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Yellow hack: Pokemon Yellow 97+

Cremason

Cremason

  • Poké Ball Great Ball
    • 30
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    Years
    • Seen Apr 22, 2025
    Pokémon Yellow ROM Hack
    Hack Name:     Pokémon 97+
    Hack of: Pokémon Yellow

    Development Progress for next Beta Update (not released) : Final Evolutions Followable > Evening Mechanic > Pokemopolis Pokemon > SS Anne Party > Gorochu > Poachers in Safari Zone > Battle for Charmander > Battle for Bulbasaur > Pokedex Ending

    this is what will all be complete before I update again.

    "Please help me in testing this fully as I do not have alot of time on my hands. bugs that I'm aware of have been fixed but as I add things there may be leftover issues and I want to fix them ASAP for you! DM me or reply with issues you face and I will do my best to help."
    Click to expand...

    Known Issues! (Collecting these and will look to fix in a following update)
    BUG SMASHER:

    ------------------------------------- Discord Server for reporting (<- click)

    -Boulders do not fall in seafoam Island 🚧 (working on this one for a sooner hotfix)
    -Report of pikachu playing the same sound regardless of happiness 🚧
    -1 report of someone going to get oaks parcel and it not triggering when you get back to oak. If this happens to you please report it in the discord or dm me. The solution in this case was to restart and it seemed to fix the issue. 🚧
    -Nurse Joy doesnt walk you in to the Waiting room on New Island properly     (Fixed for next Update)
    -Bulbasaur has Venasaur's overworld sprite currently 🚧
    -New Song plays on route 21 constantly when it should only be during the storm 🚧
    -Some Pronouns are not capatalized as they should be (Fixed for next Update)
    -Dragonite's text needs refinement (Fixed for next Update)
    -Dragonite hides a little longer than intended before delivery (Fixed for next Update)
    -Dragonite after delivery has an odd start to fly animation (Fixed for next Update)
    -Text for the Mewtwo event will draw more direct quotes from the movie in the next update (Fixed)✅
    -Omanyte spams withdraw (Fixed)✅
    -Healing animation text bug (Fixed)✅
    -Some Text during the mewtwo event are a bit unpolished and may seem a tad buggy on a few lines (Fixed)✅
    -Healing shadow bug (Fixed)✅
    -When leaving Crystal Cavern it warps incorrectly to powerplant without surf. (fixing right now) (Fixed)✅
    -Pikachu stays at enterance full time at bills house (this might take a bit to fix) (Fixed)✅
    -Flying anywhere crashes game - working on it! hopefully an ez fix. (Fixed)✅
    -Raichu/Pikachu may glitch when doing a happy jump. Sometimes it will crash the game! (Currently working on it!) (Fixed)✅
    -1 report of Raichu reverting back to pikachu (let me know when and where this happens if it happens to you!) (Fixed)✅
    -Raichu/Pikachu healing animation is a tad stuttery. (Fixed)✅


    (DOWNLOAD AT BOTTOM OF PAGE)

    Description/Features:

    Hey there! Thanks for checking out my hack. This project's been a labor of love, and honestly, it took me forever to figure out—mostly through trial and error since I'm no coding wizard. If I missed crediting anyone, just let me know; I'm happy to give props where they're due!
    So, welcome to Pokémon 97+. The "97" comes from those cool Spaceworld '97 backsprites I've added, and the "+" is because this is my take on a "vanilla-plus" experience. I didn't want to stray too far from what makes Yellow special—it's still gotta feel like the game we all know and love, just with some extra flavor.
    Here's what's in the mix:
    • Tons of manga-inspired graphic tweaks and those sweet Spaceworld '97 backsprites.
    • Fixed some Pokémon palettes—like Eevee's now brown instead of green (what was up with that?).
    • You can pick a girl trainer based on Green from the manga.
    • Blue and Green's sprites got a glow-up, and Red's front and backsprites got a little love too.
    • New Oak frontsprite, plus a post-Hall of Fame battle with a manga-inspired team.
    • Mew's hanging out in Pokémon Mansion now.
    • Gym leaders got slight team tweaks (manga vibes), including an Armored Mewtwo on Giovanni's squad,
    • Team Rocket's roster's less repetitive—swapped some dupes for Tauros and Pinsir.
    • Jessie and James pick up a Lickitung late-game.
    • Pikachu can learn Surf and evolve into Raichu now—oh, and Raichu can follow you too!
    • Updated Blue sprite for the Pokémon Tower battle, with tweaked dialogue.
    • Crystal Onix and a new Brock fight in "Crystal Cavern."
    • Second battles with Brock and Misty! Brock's in Crystal Cavern, and Misty's date gets crashed at Saffron Diner (Gold/Silver style—her Starmie's ready for revenge)
    • NEW Pink Butterfree obtainable through trading on the ss anne and the ntrading back in Saffron Diner.
    • NEW Charizard, Blastoise, and Venusaur will now follow you!
    • NEW Mewtwo Side Event! - starts with dragonite delivering an invite after Fuchsia Gym and leading you to find a missing nurse joy and find new island. (This is a WIP because i have yet to connect the invite to cinnabar island but its cool none the less)
    How's This Different from the Old Version?
    This used to be called Pokémon Yellow 98, and I also had a version tied to Smithplays' Legacy hack. That was more about blending updated graphics with a legacy feel, but 97+ is my own thing—a tighter, closer-to-vanilla take. It's got cut content like Mew and the Oak fight, plus small gym team changes that fit the manga. It's a different vibe—familiar but fresh.
    What's Newer?
    • Raichu Following: Your trusty thunder buddy can tag along now.
    • Pikachu Evolution: Let that little guy grow up if you want!
    • Second Battles: Brock's back in Crystal Cavern, and Misty's got a date-ruining rematch in Saffron Diner.
    • Mewtwo Side Event
    • Sprite Updates: Blue and Green's sprites got some polish since last time.
    "This hack's pretty much "done," but I'll keep tinkering to make it the ultimate way to play Yellow."
    Click to expand...

    Heads-Up: Backup your saves & save often!! Updating might mess with old files—it sucks, but it's how I keep adding stuff. If you run into trouble, hit me up; I'll do what I can to help.





    Pokémon 97+ Title Screen

    [PokeCommunity.com] Pokemon Yellow 97+[PokeCommunity.com] Pokemon Yellow 97+

    Blue & Green's Frontsprite

    [PokeCommunity.com] Pokemon Yellow 97+[PokeCommunity.com] Pokemon Yellow 97+

    Haunted Blue at Pokémon Tower

    [PokeCommunity.com] Pokemon Yellow 97+[PokeCommunity.com] Pokemon Yellow 97+

    New Location "Crystal Cavern" (Rock Tunnel B1F)

    [PokeCommunity.com] Pokemon Yellow 97+[PokeCommunity.com] Pokemon Yellow 97+

    New Locations "Saffron Diner" & "New Island"
    Raichu Follow --------------Charizard Follow
    [PokeCommunity.com] Pokemon Yellow 97+[PokeCommunity.com] Pokemon Yellow 97+

    Green & Spaceworld 97 Back Sprites

    [PokeCommunity.com] Pokemon Yellow 97+[PokeCommunity.com] Pokemon Yellow 97+

    Credits:
    • Old Man Backsprite: SteppoBlazer
    • Oak Backsprite: Mateo
    • Armored Mewtwo Sprite: Vortyne's Pure RGB hack
    • Spaceworld '97 Backsprites: Ripped from redstarbluestar by Rangi42
    • EvoYellow: Raichu Sprites
    • Pokemon Legacy: alot of overworld sprites were or are going to be borrowed. Specifically Gym leaders.
    • Other Sprites: Some started as borrows but got remade my way. Originals from Ghost-missingno on DeviantArt—let me know if I need to credit more!
    Next Planned Update for June 2025:
    This will be called the BETA update. when it is released, I plan for 90% of the hack to be completed and will ask for a run of tests on everything.

    Videos:

    -SS Anne Returns After Pokedex
    This will include a small party on the S.S. Anne post-Elite 4
    -Poachers in the Saffari Zone
    This will include a few poachers to battle in the Safari Zone

    - Gorochu
    Many requests for this one but if I do it it has to feel like it was originally intended. One idea was to implement a trade with an npc for your raichu and it evolves but but bites the npc prompting him to give it back to you as gorochu. just a thought because i have yet to watch more about the history behind it. also heard something about an ultra stone? im much more of a purist so this is a fun one but I also like cut content things and it makes me want to add it as a potential follower too.

    - Pokemopolis Evening Mechanic
    A new evening mechanic will trigger when you speak to an old man who asks if you want to hear about Pokemopolis. Accepting shifts Kanto to an evening shade, where all Pokémon can be caught, including three Pokemopolis-inspired Pokémon: Jigglypuff, Alakazam, and Gengar. These will be implemented subtly, with light anime references to tie them to the Pokemopolis lore.

    - Charmander Abandoned
    Instead of receiving Charmander the usual way, you'll find it abandoned, referencing the emotional anime moment. This will be a small, heartfelt encounter that adds depth to Charmander's story without major changes to the game's flow.

    - Ditto House
    Inspired by one of my favorite anime episodes, this will feature a Ditto House in Kanto where Pikachu interacts with a Ditto that transforms into Pikachu—complete with that iconic dopey smile. This ties into my plan to add more overworld Pokémon sprites for Pikachu to encounter, like the lady tripping over a Geodude, to emphasize Pikachu's lively personality and make Kanto feel more alive.

    Future Updates/Ideas:

    [/SPOILER]
    Reminder! "These are all just ideas and I don't know how far from vanilla I want to stray... my goal here with these is to balance what I've added so far so that it does not feel too empty and gives something new to people who have played Pokemon Yellow and a reason for red and blue players to give it a shot."
    Click to expand...

    -Potential QOL Implementations:
    -I want to add a caught icon on wild Pokémon to help you keep track of pokedex entries.
    -A PC for the Daycare
    -More Bag space/ Auto Sort
    -Add Move Deleter
    -EXP bar? maybe as long as it works properly with the newer sprite system.

    "I do not want this to become a pokemon yellow legacy hack, though a separate version may be made that blends the two. Legacy had too many menu/stat changes in my opinion, and I would like alot of stats and learnsets to remain the same as in OG pokemon yellow) I will not see it become a QOL type hack though a few of the above improvements are going to be added"
    Click to expand...
    Confirmed Additions:
    - Ditto House
    Inspired by one of my favorite anime episodes, this will feature a Ditto House in Kanto where Pikachu interacts with a Ditto that transforms into Pikachu—complete with that iconic dopey smile. This ties into my plan to add more overworld Pokémon sprites for Pikachu to encounter, like the lady tripping over a Geodude, to emphasize Pikachu's lively personality and make Kanto feel more alive.

    - Pokemopolis Evening Mechanic
    A new evening mechanic will trigger when you speak to an old man who asks if you want to hear about Pokemopolis. Accepting shifts Kanto to an evening shade, where all Pokémon can be caught, including three Pokemopolis-inspired Pokémon: Jigglypuff, Alakazam, and Gengar. These will be implemented subtly, with light anime references to tie them to the Pokemopolis lore.

    - Safari Zone Poachers
    A minor side event in the Safari Zone where you save a group of Kangaskhan from poachers. This will be a quick, low-key encounter to add some flavor to the area without turning it into a major story beat.

    - S.S. Anne Returns
    After beating the Elite Four and Professor Oak, the S.S. Anne makes a grand return to Vermilion City! This time, you won't miss the party. The ship hosts a lively event with dancing trainers, battles, and a Team Rocket crash led by Jessie and James at the bow. Memorable characters like Misty, Brock, and your rival will be there, adding a celebratory vibe. Expect a potential surprise encounter to spice things up!

    - Shellder Medicine Side Event
    A small nod to the anime, this side event will involve a minor quest related to Shellder medicine. I'm still working out the details to keep it simple, but it'll capture the charm of that episode without overcomplicating the game.

    - Charmander Abandoned
    Instead of receiving Charmander the usual way, you'll find it abandoned, referencing the emotional anime moment. This will be a small, heartfelt encounter that adds depth to Charmander's story without major changes to the game's flow.




    Still Debating on Adding:
    - Koga Working with Team Rocket Side Event
    A manga-inspired arc where Koga has a minor tie to Team Rocket, followed by a small redemption story. This would flesh out his underutilized character without overhauling his role.

    - Sabrina Side Event
    A brief encounter outside her gym, referencing the anime. Something small to give Sabrina more presence, like a quirky interaction or battle.

    - Lt. Surge Side Event
    Considering a Power Plant meetup with Lt. Surge post-game, with a subtle manga or anime nod. This would add depth to his character, maybe through a quick battle or dialogue.

    - Blaine Side Event
    A potential battle or event referencing the anime/manga to give Blaine more screen time. Still brainstorming how to make it fit naturally.

    - Charizard Doesn't Listen
    If you evolve Charmeleon into Charizard before facing Mewtwo's clones, Charizard might disobey frequently, mirroring the anime. After defeating the new trainer battle, it'll listen fully, adding a fun challenge and nostalgic payoff.

    - Pikachu Valley (Maybe)
    Thinking of a fun Pikachu Valley for after you finish the Pokédex. Just a chill spot with tons of Pikachu bouncing around, super cute and anime-inspired. Might toss in a battle with trainer named Raymond who wants to take you on, like from Mewtwo Strikes Back (def making his sprite). Gotta figure out:
    - Keeping it simple so it fits with Gen 2.
    - Not coding too much for a quick scene.
    - Want it to feel fun and Pikachu-focused, maybe with a nod to the anime.

    - Gorochu
    Many requests for this one but if I do it it has to feel like it was originally intended. on idea was to implement a trade with an npc for your raichu and it evolves but but bites the npc prompting him to give it back to you as gorochu. just a thought because i have yet to watch more about the history behind it. also heard somehting about an ultra stone? im much more of a purist so this is a fun one but I also like cut content things and it makes me want to add it as a potential follower too. (if you want this comment below)
    [/SPOILER]


    Warning:
    This hack's had SUPER LIMITED testing, so if you spot glitches (especially graphical ones), give me a shout. And yeah, backup those saves—updates can be dicey. PKHEX works for Pokémon stats and moves, but that's it for now, and corruption's always a risk with that.

    "This feels solid for now—I'm calling it complete unless bugs pop up. I'll do big testing runs before the next update. Thanks for playing, and sorry if any hiccups messed with your run!"
    Click to expand...


    Download Patch:
    POKEMONY97+

    Known Issues! (Collecting these and will look to fix in a following update)
    BUG SMASHER:


    Spoiler: KNOWN ISSUES/ BUG FIXES


    My Other Hacks:
    PokemonYellow97

    Related Hacks:
    Legacy98
     
    Last edited:
    Hermione Granger said:
    What's the difference between this and legacy 98? Is the main difference the difficulty of the game? If this shares a similarity in difficulty similar to the vanilla games then call me interested.
    Click to expand...
    Hi thanks for stopping by! so the difficulty with this one is probably more geared towards vanilla :) I only really wanted to add things inspired by the manga and spaceworld 97. so some graphics were updated and like i said in the description there are slight changes to gym teams. for example Brock was given omanyte (similar to the manga). I could be more specific but really it seemed to me like minor changes. i did not do extensive changes as the legacy hack and as such this might be my preffered rom as it is somewhat closer to vanilla. the major challenge may come with giovanni as he was given another pokemon i do not wish to spoil but is in line with the anime and is the coolest addition. let me know if you have more questions! and if you play give me plenty feedback as i may add things down the line :)
     
    further to add for the differences: Legacy98 was more of a project to appeal to fans of the legacy hack by Smithplays while bringing some updated graphics. All the sprites added to that were originally intended for my own hack here with Pokemon Yellow 98 my own idea of definitve pokemon yellow. it's got closer to vanilla feels with with smaller changes. it adds some cut content like mew like professor oak battle at the end. and small changes to teams that make sense with the manga. hard to say but in my mind this hack is very different to legacy as legacy is a completely different experience just with updated graphics.
     
    Hey i am checking it out, but so far there is a huge difficulty spike where the Rival in Silph Co has pokemon in their 60s which is twice the level everyone else had including Jessie and James and Giovanni. Not sure if it was intended or not.

    Also Jessie and James's sprites are a jumbled mess.
     
    Last edited:
    discodriver44 said:
    Hey i am checking it out, but so far there is a huge difficulty spike where the Rival in Silph Co has pokemon in their 60s which is twice the level everyone else had including Jessie and James and Giovanni. Not sure if it was intended or not.

    Also Jessie and James's sprites are a jumbled mess.
    Click to expand...
    My apologies! I will have a fix tonight! Thank you for letting me know! I should be able to have both fixed and you'll be able to continue the save. I uploaded a recent change a little too soon. And I've found a faster way to test things. Thank you again for posting
     
    discodriver44 said:
    Hey i am checking it out, but so far there is a huge difficulty spike where the Rival in Silph Co has pokemon in their 60s which is twice the level everyone else had including Jessie and James and Giovanni. Not sure if it was intended or not.

    Also Jessie and James's sprites are a jumbled mess.
    Click to expand...
    Hey thanks again for the info. I've fixed both of those issues. let me know if there's anything else you happen to run into.
     
    I've played up to Brock so far and am here to report findings and thoughts.

    First, I'm not sure if "Healing animation text bug" is referring the the pokemon center text bug I've gotten or if it's referring to move text, so I'm mentioning it.

    Second, while it's super minor, I realized the text on the copyright screen has random colored pixels splotted about it. What I find really odd is that they're three different colors in total.

    3. Not a bug, but FemMC's hand looks a little mangled. Could use a touch up.

    4. It's cool that you're mixing up the gym teams, but I think Brock's Omanyte could use some changing. It just spammed Withdraw at me, which is very bad considering you're given a Pikachu with thundershock from the get-go. Gen 1 AI is dumb, so I understand if it would be hard to get it to play smarter against the obvious matchup it has to deal with, and if that's the case then maybe the better choice would be to remove Withdraw from its move pool so it can maybe do something threatening and not just be a free xp piñata.

    5. The SW97 back sprites are cool, but if you're going to use them I think you should include SW97 front sprites as well, at least for the sprites that are relatively unchanged from base Yellow. It's particularly noticible how Pikachu's backsprite is the little dumpling style it originally had, while its front sprite is anime style. This wasn't as much of a problem with the original back sprites because they were all such messes that the differences from the front sprites didn't stand out as much lol. Mankey is another that suffers from its back sprite being based on the Blue front sprite while its front sprite is based on the anime. Meanwhile the SW97 sprite for Mankey is entirely unique and matches the back sprite much better. I do appreciate the base Yellow sprites you've recolored, though. Not just Eevee, but I noticed Rattata too! So yeah basically I approve of the changes you have made to the sprites, but the ones that remain unchanged I think would be better off matching their SW97 sprites.

    And that's it for now. Idk how much I'll be able to try this but I figure some thoughts after each play session could help you out a little. So far I'm liking what I'm seeing but also I haven't seen much of the changes yet. I do really like the Green/Blue character sprites though, funky hand aside
     

    Attachments

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    Kiri Sweets said:
    I've played up to Brock so far and am here to report findings and thoughts.

    First, I'm not sure if "Healing animation text bug" is referring the the pokemon center text bug I've gotten or if it's referring to move text, so I'm mentioning it.

    Second, while it's super minor, I realized the text on the copyright screen has random colored pixels splotted about it. What I find really odd is that they're three different colors in total.

    3. Not a bug, but FemMC's hand looks a little mangled. Could use a touch up.

    4. It's cool that you're mixing up the gym teams, but I think Brock's Omanyte could use some changing. It just spammed Withdraw at me, which is very bad considering you're given a Pikachu with thundershock from the get-go. Gen 1 AI is dumb, so I understand if it would be hard to get it to play smarter against the obvious matchup it has to deal with, and if that's the case then maybe the better choice would be to remove Withdraw from its move pool so it can maybe do something threatening and not just be a free xp piñata.

    5. The SW97 back sprites are cool, but if you're going to use them I think you should include SW97 front sprites as well, at least for the sprites that are relatively unchanged from base Yellow. It's particularly noticible how Pikachu's backsprite is the little dumpling style it originally had, while its front sprite is anime style. This wasn't as much of a problem with the original back sprites because they were all such messes that the differences from the front sprites didn't stand out as much lol. Mankey is another that suffers from its back sprite being based on the Blue front sprite while its front sprite is based on the anime. Meanwhile the SW97 sprite for Mankey is entirely unique and matches the back sprite much better. I do appreciate the base Yellow sprites you've recolored, though. Not just Eevee, but I noticed Rattata too! So yeah basically I approve of the changes you have made to the sprites, but the ones that remain unchanged I think would be better off matching their SW97 sprites.

    And that's it for now. Idk how much I'll be able to try this but I figure some thoughts after each play session could help you out a little. So far I'm liking what I'm seeing but also I haven't seen much of the changes yet. I do really like the Green/Blue character sprites though, funky hand aside
    Click to expand...

    Hey! So, that "known issues" healing animation text bug is the jumbled text you're seeing at the Pokémon Center. It's a tricky one to fix—it's tied to me adjusting the counter-jumping animation for the new follower Pokémon—so I've pushed it to the next update. I know it's obnoxious, though, so thanks for bearing with it!


    The copyright screen text with those colored pixels—I think that's intentional from the original game, but I'll double-check. Most of the weird quirks from the original I plan to keep for charm's sake, though I'm not married to all of them, so I'll see about that one.


    FemMC's hand hasn't gotten a touch-up in a while, so I really appreciate you flagging it. Pixel art is tough, haha—I'll take a look and see what I can do to clean it up.


    Thanks for the reminder about Omanyte! I'll add it to the known issues list and get that fixed. The Withdraw spam is definitely not ideal, so I'll tweak it for sure.


    On the front sprites, here's my thinking: Yellow originally reused Red/Blue back sprites, even when they didn't match the fronts, so I went with the SW97 back sprites to update the size while keeping that faithful mismatch vibe. The Yellow front sprites, though, I've kept for nostalgia since they're so iconic. That said, you've got a good point about consistency—I'll revisit it and see if I want to pull in more SW97 fronts, or at least test it out. It's a great callout, so thank you!


    Appreciate the compliments too! I've put a ton of work into refining the sprites, and while I'll never be 100% satisfied, it's definitely a labor of love. Your takes are super helpful for figuring out what to prioritize next—glad to have the feedback!
     
    Cremason said:
    Hey! So, that "known issues" healing animation text bug is the jumbled text you're seeing at the Pokémon Center. It's a tricky one to fix—it's tied to me adjusting the counter-jumping animation for the new follower Pokémon—so I've pushed it to the next update. I know it's obnoxious, though, so thanks for bearing with it!
    Click to expand...
    It looks like it maybe only affects capitalized text? In the image I provided it's glitching the glyphs for OWPMN. Maybe you could manage a good ole sloppy-but-effective fix by changing the dialogue so it avoids the problem glyphs? Then you don't actually have to fix the underlying bug lmao
     
    Kiri Sweets said:
    It looks like it maybe only affects capitalized text? In the image I provided it's glitching the glyphs for OWPMN. Maybe you could manage a good ole sloppy-but-effective fix by changing the dialogue so it avoids the problem glyphs? Then you don't actually have to fix the underlying bug lmao
    Click to expand...
    So I got it fixed last night! Actually was simple because i modified a file I didnt need in the end. However in your testing run i would not update it mid game as sometimes flags get set across the game and items or npcs show up before they are supposed to. (Potentially when you get to the mewtwo island you could have an updated version with the same save to see the new text i fixed) But im glad to say that from what i can tell omanyte, and text from the mewtwo event and the healing text are fixed going forward
     
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