Pokemon Sacred Gold and Storm Silver (2023)

Pokémon Sacred Gold & Storm Silver are ROM hacks for Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver. They are the fourth set of hacks/edits by Drayano, similar to the other hacks, all 493 Pokémon are available to catch in-game. It also introduces a greater difficulty curve and (optional) changes to Pokémon to make some of them better.

Among other things, Sacred Gold and Storm Silver are full of new scripted events and other aesthetic changes to make it both full of content and a pleasure to look at.

Included are two versions of Sacred Gold & Storm Silver:

• v1.05 - Original SGSS by Dray, comes with Speed Up Patch.
• v1.1 - Unofficial mod with Fairy-type added by mikelan98 (aka MeroMero). This affects any moves that were changed to Fairy-type in Gen 6 and grants the Fairy typing to relevant Pokémon (e.g. Wigglytuff, Clefable, Gardevoir).

There are two options available for the original SGSS (Fairy type mod is only present in the Complete Version):

• Complete Version - Includes all the changes to the game.
• Classic Version - Includes most changes but excludes any changes made directly to Pokémon (stats, types, TM compatibility, level up move changes etc).

To apply the patch:

• The patch includes the anti piracy patch already, so you will need to use a clean Heart Gold or Soul Silver ROM to get these to work. The HG/SS rom should be American.
• Use the xDelta GUI to choose the patch you wish, choose your ROM and a patched version will be generated - this will be Sacred Gold or Storm Silver.
• In the event of an update, you must apply the patch to the clean rom, not the already patched rom.

While the base of the game is the same (e.g. the maps, the storyline, the general order of main events) the two hacks still manage to bring a new series of features to the table to spice up the gameplay experience.

Below are some of the changes highlighted by the author, you can find the full list of changes and Action Replay Codes in the Documents folder (online version).

Pokémon changes

493 Pokémon (i.e. all Pokémon available in the fourth generation) can be obtained somehow within the game, though Legendaries are somewhat restricted. Almost all Pokémon are available prior to the first round of the Elite Four.

In addition, you also receive the National Dex the moment you get the Pokédex, making it easier to track what you have and haven't caught. There are some minor changes in Wild encounters between Sacred Gold and Storm Silver, but all 493 are available in both.

Pokémon changes (optional)

The data of a lot of Pokémon has been changed; this can mean just extra level-up moves, but features such as abilities, experience rates, TM compatibility and even types might be changed. Most of these are carried over from Blaze Black & Volt White, but the hack has brought some new ideas to the table. For those of you who prefer a purer Pokémon experience, the Classic version offered has these Pokémon edits removed.

A small amount of attack moves have also been edited. All moves that were given some sort of change in Black & White have had the same change applied to them in Sacred Gold & Storm Silver where possible, as well as some additional edits to make Cut, Strength and Rock Smash more useful than their previous counterparts. A large amount of Pokémon have been given extra level-up moves in some form to make them easier to raise.

Edits to evolutions mean Sacred Gold and Storm Silver are self-contained (i.e. you do not need to trade to obtain all the Pokémon). In most cases, this simply turns the item needed for evolution by trade into a usable item much like an evolution stone, though for some cases where evolution is either awkward or impossible in HG/SS (e.g. Leafeon, Glaceon, Magneton, Nosepass) some new items have been added; this keeps consistency with previous items.

Trainers changes

Trainers have received new rosters to tie in with the greater variety of Pokémon available (explained by a migration wave to the regions). This means you'll be battling a much larger variety of Pokémon than you'll see previously. ​Gym Leaders and other important trainers in particular have received a large boost to their difficulty, so get ready to take on some hard fights.

As with other hacks by the author, Gym Leaders, Elite Four members etcetera all use six Pokémon in each fight. New Trainer battles have also been added where appropriate; examples include the option to battle Ethan/Lyra, Cynthia and Steven.

Items changes

The availability of items has been changed quite wildly in general; all evolution items and TMs are now available at least once prior to the first round of the Elite Four, meaning you can shape your team up quite well for what's not even the final challenge in the game.

On that note, some things have been changed just to make things in the game a lot more convenient. Examples include:

• An EXP Share available in Violet City.
• The removal of most unnecessary Cut trees and other HM moments.
• The addition of buyable evolution stones to some of the shops around the regions.

The numbers of Gym Leaders are also now much easier to obtain - they're given to you directly after the battle. Coins can also now be purchased from the Goldenrod Game Corner.

New scripted events

A wide variety of scripted events have been both added and edited. The levels of most event Pokémon that already existed are now raised, but there are lots of new events for the purpose of giving you new Pokémon, items or TMs.

Notables include an Eevee given to you by Cynthia extremely early in the game, the addition of a Teleport system in the Elite Four to let you challenge them in any order á la Black & White, a Team Rocket takeover of Route 47 and the Safari Zone and a Shellder and Cloyster siege in Fuchsia City.

Yes, you read that right. Every newly added legendary has also had some sort of script concocted for it, so you won't be just finding them in the wild as you did with Blaze Black and Volt White. The Game Corner's prizes have also been edited; you can get a Porygon in Goldenrod City, if you so choose.

Aesthetical changes

Some small aesthetical edits have been made, e.g. Karen has a new background for her battle and Lance now uses Cynthia's background from DPPt instead of his own. Some attempt has also been made at engaging the world more in its inter-regional Pokémon change by having Hoenn and Sinnoh overworld sprites appear in various places.

Some DP trainers also make an appearance, though this was a late feature and has yet to be fully fleshed out due to time constraints. There's also a fairly hefty addition of Black & White sprites to the table, particularly for Hoenn Pokémon. The main Pokémon also now have seals attached to give them a more personalised appearance.

Finally, text has been edited such that all Pokémon names are decapitalised (so Pidgeotto rather than PIDGEOTTO, for instance). There's also been one or two bits of dialogue that have been changed back to their GSC version.

Other changes

Though it's admittedly very little, some extra bits of story have been added. It focuses on the idea of a Legendary Trainer who can meet the creator and the hunting down of the Plate items.

The game has had a variety of blockades added to it to increase the linearity of the story. It serves as a way to increase the level curve of Johto, of which the orignal game lacked. You will be forced to go to Cianwood first instead of Mahogany, and the Kanto region also requires you to take a certain route to give it more of an objective.

Trades within the game have also been both edited and shifted around to make getting some hard-to-place Pokémon a bit more convenient. Examples include the ability to trade for Pokémon such as Gligar, Skarmory, Beldum and Smoochum. They even have a move ordinarily learned by TM, or not at all.

Works for no$gba 2.6a (preferably with no$zoomer), DeSmuME and DS flashcard.

Tool used:

• The main tool used in order to produce this hack was PPRE, with its Pokémon editing, script editing, overworld editing and Trainer editing features.
• Other tools included the ever trusty crystaltile2, some moments from Cygnus Hex Editor, and the use of programs such as Tile Molester for the one bit of sprite work did previously.

Thanks to:

• afcmark15, bossdresser, Joodicator and other friends - For contributing ideas to the hack, as well as in some cases helping to playtest the thing.
• Project Pokémon Forums - Again for any help they gave in relation to HG/SS problems.
• Alpha and SCV - Though it hasn't been updated in a while, PPRE is the single most important thing needed to create this hack.
• KazoWAR - His tutorial on inserting sprites in HG/SS was important in order to get that Steven sprite in.
• Dewgong/Frostbite - For the Steven trainer sprite added to the game.
• Various GBAtemp/YouTube Members - For your continued support and ideas during the production of SG/SS.
• Jhon 591 of Romulation - For his significantly improved HG/SS anti piracy patch which means you guys can play this game on no$gba without it crashing every five seconds.
• Jensei - For speeding quite fast through the game and reporting bugs on the initial releases.
• Early Players - For helping out with all the bugs.

• Author's Tweet - https://twitter.com/drayano60/status/1262872055013347328
• GBAtemp - https://gbatemp.net/threads/pokemon-sacred-gold-storm-silver.327567
• PokémonFanGames - https://pokemonfangames.com/game/heart-gold-soul-silver-fairy-type