now have the best AI: they will change Pokemon more frequently, make better decisions, and strong trainers have more and better healing items
- Boss trainers will have often have held items, especially later in the game; these items are usually quite good, so be sure to keep Thief handy once you acquire it
- Trainer parties now have stat exp, custom DVs for Hidden Power and shiny top-tier Pokemon, more Pokemon and more variety, although not to the point of randomizers; I want to keep Pokemon close to trainers' themes with only a few wildcards
- Rematches are being revamped so that Pokemon are at a more appropriate level when you're called; currently, only Todd and Gina are changed so that they load a party only based on how far you are in the game, ignoring the number of times you rematched them
- Level curve is quite different, with Falkner having Pokemon ranging from level 12-15 and Morty having Pokemon in the mid-high 30s, for example. However,the player will not be forced to do much grinding, if at all, if they play it smart and explore
- The Elite Four will have a second set of parties and dialogue when rematching them after obtaining all 16 badges (I plan on doing the same for gym leaders)
- Sprout Tower is no longer a joke, with the top Sage having quite the party!
- Here are some more specific trainer changes: your rival's starter has perfect DVs (making it shiny) and I plan on giving his Sneasel (not in demo) Thief; some trainers, such as Sage Li (now Jason) at the top of Sprout Tower have had name changes to reference some irl friends, see README for details; the Kimono girls now have two of their signature Pokemon and will use Baton Pass/Growth
- I have also added trainers to the game; here are the ones available in this demo: two Bug Catchers and a Picnicker were added to Ilex Forest, which previously had only a single trainer, and Firebreathers Dick and Ned were added back to the Burned Tower from G/S
QUALITY OF LIFE: I have made quite a few changes in order to smooth out the old-school experience, but it is still very much a second generation game:
- Removed the intro (the scenes between the GameFreak logo and the title screen) so that you don'thave to waste time skipping it every time you play
- Hold B to run
- Night themes for every outdoor location and Routes 26/27 (East of New Bark Town) now play the HG/SS Route 47 theme (Route 26 theme is now used on Routes 14-15). All music credit goes to TriteHexagon
- Rocket executives and scientists now have the Rocket battle theme
- Legendaries: all legendary overworld encounters now play the three beasts' theme; Celebi has been restored, Mew has been added as an overworld encounter, and Mewtwo (with a Gorgeous Box/Gold trophy) is gifted upon catching all other Pokemon; legendary birds TBD
- Removed badge boost, AI's 25% chance to miss status moves, and other bugs that generally make the game's combat uneven/easier
- Changes to the options' default settings: Fast text, Battle style Set, Menu account Off, Stereo sound
- The economy has been revised with price increases (especially for TMs, since they're now reusable) across the board to encourage resource management
- TMs are now reusable, although duplicates can still be sold; some of them have different availabilities (e.g. Hidden Power and Psych Up can be purchased in Goldenrod)
- A Move Deleter has been added to Goldenrod City, so that the player is not stuck with an HM move. She is located in the PP house beside the gym (now has a sign outside) until Blackthorn City (HM moves are much better this time around though)
- The Goldenrod City Move Tutor now appears after you defeat Clair, only charges 400 coins and now teaches Rock Slide, does not disappear after teaching a move, and is available Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday
- A Move Tutor has been added in Celadon. The old man behind the Grimer pond, named the GENWUNNER, now teaches some gen 1-exclusive moves to gen 1 Pokemon
- Type-boost items now boost moves by 20% instead of 10% (like in newer gens) and Dragon Fang now works as intended
- The shiny rate has been increased to 1/256, based on a popular demand from a poll I conducted on this sub; shiny Pokemon have DVs of 12 or higher in every stat except HP (not factored in), so you know they'll be good
- Odd egg: chance of getting a shiny is now 33% and the odds of getting any given Pokemon are more even (same Pokemon though)
- You can now carry 25 instead of 20 items in the pack's "Item" pouch
- Environments now animate while textboxes are open, like in G/S
- BRN/PAR/PSN now increase catch rate as intended and FRZ/SLP doubly so
- Kurt balls are no longer glitched and function as intended
- Fixed grammar mistakes for plural trainers (e.g. "Twins wants to battle")
- Bug contest has been revamped with higher levels, additional Pokemon (Ledyba, Ledian, Yanma, and Heracross), and a related optional trainer in Union Cave who is quite tough (Cooltrainer Nick)
- Route 39 Miltank only requires 4 Berries instead of 7
- Whiteout: instead of losing half of your money, you lose money proportional to your highest level and badges, similar to later gens
- In-game trades have been revised slightly
- Battle Tower level 90/100 teams have been revised to be especially challenging
- Small map changes to aid traversal, such as the northern Cut tree on Route 31 having been removed, the sign for the new Move Deleter's house, and some item changes so that you're not getting Super Potions/Berries when they're no longer useful
- Many bug fixes that polish combat, see README for details
- There are quite a few more changes that I will be adding, such as HP bars that drain at a constant rate, regardless of HP, a couple more Fly points in Kanto, and adding a lot of trainers to Kanto (inspired by gen 1 trainers) so that it's less empty, to name a few. So stay tuned for a future release!
RESOURCES:
- For the game patch, README, and future updates, please check out my Discord server: https://discord.gg/XMYBvDA
- Although there is currently only one short teaser of my hack up (which is no longer accurate to the available version; Smeargle has Swords Dance instead of Belly Drum and levels have been lowered), feel free to check out my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/NicktheLP/videos
I hope that you guys will enjoy my demo and make sure to keep the README handy! There are a lot of changes and checking the document whenever you get a new move or Pokemon may make things easier and more enjoyable for you. I would be ecstatic to receive feedback from people, whether via PM on here or in my Discord. Cheers, good luck, and enjoy!
This is an improvement/difficulty hack that is currently playable up until Olivine City (including the Lighthouse, but not the gym) and wild encounters up until that point have been mostly scaled to the new level curve (main exceptions are Routes 37, 38, and 39, aka just before and after Ecruteak). I am looking both for feedback on the game thus far and to generate some hype for this project that I've already put a few hundred hours into! The goal of this hack is to be the Ultimate version of the traditional Pokemon Crystal experience. Think of it as something in between Perfect/Polished Crystal.
So let's begin with the details regarding what's changed, but note that some of these, while in the game, will not be available in the playable section of the demo for obvious reasons (e.g. legendary encounters, post-game stuff, etc.):
POKEMON:
- Base stats have been revised so as to make every Pokemon worth using when they are obtained and the vast majority (discounting pre-evolved) are viable even for endgame/meta (e.g. Sneasel no longer has great attack and terrible sp atk, Farfetch'd has stats closer to Sirfetch'd's); see the README at the end for details
- A few type changes: Sudowoodo is now Grass/Rock, Magcargo is pure Fire, Smeargle is Ghost/Normal, and Azumarill is Water/Normal
- Wild encounters: greater variety (e.g. Mareep and Kabuto before Falkner, Diglett in Union Cave, Pikachu in Ilex Forest, Heracross during the bug contest) and higher level, gen 2 Pokemon are all found in Johto, and you don't need the Super Rod to catch Qwilfish/Remoraid
- All 251 Pokemon are obtainable (well, not in the demo lol) and the diploma now requires all of them, not just 249. Trade evolutions have now been replaced with evolutionary stone evolutions (see README for details), now available at both department stores for $10000
- The fossil Pokemon can now be obtained from their respective item chambers in the Ruins of Alph, which means that Kabuto (level 10) can be obtained before Falkner, as mentioned. However, the Aerodactyl chamber is now only accessible with Whirlpool
- Starters are available from the Celadon Game Corner on different days of the week and come with a Normal Box/Silver trophy
MOVES:
- All moves have been reviewed and the majority have seen some changes. Although many are simply slight adjustments to PP, power and accuracy, or have been updated to later gen versions (such as Dig having 80 Pow) quite a few have been revamped. For example, Egg Bomb and Barrage (140 Pow with False Swipe effect) are now Fire type, so as to take advantage of their users' high Sp Atk, and trapping moves have been reworked to be more viable (Fire Spin has a 100% burn chance instead of a trap effect, Bind is now Rock type, 65 Pow and lowers evasion). There are a LOT of changes here, so please see the README
- Hidden power now ignores DVs for the power calculation and always has a power of 70
- HM moves are much better, with Cut being Bug type, 70 Pow and 20% flinch chance; Fly and Strength have more Pow; Flash has 95 Acc; Waterfall flinches like in later gens; Whirlpool is now like Aqua Jet, but with 60 Pow (no more trapping effect)
- Additions to move tutoring and deleting (see QOL section below)
- Learnsets have almost all been revised, taking into consideration the level at which Pokemon are caught, some event moves are now learned, moves are learned at more reasonable levels, and many Pokemon learn new moves (e.g. Togetic learns Aeroblast); see README for all changes
- Pokemon can be taught new moves to make them more competitive and match their versatility in later gens (Poli- line can be taught Dream Eater, more Fire types can learn Solarbeam and Earthquake, Gligar can learn Fly and Earthquake, quite a few Pokemon learn the new move tutor Rock Slide, etc.); see README for all changes
TRAINERS:
- AI: all trainers now have the best AI: they will change Pokemon more frequently, make better decisions, and strong trainers have more and better healing items
- Boss trainers will have often have held items, especially later in the game; these items are usually quite good, so be sure to keep Thief handy once you acquire it
- Trainer parties now have stat exp, custom DVs for Hidden Power and shiny top-tier Pokemon, more Pokemon and more variety, although not to the point of randomizers; I want to keep Pokemon close to trainers' themes with only a few wildcards
- Rematches are being revamped so that Pokemon are at a more appropriate level when you're called; currently, only Todd and Gina are changed so that they load a party only based on how far you are in the game, ignoring the number of times you rematched them
- Level curve is quite different, with Falkner having Pokemon ranging from level 12-15 and Morty having Pokemon in the mid-high 30s, for example. However,the player will not be forced to do much grinding, if at all, if they play it smart and explore
- The Elite Four will have a second set of parties and dialogue when rematching them after obtaining all 16 badges (I plan on doing the same for gym leaders)
- Sprout Tower is no longer a joke, with the top Sage having quite the party!
- Here are some more specific trainer changes: your rival's starter has perfect DVs (making it shiny) and I plan on giving his Sneasel (not in demo) Thief; some trainers, such as Sage Li (now Jason) at the top of Sprout Tower have had name changes to reference some irl friends, see README for details; the Kimono girls now have two of their signature Pokemon and will use Baton Pass/Growth
- I have also added trainers to the game; here are the ones available in this demo: two Bug Catchers and a Picnicker were added to Ilex Forest, which previously had only a single trainer, and Firebreathers Dick and Ned were added back to the Burned Tower from G/S
QUALITY OF LIFE: I have made quite a few changes in order to smooth out the old-school experience, but it is still very much a second generation game:
- Removed the intro (the scenes between the GameFreak logo and the title screen) so that you don'thave to waste time skipping it every time you play
- Hold B to run
- Night themes for every outdoor location and Routes 26/27 (East of New Bark Town) now play the HG/SS Route 47 theme (Route 26 theme is now used on Routes 14-15). All music credit goes to TriteHexagon
- Rocket executives and scientists now have the Rocket battle theme
- Legendaries: all legendary overworld encounters now play the three beasts' theme; Celebi has been restored, Mew has been added as an overworld encounter, and Mewtwo (with a Gorgeous Box/Gold trophy) is gifted upon catching all other Pokemon; legendary birds TBD
- Removed badge boost, AI's 25% chance to miss status moves, and other bugs that generally make the game's combat uneven/easier
- Changes to the options' default settings: Fast text, Battle style Set, Menu account Off, Stereo sound
- The economy has been revised with price increases (especially for TMs, since they're now reusable) across the board to encourage resource management
- TMs are now reusable, although duplicates can still be sold; some of them have different availabilities (e.g. Hidden Power and Psych Up can be purchased in Goldenrod)
- A Move Deleter has been added to Goldenrod City, so that the player is not stuck with an HM move. She is located in the PP house beside the gym (now has a sign outside) until Blackthorn City (HM moves are much better this time around though)
- The Goldenrod City Move Tutor now appears after you defeat Clair, only charges 400 coins and now teaches Rock Slide, does not disappear after teaching a move, and is available Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday
- A Move Tutor has been added in Celadon. The old man behind the Grimer pond, named the GENWUNNER, now teaches some gen 1-exclusive moves to gen 1 Pokemon
- Type-boost items now boost moves by 20% instead of 10% (like in newer gens) and Dragon Fang now works as intended
- The shiny rate has been increased to 1/256, based on a popular demand from a poll I conducted on this sub; shiny Pokemon have DVs of 12 or higher in every stat except HP (not factored in), so you know they'll be good
- Odd egg: chance of getting a shiny is now 33% and the odds of getting any given Pokemon are more even (same Pokemon though)
- You can now carry 25 instead of 20 items in the pack's "Item" pouch
- Environments now animate while textboxes are open, like in G/S
- BRN/PAR/PSN now increase catch rate as intended and FRZ/SLP doubly so
- Kurt balls are no longer glitched and function as intended
- Fixed grammar mistakes for plural trainers (e.g. "Twins wants to battle")
- Bug contest has been revamped with higher levels, additional Pokemon (Ledyba, Ledian, Yanma, and Heracross), and a related optional trainer in Union Cave who is quite tough (Cooltrainer Nick)
- Route 39 Miltank only requires 4 Berries instead of 7
- Whiteout: instead of losing half of your money, you lose money proportional to your highest level and badges, similar to later gens
- In-game trades have been revised slightly
- Battle Tower level 90/100 teams have been revised to be especially challenging
- Small map changes to aid traversal, such as the northern Cut tree on Route 31 having been removed, the sign for the new Move Deleter's house, and some item changes so that you're not getting Super Potions/Berries when they're no longer useful
- Many bug fixes that polish combat, see README for details
- There are quite a few more changes that I will be adding, such as HP bars that drain at a constant rate, regardless of HP, a couple more Fly points in Kanto, and adding a lot of trainers to Kanto (inspired by gen 1 trainers) so that it's less empty, to name a few. So stay tuned for a future release!
RESOURCES:
- For the game patch, README, and future updates, please check out my Discord server: https://discord.gg/XMYBvDA
- Although there is currently only one short teaser of my hack up (which is no longer accurate to the available version; Smeargle has Swords Dance instead of Belly Drum and levels have been lowered), feel free to check out my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/NicktheLP/videos
I hope that you guys will enjoy my demo and make sure to keep the README handy! There are a lot of changes and checking the document whenever you get a new move or Pokemon may make things easier and more enjoyable for you. I would be ecstatic to receive feedback from people, whether via PM on here or in my Discord. Cheers, good luck, and enjoy!
Last edited: