It is still Ash oversleeping and getting the “disobedient” Pikachu at Prof. Oak’s lab, then playing through Season 1 (Indigo League) with almost every episode from 1 to 82 as a playable cutscene. The Kanto overworld was redrawn in v1.3.1 (ten towns where they sit on the classic Kanto map, anime-only areas in their proper regions). v1.3.2 adds achievements for every episode, reworks many roads after FireRed (Gringey City island, Cycling Road, Snorlax Village, the southern sea), redesigns the fossil cave and fixes a batch of broken doors and paths. The latest build adds a Hall of Fame ending, a post-game (Elite Four, Indigo Championship, rival battles with Gary), episode title cards, anime-accurate teams, and the battles Ash loses on the show now play out the same way in the game.
This is a non-profit ROM hack by TekCafe.vn, in public testing; please play and report bugs.
What’s new in v1.3.2
1. Season finale and post-game (new in this build)
- Hall of Fame: after the Indigo League, the homecoming scene at Ash’s house ends with your team being recorded in the Hall of Fame (the game saves). You then stand in front of Ash’s house in Pallet Town and keep playing.
- Elite Four: after the League, the new guard in the upper-right corner of the Indigo lobby opens the Elite Four rooms — four battles in a row and the Champion, no way out once you are in (lose and you start over). Teams are Lv57–65. Beat them for another Hall of Fame entry.
- Indigo Championship: the registration desk in the upper-left corner of the lobby runs a four-round tournament in the stadium — Assunta, Melissa, Gideon, then a title match against the reigning Champion Slate (Lv52–65). Lose a round and you can retry that round. First win: 5 Rare Candies; defend the title: 1 Rare Candy; you can enter again and again.
- Gary at Prof. Oak’s ranch (after the homecoming): talk to him for a rival battle; his team gets stronger each time you beat him, and the last tier can be rematched forever.
2. Battles that follow the anime
- Battles Ash loses on the show no longer black you out: lose Brock’s first battle and Brock tells you Pikachu isn’t strong enough yet, then you are back at the Pewter Pokémon Center with your team healed and no money lost. Lose to AJ and the Team Rocket scene still plays (AJ celebrates win number 99); lose to Ritchie and the anime scene in the lobby follows straight away.
- Charizard is disobedient for real: from the moment it evolves (Episode 46) until the end of the Indigo League, Charizard sometimes obeys and sometimes loafs around, turns away or ignores you — just like Ash’s.
- Pikachu refuses the Thunderstone: use one on Pikachu from the Bag and Pikachu swats it away (the stone is not used up). Pikachu never evolves.
- Anime teams: Misty uses Staryu and Starmie; at the Viridian Gym, Team Rocket battle three-on-three with the Boss’s Machamp, Kingler and Rhydon; Kevin has a Nidorino, AJ’s Sandshrew knows Dig; Jessie, James, Butch and Cassidy have their own trainer pictures; one-hit KO moves were removed from every trainer, and Team Rocket no longer use Selfdestruct/Explosion.
3. Episode title cards
- When an episode starts, a card slides in with “Episode N” and the episode’s title; when you finish it, “To be continued…” appears after the achievement box. Each card shows only once (it is remembered in your save).
4. Achievements for every episode
- Open START → Chievos: each anime episode is one entry (87 for Kanto, named after the episode list), unlocked when you finish that episode. At the end of each episode an “Achievement unlocked!” box appears with a Pokémon picture. The menu has room for 254 entries for the Orange Islands and Johto later; existing saves keep working and finished episodes are counted automatically.
5. Roads reworked after FireRed and the story order
- Gringey City is an island in the bay: enter through the new Underground Path house under the lighthouse trees on Route 6, then walk the East-West tunnel.
- Cycling Road, FireRed style, L-shaped: from Fuchsia go west to Laramie Ranch, enter the east-west gatehouse at the ranch’s west end (stand on its door, press LEFT), ride the bridge west and then north and come out at Sunny Town’s south gate (Chopper’s gang blocks it in both directions).
- Snorlax Village is entered through a cave on Route 11, next to Dark City — Episodes 36 → 46 now follow one another without crossing the whole map.
- The Route 11 ↔ Laramie tunnel is back as two cave doors (no guide; open after Episode 29, before that “The cave is being reinforced”). Episode 32 still goes Lavender → Route 12 → Neon Town → Route 14 → Route 15 → Fuchsia; Officer Jenny at Neon’s east gate only lets Koga’s conquerors through.
- Grampa Canyon → egg meadow (plain grass path) → mansion → League Avenue runs westward in anime order; new ferry League Avenue ↔ Cinnabar (after Episode 57).
- Southern sea: a narrow channel from Seafoam beach to Cinnabar; Fuchsia → Routes 19 → 20 → Cinnabar goes through the Seafoam cave like in FireRed.
6. The fossil cave becomes a locked scene (Episode 46)
- The cave mouth is a pit: step on it and you fall in, with no way out (lose and Brock only calls down from the mouth of the pit and drops medicine). Smash the middle rock with the Pickaxe and touch the amber; after the Aerodactyl scene the pit is sealed, so ancient Pokémon can only be caught before that (the game has no fossil revival). Charmeleon does not evolve by level until the end of Episode 46.
7. Fixes
- The old Snorlax Village gate dropped you in a sealed pocket (Episodes 39–41 unreachable); dead doors in the Episode 57 basement, the Hidden Village / Tower holes, the Cinnabar cave and the Route 18 race-track exit.
- Lavender could not go down to Route 12; the bicycle bridge was connected backwards; the Route 5 fishing pond sent you to Pewter; Caterpie’s sprite in the opening demo battle had broken colors.
- Surfing to the map border no longer shows an empty edge (rows of sea rocks along Routes 20/21/12, the Route 1/5 ponds and the bicycle bridge).
- The gatehouse joining the bicycle bridge and Route 18 is now a horizontal room like FireRed; Pokémon Tower is dark and foggy (you need Flash); the Game Corner prize counter can be bought from; Pikachu no longer turns purple and catches up after battles.
- The Grampa Canyon → egg meadow gap, the egg meadow hospital and house doors were re-checked; many map borders redrawn to blend in.
- Redrawn for smooth seams: Routes 12 and 14, Maiden’s Peak → Route 6, the mansion ↔ egg meadow seam, south of Fuchsia.
What’s already in the game
- Every episode is a real cutscene: characters and Pokémon walk, run and fly; electricity, rain and storms. Episodes 1 to 82: 8 Gyms, the Indigo League, Ash losing to Ritchie because Charizard won’t fight, the banned episodes and Pokémon: The First Movie (Mewtwo).
- Tag battles like the anime in 5 scenes with Brock or Misty; day / night Pokémon; every story battle has win and lose branches: losing usually sends you to the Pokémon Center for a rematch, while the battles Ash loses in the anime (Brock’s first battle, AJ, Ritchie) carry the story on.
- HM01–HM07 and the HM tools (Axe, Raft, Pickaxe, Bicycle) are obtainable in Kanto. Wild Pokémon appear on the map like Let’s Go (toggle in Options). All 151 Kanto Pokémon except Lapras (see you in the Orange Islands).
How to play
- Download the patch: Pokemon Anime Version v1.3.2 (English) – Patch.zip (11.3 MB). Need help or want a pre-patched ROM? Chat with our AI Bot Bé Tek here.
- Get your own Pokémon FireRed (USA) v1.0 ROM, CRC32
DD88761C. - Patch with Rom Patcher JS (in the browser, phones too) or Floating IPS, using Pokemon Anime Version v1.3.2 English (FireRed).bps.
- The patched ROM has CRC32
EB2D8849. If it matches, you are playing the right v1.3.2 build. - Play on mGBA, Delta (iPhone), My Boy!, Pizza Boy (Android), RetroArch or real hardware via flash cart (32 MB ROM).
Saves from v1.2.x and v1.3.x keep working, but since some outdoor paths moved (Gringey, Cycling Road, Snorlax Village…), save indoors or in a Pokémon Center before switching versions. If you end up in the wrong place, use Teleport or Fly. Saves from v1.1.0 and earlier do not work. This release ends at Kanto; the Orange Islands (Season 2) come in a later update.
The episode-by-episode walkthrough, updated for v1.3.2: (walkthrough link: …)
Testing: what we need from you
For v1.3.2 please pay special attention to the post-game, the title cards, achievements and the new paths:
- Post-game: the Elite Four, the Indigo Championship, Gary at the ranch — any freeze, wrong dialogue or a battle you can’t start; the Hall of Fame after the League.
- Episode title cards: a card showing at the wrong time or place, twice, or never.
- Anime battles: losing to Brock (first battle), AJ or Ritchie; Charizard’s obedience; Pikachu and the Thunderstone.
- Achievements: an episode finished but its entry not unlocked, the wrong episode unlocked, the box appearing at the wrong time or text overflowing.
- New paths: Underground Path house → Gringey City, Cycling Road, the Snorlax Village cave on Route 11, the League Avenue ↔ Cinnabar ferry, the fossil cave (any way to get stuck?).
- Anywhere you can’t get through, get stuck, or find a pointless dead end; broken graphics at the seam between two areas; trees, cliffs or paths cut off oddly.
- Episode order: does Officer Jenny block at the right time, can you reach an episode too early, or get stuck without a way forward.
- Town Map showing the wrong name or position anywhere.
- As always: freezes, wrong script, text overflowing its box, battles too hard or too easy.
Send bug reports and feedback to the TekCafe.vn fanpage / community group or chat with our AI Bot Bé Tek right here.
Support
The game is free and will stay free. If you enjoy it and want to help it reach the Orange Islands, Johto and beyond: https://ko-fi.com/heavenangle ☕
Credits
- Anime script, graphics, programming: HeavenAngle & TekCafe.vn.
- Base ROM: Pokémon FireRed (USA). Thanks to Jaizu (Pokémon Recharged Yellow) and metapod23 (Pokémon Ash Gray), whose projects inspired and informed this one.
- Pokémon © Nintendo / Game Freak / The Pokémon Company. This is a free fan project, not affiliated with those companies. Selling it is prohibited.
Have fun, and see you in the Orange Islands (Season 2)!
