Ash still oversleeps and still ends up with a stubborn Pikachu. But from v1.2.0 on, that journey takes place in a brand-new Kanto built after the anime: Pallet Town with Prof. Oak’s windmill, Gringey City and its power plant, Porta Vista, Maiden’s Peak, Dark City, the Laramie Ranch, Grampa Canyon, Blastoise’s turtle-shell island… Almost every episode of Season 1 (Indigo League) is a playable cutscene, fully in English.
This is a free, non-profit fan game by TekCafe.vn. v1.2.2 is a public test release, and we need you to play it and report bugs.
New in v1.2.2 (bug-fix update): fixed getting stuck in the Underground Path below Gringey City (at the turn into the east-west tunnel your character froze and the menu would not open) and the crash when entering Nastina’s house (the colorful house in Porta Vista); fixed the Cycling Road gate blocking you even with a Bicycle; restored the two restaurants on the Porta Vista pier (Moe’s and Brutella’s, with a small quest and rewards) and the Sunny Town Pokémon Center (you used to be pushed straight back out); fixed wrong item names in the Bag; fixed story NPCs appearing/disappearing wrongly. Area names now match the Kanto map (e.g. west of Celadon is Route 16); holding B only lets you run after Mom gives you the Running Shoes. Saves from v1.2.1 and v1.2.0 keep working.
New in v1.2.1: Episode 7 in Cerulean is remade after the anime (Officer Jenny and the vacuum thieves, the Sensational Sisters offering a free badge, Pikachu refusing to battle Misty, Team Rocket draining the pool); the screen no longer fades to black after outdoor healers, the Gringey City hot spring or entering houses at night; AJ’s training tent can be left again; the broken fossil revival machine is gone (Omanyte, Kabuto and the one Aerodactyl live in Grampa Canyon). Saves from v1.2.0 keep working.
What came in v1.2.0?
1. A new Kanto, the anime’s script
- The Kanto map is rebuilt from the show: the places Ash actually visits, including the towns that only exist in the anime.
- Every episode is a real cutscene: characters and Pokémon walk, run and fly in and out of the screen, with lightning, rain, storm and flash effects.
- Play from Episode 1 to Episode 82: 8 Gyms, the Indigo League… and Ash loses to Ritchie because Charizard refuses to fight, just like the anime. The banned episodes are here too (Beauty and the Beach, The Legend of Dratini, Electric Soldier Porygon), plus Pokémon: The First Movie – Mewtwo Strikes Back on New Island.
2. New and remade episodes worth the wait
- Episode 5, Pewter City: Flint sells rocks at the start of Route 2. Lose to Brock and Flint takes you to the hydro plant to charge Pikachu up, then the rematch where the sprinklers soak Onix.
- Episode 13: catch Krabby yourself below Bill’s lighthouse. With a full party the Poké Ball zips off to Prof. Oak, followed by a video call with the Professor in the middle of cooking.
- Episode 24: Ash is shrunk into Sabrina’s dollhouse and meets Sabrina’s parents; Haunter finally makes Sabrina laugh.
- Episodes 27–31: Hypno puts the whole town to sleep, Psyduck pops into Misty’s Poké Ball on its own, the P1 Grand Prix with Meowth’s bomb, the Gringey City blackout caused by Grimer and Muk, and the Diglett who plant forests.
- Episodes 46–57 rewritten: Grampa Canyon and Aerodactyl, Charmeleon evolving into Charizard, the Togepi egg, and the whole road to the League.
- New Episodes 60–74: Blastoise’s turtle-shell island, Misty the mermaid, Clefairy and the “UFO”, Psyduck’s movie, Meowth’s past, Pokémopolis, Bruno on Mt. Hideaway, and the League torch relay with Moltres.
3. Win or lose, there’s a script for it
- Every story battle has 2 branches: win and the story moves on; lose and you wake up at the Pokémon Center, come back for new dialogue and a rematch. You never miss an event.
- Your choices (release or keep Butterfree, leave Primeape with Anthony…) only change the dialogue; the episode still plays out in full.
4. HMs and HM tools, right in Kanto
- The S.S. Anne Captain gives you the Axe (cuts trees) together with HM01 Cut. The Raft (crosses water) is on Cinnabar Island, the Pickaxe (smashes rocks) comes from Gary, and the Bike Voucher is traded for a Bicycle in Cerulean.
- All of HM01–HM07 so your Pokémon can learn Cut, Fly, Surf, Strength, Flash, Rock Smash and Waterfall, each handed out by a character from the show (Koga gives Strength with his Badge, Kaiser gives Surf in the Safari Zone, the Pidgeot girl gives Fly…).
- Lots of things made to make sense: on the S.S. Anne, Dig takes you back to Vermilion Harbor; on the giant Pokémon island you are stranded like in the anime; the fake Day Care keeps your Pokémon until you beat the con artists.
5. Still here from v1.1.0
- Wild Pokémon visible on the map like Let’s Go Pikachu (switch it in Options > Encounters).
- All 151 Kanto Pokémon can be caught (Lapras waits in the Orange Islands, next version). Gift and event Pokémon have great IVs/EVs and a competitive nature, and each can be received only once.
- Legendaries placed after the anime and the games: Articuno at the North Pole, Zapdos at the Power Plant, Moltres on the mountain near Indigo Plateau, Mewtwo and Mew after you become Champion.
- Auto Run option (hold B to walk), a Bicycle, and Pikachu following you around.
How to play
- Download the patch: Pokemon Anime Version v1.2.2 (English) – Patch.zip (11.2 MB). If you need a pre-patched ROM, ask our AI Bot Bé Tek on the page!
- Get your own Pokémon FireRed (USA) v1.0 ROM, CRC32
DD88761C. No other ROM is needed. - Patch it with Rom Patcher JS (runs in your browser, phones included) or Floating IPS, using Pokemon Anime Version v1.2.2 English (FireRed).bps.
- The patched ROM has CRC32
D2341449. If yours matches, you’re playing the right v1.2.2. - Play on mGBA, Delta (iPhone), My Boy!, Pizza Boy (Android), RetroArch or real hardware with a flash cart (32 MB ROM).
Saves from v1.2.0 keep working. Saves from v1.1.0 and earlier won’t work (the maps and events were replaced), so start a new game. This version ends in Kanto: the hot-air balloon and the harbor only hint at the Orange Islands for now. The Orange Islands (Season 2) will come in a later update.
An episode-by-episode walkthrough is published separately: Pokémon Anime Version v1.2.2 – Detailed Walkthrough.
Help us test!
This is a test release, so there will be bugs. While you play, please watch out for:
- Freezes / soft-locks / can’t progress: the most serious, please report these first.
- Script problems: an event that doesn’t start, repeats, or characters standing in the wrong place or on top of each other.
- Text: typos, text overflowing the box, leftover non-English text.
- Graphics glitches: black tiles, broken sprites, odd colors.
- Difficulty: battles that feel far too hard or too easy for that point in the story.
How to report a bug (the more the better):
- A screenshot taken when it happens
- Where you were and what you just did (e.g. “Gringey City, just beat Muk and walked north…”)
- The emulator / device you use (Delta, My Boy!, mGBA…)
- Your save file, if you can
Send bug reports and feedback to the TekCafe.vn fanpage / community group or to our AI Bot Bé Tek on the site.
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)!
