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Hack Series: Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire Repolished - a light, 'adjusted difficulty'/Vanilla+ hack of OR/AS

DynamoKota

DynamoKota

  • Poké Ball Great Ball
    • 29
    Posts
    3
    Years
    Hey again!
    Back in August of 2022, I posted a thread here on PokéCommunity of my light X/Y hack known as 'X/Y Rebirth', which was focused on making those games a little bit harder (without going overboard), almost like Black 2/White 2's Challenge Mode, but for X/Y.
    Now that Rebirth is more-or-less complete (apart from occasional bug fixes when I'm notified of them), I began working on a similar hack for OR/AS.

    Now, I don't think OR/AS were quite in need of this type of hack compared to X/Y, but I can't deny that some of the choices made in terms of trainers' teams were underwhelming, to say the least (such as Wattson and Liza/Tate's teams, low AI on the rivals, too many trainers with one single Pokemon, etc.).



    Major changes can be found in the changelog, but to summarize:
    • Most major trainers have had overhauls (Gym Leaders, Rivals, Team Magma/Aqua Admins & Bosses, Elite Four, Champion, and Zinnia), with new moves, abilities, held items, high IVs, etc.
    • Regular trainers around the region are a little closer to Emerald in terms of the amount of Pokémon they use, so now there a lot more trainers that use 3+ Pokémon!
    • Trade evolutions are mostly removed. A few can still evolve via trade but have received an alternate method. Check the changelog for details.
    • Some other Pokémon evolve at lower levels, but most (if not all) of them aren't native to Hoenn. (So you'd really only notice this change in postgame, after transferring, or if you randomize the game)
    • There is an optional patch to make wild "version exclusive" Pokemon present in both versions.

    Screenshots:
    Spoiler: Gym Leader screenshots



    Other notes:
    • The game still uses mechanics from Gen 6 (move changes, stat changes, ability changes, etc.)
    • The 'dllfield.cro' file is optional; it lowers the level of the wild Rayquaza (and Deoxys for consistency) in the Delta Episode. It's there to make it harder to sweep Zinnia with Mega Rayquaza, though it will likely cause your game to crash if the game is updated at all. You can easily delete this file (or don't add it at all) if you want to skip this change.
    • I'm sure it doesn't need to be said, but obviously Pokémon-Amie does make the game easier, as with enough Affection, your Pokémon will get more experience, crit more often, occasionally survive with 1 HP, and sometimes shake off status conditions. Obviously it's part of the game, and I obviously can't stop you from using it, but just keep the effects of it in mind.
    • I adjusted the level curve as much as I could, but note that the game still isn't designed with permanently keeping the Exp. Share on in mind. You may be a tad underleveled if you don't use it at all (depending on if you skip any optional trainers or not), but leaving it on WILL make you very overleveled. If you're super-intent on not being overleveled, my advice is to follow "level limits" and avoid optional trainers if you need to. If you WANT to know the 'level limits' (level of the aces) for the Gym Leaders/Pokemon League in the main story, it goes as follows:
    Spoiler: boss ace levels



    Be sure to check the FAQ doc; any question you may have might be answered there already!


    Link to the files and documentation
    Newest update: Ver. 1.7.0 - (3/1/25)
    Because I felt that the game's difficulty curve had too big of spikes, I did my best to tone them down. Gym Leaders don't start using more than 1 held item until Winona (after you unlock Mega Evolution). Wattson's team now comprises of Voltorb/Magneton/Manectric as more of an homage to his Emerald team (I also think these Pokemon fit him better thematically than Plusle and Minun). I also changed the movesets/items of quite a few fights, partially to lower the difficulty spike as much as I could without outright changing too much.



    Credits:
    Made entirely with pk3DS, kudos to Kaphotics and SciresM!
    r/pokemonROMhacks and my Discord server for suggestions and allowing me to bounce off ideas!
    Buffel Saft; I originally based the evolution changes on his in Eternal X/Wilting Y (as well as a few of my own), and copy-pasted them for this hack as well![/SPOILER]
     
    Last edited:
    How do i know if i successfully ran the hack is there like a banner or a custom text that i can look for, im not sure if i ran it correctly, my game's in petalburg woods.
     
    Emberious said:
    How do i know if i successfully ran the hack is there like a banner or a custom text that i can look for, im not sure if i ran it correctly, my game's in petalburg woods.
    Click to expand...
    The very first change in the game would have been the first fight with May/Brendan on Route 103, if their starter had a Status move (Growl on Torchic and Mudkip, Leer on Treecko).
    If you don't remember, you'll come across some changes soon anyway.
    In Petalburg Woods, Bug Catcher Lyle should have 4 Wurmple now instead of 3, and Bug Catcher James should have both a Surskit and a Nincada rather than just the latter.
    You'll also notice the trainers in Rustboro Gym having new Pokemon, like Youngster Tommy with an Anorith in addition to his Geodude, or Schoolkid Georgia with a Lileep in addition to her Geodude (and obviously, Roxanne's team will be different).
     
    Last edited:
    DynamoKota said:
    The very first change in the game would have been the first fight with May/Brendan on Route 103, if their starter had a Status move (Growl on Torchic and Mudkip, Leer on Treecko).
    If you don't remember, you'll come across some changes soon anyway.
    In Petalburg Woods, Bug Catcher Lyle should have 4 Wurmple now instead of 3, and Bug Catcher James should have both a Surskit and a Nincada rather than just the latter.
    You'll also notice the trainers in Rustboro Gym having new Pokemon, like Youngster Tommy with an Anorith in addition to his Geodude, or Schoolkid Georgia with a Lileep in addition to her Geodude (and obviously, Roxanne's team will be different).
    Click to expand...
    Thank you, i got it working, loving it so far, playing this and rebirth x y of yours aswell, big fan of your works so far.
     
    Hey finish this, i don't know it's just suggestion but maybe if someday you decide to update maybe you can update rematch system with gym leader and gym leader use mega evolution start on gym 4 or 5 in first playthrough
     
    Wirawr said:
    Hey finish this, i don't know it's just suggestion but maybe if someday you decide to update maybe you can update rematch system with gym leader and gym leader use mega evolution start on gym 4 or 5 in first playthrough
    Click to expand...
    Unfortunately the tools used to edit the 3DS Pokemon games are very limited, and adding in new fights is basically impossible right now.

    And I go over why I decided to only give Mega Evolution to the last Gym Leader in the FAQ document, but to explain the best I can:
    Even if I gave Winona Mega Altaria (which isn't Flying type anymore, though that's not a deal breaker), Liza & Tate pose a problem. I either give the twins a single Mega Evolution (which feels odd), give them TWO Megas (which would be broken), or just don't give them Megas at all (which would be inconsistent if I gave Winona a Mega).
    So I decided it was better to avoid all of that, and make Wallace the only Gym Leader with a Mega.
     
    Last edited:
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