Climbing Team Rocket's ladder: Dragonsden's Kanto-to-Johto saga
Pokémon Team Rocket Edition: Dragonsden Version is a large fan project by Dragonsden, a developer from Spain, who first released it in Spanish. The version here is the English translation, produced by a small team together with the author. It is a different game from colonelsalt's Pokémon FireRed: Rocket Edition; the author states that clearly on the first post of the project thread, opened on PokéCommunity in March 2024.
At a glance
- Based on: Pokémon Emerald (current builds ported to the pokeemerald-expansion codebase)
- Created by: Dragonsden; English translation by a small work team and the author
- Released: Spanish first; the project thread opened in March 2024, with a Johto release on 30 April 2025
- Genre: Story-driven villain RPG hack
- What sets it apart: A canon-bending Team Rocket saga
The story
The hack's stated goal is to cover the timeline from FireRed/LeafGreen to Gold/Silver, about three years later, from Team Rocket's viewpoint. You begin as a mere Grunt in the Five Island warehouse, taking missions from your superiors and rising through the ranks, with your appearance changing as you do. When you are transferred to Kanto you witness Red's journey from the other side, and the game digs into theories about what happened behind the scenes, such as the collapse of Lavender Tower and the construction of the train tracks.
What to expect
- Physical/special split, replaceable HMs and unlimited TMs
- Custom music for key battles and many previously unexplored areas
- Around 70 hours of play as stated by the author (30 to 35 for Kanto, 12 to 18 for Sevii, 22 to 25 for Johto)
- Difficulty spikes: the first legendary bird fights and Lt. Surge in the Kanto season are known to be hard, and the author keeps them that way on purpose
The English releases cover Kanto, Sevii and Johto; later arcs, including a DLC chapter and Hoenn, exist in Spanish and are waiting for translation.