With the Pokémon franchise back in the spotlight thanks to 30th anniversary celebrations taking place this year, the ROM hack community is no exception. From creations that take us back to the iconic Hoenn to Pokémon Crystal Reflection, which breathes new life into the Johto region, it is ROM hacks such as this that are bringing back some of the Pokémon classics, and they show no signs of slowing down.
There is another year to go until the next official Pokémon installment, Pokémon Winds and Pokémon Waves, is set to release, with the next entry in the franchise expected to kick off Gen 10. However, whilst we wait, it is Pokémon Hyper Emerald that is guaranteed to make the next few months fly by.
It was back in 2025 that one user took to r/PokemonROMhacks to share news of their brand-new creation: Pokémon Hyper Emerald v5.6. Released years after the ROM hack's first upload, this improved version includes the following features: "Pokémon locations based on my own personal encounter rate that is averaged, Pokémon move sets learned through level up or evolution, Pokémon evolution methods, item locations that I find as I very slowly go through the game and...
