A Pokémon ROM hack is a modified version of an original Pokémon game, created by fans. Hackers take the original game file (the "ROM"), change the code, sprites, maps, music, dialogue, or Pokédex, and release the changes as a "patch" that anyone with the base game can apply. Some hacks are small tweaks — a harder difficulty curve, or all 898 Pokémon made catchable. Others are completely new adventures with original regions, storylines, and Pokémon.

Playing a ROM hack of a game you legally own is a grey area but widely tolerated in practice. The patch itself — the file you download from Pokepatch — only contains the modifications, not Nintendo's copyrighted code. You combine it with your own legally obtained base ROM to create a playable game. Pokepatch does not host or link to base ROMs, and you should only play hacks of games you own. Emulation case law (Sony v. Connectix, Sony v. Bleem) has established that emulators themselves are legal in the US.

Three things: (1) a clean, legally-obtained base ROM of the game the hack is built on — usually Pokémon FireRed, Emerald, Crystal, or HeartGold; (2) a patching tool like Lunar IPS, Floating IPS, or our in-browser patcher to apply the hack's patch file to your base ROM; and (3) an emulator to play the patched ROM — mGBA for GBA/GBC, melonDS for Nintendo DS, SameBoy for Game Boy / Game Boy Color. Every hack page on Pokepatch has a full step-by-step install guide.

It depends on what you're looking for. For a polished, feature-rich adventure, Pokémon Radical Red, Pokémon Unbound, and Pokémon Emerald Kaizo are community favourites. For a new region and story, Pokémon Clover and Pokémon Insurgence are popular. For difficulty, Kaizo and Unbound are legendary. Browse our 1,363-hack catalog by platform, status, or base game to find something that fits your taste.

They're different patch file formats. IPS is the oldest and most common — small, simple, works for most GBA hacks. BPS is newer and includes checksums so you know your base ROM is correct before patching. UPS is similar to BPS. xdelta is used for larger hacks (especially NDS and 3DS) because it can describe bigger changes more efficiently. Our install guides automatically detect which format a hack uses and recommend the right tool.

Yes. On Android, My Boy! and Drastic are the most popular GBA and NDS emulators respectively. On iOS, Delta supports GBA, GBC, NDS, and more. Patch the ROM on a computer first (or use our in-browser patcher), then transfer the patched ROM file to your phone and open it in your emulator of choice.

In-game saves (.sav / .srm files) are usually portable between emulators — if you save inside the game, you can copy the .sav file to another emulator and continue playing. Emulator "save states" (snapshots of RAM) are almost never compatible across emulators. Use in-game saves if you plan to switch.

We aggregate and index ROM hacks from across the community. All hack files are hosted on their creators' original mirrors — Mediafire, Mega, Google Drive, Pixeldrain, and similar. Pokepatch does not host any patches or ROMs. We link back to the original source on every hack page, and we encourage you to support the creators directly.