Dark Rising: A Darker FireRed with 386 Pokémon
The Dark Rising series is a family of completed GBA Pokémon hacks that turns up regularly in best-of lists, created by the hacker DarkRisingGirl on top of Pokémon FireRed. The first game keeps FireRed's engine but replaces the world and the tone: climate disasters are tearing at the Core Region, and the whole adventure begins with a dream.
At a glance
- Based on: Pokémon FireRed (Game Boy Advance)
- Created by: DarkRisingGirl
- Released: final version listed as completed, last updated in April 2017
- Genre: Role-playing
- What sets it apart: a darker, more mature story, a 386-species roster and a series that expanded into several sequels
The premise
In a dream, a Pokémon asks the protagonist to save it and the world. You leave your hometown of Fells in the Core Region, learn about climate catastrophes sweeping the area, pick up a package from Professor Oak and meet a mysterious girl who seems to know about the dream. Then you face a powerful Pokémon that defeats you, setting up the journey to come.
What it adds
- Pokémon from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh and Unova, 386 species in total.
- Moves from newer generations and "Dream World" abilities.
- Some egg moves learnt by levelling up instead of breeding.
- Challenging gyms and a deeper plot than the base game.
A series, not a single game
Fan lists recommend playing the series in the order Dark Rising, Dark Rising 2, Order Destroyed, Origins: Worlds Collide and then Dark Rising 3, and a later entry called Rebirth is set seven years after the second game. Catalogue sites also list a harder Kaizo version, so it is worth checking which variant you start with.