Kranon
Kranon, the Ambassador
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- The Ambassador
- The Shadow Reef
- Seen Dec 22, 2023
Hello
I have some questions and suggestions
Question : when can we expect to see Gen 9 Pokémon in the game?
Suggestion: making your Pokémon follow you around (like Pokémon Heart Gold), you can make it a togglable setting if someone wants it or not.
Thank you again
First of all, It's amazing to see more and more people playing the ROM Hack and enjoying all its features, I think it's a great game, nothing short of a Mainline Game.
Second, answering your questions: In the discord channel, in the FAQ, in various posts scattered around the internet, it was more than clear that adding Gen 9 Pokémon wouldn't be possible for 2 reasons:
1. The game already has a Plethora of Pokémon crammed in, seriously, it's BRUTAL, therefore the game can do just fine with just 8 Generations and a couple of Hisuian Pokémon.
2. GBA Games have a very limited MB Size (if someone knows the exact size, feel free to comment as a reply), and Pokémon Unbound is already on its limit, it's basically a miracle we can still expect a final update because the "free space" is super, super tiny, so adding the whole Gen 9 Pokémon on Top of Following Pokémon would be, technically speaking, Impossible, there's no way to "extend" GBA Games Memory.
3. Speaking of Following Pokémon, after Playing Radical Red and HG/SS, I loved that feature, but if I'm being honest, I personally think the Following Feature doesn't translate that well into GBA Games, I'll be blunt (and sorry if this seems like a hot take) but Pokémon Following you looks BAD, it doesn't look nearly as good as they used to look on HG/SS games, the sprites also look ridiculous for huge Pokémon, and these 'mons lack soul, they just don't have the same range of emotions as the HG/SS ones, you'd need to code in each interaction, and that, as you may guess, takes plenty of Game's Memory that Pokémon Unbound simply just don't have. Also a toggle does nothing because even if you don't activate Followers, they're still coded in the game and they already took a huge part of the game's Memory.
I know it's a bummer, I'm sure settings like these would bolster Pokémon Unbound to unparalleled levels of polish and features, but take a moment, breathe, and look back at everything we already have.
I cannot say this enough, I just can't, but Pokémon Unbound is, legit, a mainline Pokémon game, it's my Headcannon that GameFreak had a project similar to Unbound but scrapped it and started developing Scarlet/Violet instead, but it was Skeli and his Team the ones that took the scrapped project and developed it, making it the absolute gem of a game we have and can enjoy today.
Now, the final step for this game is to wait for the "Final Update" to drop, and with luck, the update will be the one to make Pokémon Unbound end on the highest of notes, even if it only wraps up the main and post-games stories and only adds a 4th Batlle Facility in Cube Corp. The game would still remain as one of the best ROM Hacks in History and a Cornerstone for the future of the ROM Hacking community.
As a last comment, answer this question: When are too many Pokémon too Many? After 8 Generations or after 9 Generations in a Single Game?
Have a great weekend :)