Pokemon Shin Red ROM

Pokemon Shin Red is a Gameboy ROM Hack by jojobear13 based on Pokemon Red. It was last updated on October 05, 2025.

Description

Pokemon Shin Red is an enhancement ROM hack of Pokemon Red & Blue based on the Pret team’s pokered disassembly project. It is a mostly-vanilla hack that focuses on fixing game engine bugs and oversights from the original game. Additionally, trainer AI routines are improved and multiple quality-of-life enhancements have been added.

It also acts as a kind of research-informed speculative work that presents an alternate interpretation of the games. Specifically, that being what the 2016 Nintendo Virtual Console re-release of Gen-1 Pokemon could have been. It is the image of a glitch-free experience with player-friendly goodies and enhancements common to other modern remasterings.

Features

• Tons of bugs, glitches, and oversights fixed
• Trainers are made more difficult not by increasing their team levels, but by doing the following:
  • Vastly improving the default ai routines
  • Giving them access to stat experience
  • Giving them above-average random DVs
  • Trainers of a smart-enough trainer class will make use of basic pkmn switching
• One of OAK’s aides will toggle on/off scaling of trainer rosters to your level (evolving them if applicable)
• All 151 pkmn are available in one version
  • Though difficult for a select few, each pkmn can be obtained multiple times
  • The uniqueness between red & blue is still preserved in encounter rarity
• You can play as a boy or a girl
• You can hunt for shiny pokemon
  • DVs are checked to see if a pokemon would be shiny in the gen 2 games
  • If a pokemon has shiny DVs, then it will play the Reflect animation when entering battle
  • If playing on a super gameboy, shiny pkmn will have a palette swap on the status screen and also change color in battle
• Minor quality-of-life improvements during battle
  • When a when a box is filled (either via catching or depositing a pokemon), notification text is displayed
  • Exp bar in battle
  • A pkmn plays its cry to signal the last turn of using a trapping move like wrap/clamp/etc
  • The safari zone mechanics run off level instead of speed and safari balls have a boosted catch rate
  • Press Select to play a mon’s cry if it’s already listed as owned in the pokedex
• Minor quality-of-life improvements outside of battle
  • Softlock Warp: instantly teleport back to your mom’s house if you get stuck (see instructions in detailed changes on the github page)
  • Running Shoes: Hold B to double your speed when walking, surfing, and biking
  • Press SELECT to use HMs based on proper context (must have the right badge and the move on one of your pkmn)
  • Move relearner and deleter
  • Nearly all trainers can be rematched just by talking to them a 2nd time after their most recent defeat
  • Due to on-demand rematches, you could do a pseudo-“new game+” by boxing your pkmn and rematching everyone in order
  • All TMs can be repurchased as they are strategically scattered across all the Kanto pokemarts
  • Hold select and enter the status screen to print a ‘mons stat exp
  • Hold start and enter the status screen to print a ‘mons DVs
  • Slot machine bugs and oversights fixed so now you can actually win big
  • A pokemon having Pay Day will tip you off to the lucky slot machine and when it’s in a special payout mode
  • An NPC will pay COINS for showing him pokemon as an alternative to slots
  • After the elite-4, a new vendor opens up in celadon allowing the purchase of normally unique items
  • After the elite-4, there is an NPC that generates a trainer battle with a randomized 6-pkmn roster
  • There’s a tournament being held in the SS Anne’s kitchen after the elite 4 are beaten
  • CUT not needed to get to Lt. Surge and Erika (a blocking event replaces the Vermilion shrub)
  • Added some special trainer battles as fun little easter eggs
• Minor learnset changes that make things more convenient while still staying gen-1 legal
  • Stone evolutions regain some level-up moves
  • Yellow-version move lists have been integrated
• Minimal changes to battle mechanics necessitated by AI improvements
  • Trapping move mechanics nerfed to prevent PP underflow glitch as well as stopping merciless, unwinnable abuse by AI trainers
    • They now end, ending the turn with no further attack, if the target switches pkmn
    • Upon hitting, user’s speed reduced 25% until recalculated through other mechanics
    • The user’s Cry is played on the final turn of a trapping move to signal its end
  • Adjustment to the sleep condition
    • Sleep does not prevent choosing a move
    • Waking up from sleep does not waste the turn and the chosen move is used

Change Log

V1.25.0

• The overworld Cut SFX now syncs up better with the animation
• Audio Bank 4 from Yellow has been implemented to allow for more music constants
• The unused Trading Song has been fixed up and put back into use
• Unused Trading Song re-implemented for link trades – each game boy plays a different channel and the music syncs
• Game Boy Printer functions have been added, and they can be accessed from the normal PC
• Fixed a bug where the no-battle bit in Mt. Moon area 3 won’t clear if using dig/teleport/escape rope
• Fixed a vanilla bug where the side menu on the party select screen does not fully disappear in battle
• Fixed a vanilla bug involving minor text box flicker when a pokemon learns a move after evolving
• Enhanced GBC color has been added to the extra options menu that colorizes the overworld to a further degree
• Game now keeps the status of the gamma shader with the save on file
• Fixed a bug in Rocket Hideout 1 map where a SFX plays every time the map loads
• Fixed graphical display bug when talking to the 15th sprite on a map
• Added missing sfx when leaving the trainer card screen
• Increased the speed of the LoadCurrentMapView function
• Fixed a bug where cutting grass loads the wrong palette for the animation
• AI Layer 3 will no longer run on the turn a player switches in order to keep battle information from the AI
• Fixed a rare infinite loop caused by a text SFX playing right at the end of an audio fadeout
• On AI Layer 1, biased preference for exploding more towards lower HP
• Engine now supports up to 255 predefs instead of 127
• Rage is slightly discouraged in AI Layer 1
• The VS pokeballs in link battles have defined palettes now instead of whatever is in memory
• If the female trainer option is compiled, a female link partner will have corresponding graphics
• Fixed a serial timer problem with the link cable version verification
• Oak’s five free pokeballs are now obtained based on never having caught a pokemon with a ball
• Made japanese patches more accurate to the original, particularly the timing of the intro
• Added a different emulator check that tests the timing of memory modification opcodes
• Fixed a bug where interacting with a hidden item or a bookshelf when a trainer spots the player will freeze the game
• Press SELECT on the extra options menu to get a sound test menu
  • Listen to the game’s musical tracks
  • They even continue to play once you’ve backed out of the options menu
• Added overflow protection to super-effective damage calculation
• Pressing B on the main battle menu places the cursor over RUN
• Made the trainer pokeballs red in the battle HUD
• Fixed a minor cursor error on the town map when in route 1 or the power plant
• Fixed text error in Vermilion gym referencing the bird type instead of flying type
• Some hidden Game Corner coins can now be accessed when they previously were not.
• The menu for field moves can now support up to five field moves for developer purposes.
• All five field moves a pokemon can have will now be displayed in the field move menu.
• If level scaling is active, traded pokemon will not become disobedient under the normal badge limits.
• Increased text delay by half second on area pokedex screen
• Can move items to the non-active bag space
  • Place the cursor is over an item in the bag menu
  • Press and hold LEFT or RIGHT then press START to send it to the extra bag space
• Added hidden moon stone to route 4 guarded by the Lass that is near the Cerulean Cave entrance
• Added some proper rematch text instead of reusing the slot machine strings
• Assuming you start a new save, Nuzlocke mode now knows if you’re early in the game and have no access to pokeballs
• Altered the level-up move lists of Starmie and Raichu to work better with Misty and Surge
• Fixed serial timer problem with syncing battle clauses over link cable
• Some Cueball teams include Pinsir
• Biker teams can now include Beedrill, Magmar, an Electrode, and more Voltorbs
• Fixed an issue where enemy level-up moves were being skipped
• Added a feature for Alt Trainer Moves
  • There is an old man in the Viridian City schoolhouse who toggles this feature on & off.
  • When active, many enemy trainer Pokémon will have slight changes to their move lists such as having more TM moves.
  • Their moves will be more competitive at higher levels.

V1.24.6

Bugfixes

• Fixed an issue with the title menu becoming dark when saving in rock tunnel
• Fixed rock tunnel darkness affecting option menu
• Fixed desync problem during link battles with Rage, Thrash, and trapping moves
• The ‘bwoop’ sfx now plays when registering pokemon with short names like “Onix”
• Fixed wrong color palette being loaded for player back sprite tiles during screen shake animation
• Fixed an oversight where the player does not face the Viridian Gym door during the message saying it’s locked
• Fixed missing punctuation in Oak’s pokedex evaluation
• Corrected the text in green & red-jp pokedex entries
• Fixed a bug in the AI that caused trainers to use poison-effect moves inaccurately
• Fixed full randomization option not activating
• Fixed debug damage display not updating properly for some static damage moves
• Fixed a minor bug when blacking out of the SS Anne post-game tournament
• Fixed some oversights with the joke dittos that can be fished in unknown dungeon 3
• Cannot toss balls if the wild pokemon is above the level cap
• Made ReadSuperRodData a predef and made it so the Unknown Dungeon 3 fishing data reverts if the randomizer is on
• Fixed a problem with undergoing multiple evolutions when taking a Pokemon out of the daycare
• Fixed a problem where the Trapping Move Clause reads the move effect from the previous round instead of the current round
• Wild Pokemon randomizer will no longer swap a species with itself
• Sprites will not cover the move list when forgetting moves at the daycare
• Fixed Full Restores undoing burn/paralysis stat changes when healing a non-active pokemon
• The rocket grunt in Cerulean city has a minor fix to the timing of when its sprite disappears
• Fixed the cloning feature in Cinnabar Lab handling the charging of money incorrectly

Features

• PokeDex Area enhancements
• The AREA function of the PokeDex now takes the Super Rod into account
• It will also notify you if the Pokemon you are referencing is available on the currently loaded map
• If available on the current map, it will notify you if it can be found by walking, surfing, or by super rod
• The Cerulean Cave is an “unknown dungeon” so…
• Nest icons will not display for this location
• But the notification for the current map will still function
• Psywave has been enhanced with a hidden mechanic
• Psywave will now roll for damage multiple times and use the best roll
• The number of times that damage is rolled is based on the target’s current HP with more HP causing more re-rolls
• Certain moves now affect catching mechanics if known by your active pokemon in battle
• Razor Wind & Skull Bash – additive +10 to catch rate per toss of a non-safari ball
• Roar & Whirlwind – additive +20 to catch rate per toss of a non-safari ball
• Take Down – improves the ball factor of non-safari balls by 2
• Egg Bomb – improves the ball factor of non-safari balls by 2 and additive +10 to catch rate per toss of a non-safari ball
• Shiny pokemon gain a 4x multiplier for the coin guy in celadon hotel and selling to the game corner chief
• The battle clauses between link players now sync and are applied during battles
• The stat displays of the active pokemon in battle will display its current-time stats instead of its unmodified stats
• After buying the Magikarp from the man in the Mt. Moon pokemon center, he will serve as a move tutor
• This is a throwback to certain Japan-only event pokemon giveaways
• Talk to him with Magikarp at the top of your party, and he will offer to teach it Dragon Rage for 5000 yen.
• Talk to him with Fearow or Rapidash at the top of your party, and he will offer to teach it Pay Day for 1000 yen.
• Talk to him with Pikachu at the top of your party that has an empty move slot, and he can teach it Fly for 2000 yen.
• Psyduck Learning Amnesia
• You must first have 151 pokemon registered as owned in your pokedex.
• Place a Psyduck in your 1st party slot then go talk to the Psyduck in Mr. Fuji’s house.
• It will now try to learn the Amnesia move.

Adjustments

• Trainer level scaling has been dampened outside of hard mode
• It is now based on a weighted average for regular trainers in normal difficulty
• Gym leaders always use the absolute level scaling regardless of difficulty
• Rebalanced a few TMs across pokemart inventories
• Water Gun TM has been replaced by a super repel in Mt. Moon, and it is now found in the Pewter Museum
• Starting a new game will keep the hard mode off, but now default to fast text speed
• Turning the nuzlocke mode on will not reset your difficulty options
• Boosted Eevee encounter rate to 5.5%
• Giovanni gym battle exchanges rhyhorn for kangaskhan
• Champion Rival’s charizard swaps out swords dance for fly
• The shimmer transformation’s text box no longer requires a button prompt to scroll through
• The shimmer adds double level to the special stat exclusively for Hitmonchan
• Tweaked NPC text for extra options
• Made the karate dojo master act like a special trainer

V1.24.5

• Minor text edit for SS Anne npc in post-game.
• Minor fix for Itemfinder when there are multiple hidden items on screen.
• Fix Psywave symmetry

Useful Links

Pokecommunity

Reddit

Romhacking

Documentation

Github