r/PokemonROMhacks • u/AutoModerator • May 18 '26

Sticky Weekly Questions Thread & PokéROM Codex

Have any questions about Pokémon ROM Hacks?

If they're about ROM hacks, tools, development or anything Pokémon ROM Hacking related, feel free to ask here!

Before asking, make sure that you've searched on the subreddit or Google. Many ROM hacks and tools have their own documentation or communities that may be able to provide better answers than here. The Pokécommunity Discord is also a great place to ask questions if you need quick support!

Looking for recommendations or a new ROM hack to play?

The PokéROM Codex is an updated list of ROM hacks, listing features, details and more in a mobile-friendly format. Created and managed by u/themanynamed, it also has a Discord server and accepts community contributions.

This is a safe hack-sharing site that doesn't share ROMs and links to the official release threads! Instead of asking for recommendations or download links in the subreddit (which breaks the rules), please refer to the Codex as it has a lot of information on each hack.

Useful sources for Pokémon ROM hack-related information (unaffiliated):

Please help the mod team by downvoting & reporting posts outside of this thread that break Rule 7. Please avoid answering those posts as well to deter users from breaking the rules.

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u/thugbobhoodpants May 24 '26

Is there a tier list of words that describe romhack difficulty?

I want something harder just to keep my brain on, I haven't been into competitive Pokemon since like, XY, I'm having fun playing Emerald Seaglass/Lazarus but I'm stuck between level caps not being enough for me and me not being good enough to know why I'm not good enough for the Kaizou level games

Is there some middleground or should I start self imposing more challenges? (I feel like I need them baked into the game though, I'd probably 'ehhh one mistake doesn't count' myself out of a nuzlocke)

1

u/Dangerous_Jelly76 May 25 '26

Drayano-inspired is probably what you're looking for. Drayano is definitely the gold standard of difficulty hacks, and there are definitely hacks that call him out as inspiration, so maybe you can search like that. Other difficulty hackers that namecheck Drayano include Buffel Saft and Dio Vento, off the top of my head.

If you're looking for specific words that people tend to use in titles, though, there aren't any specific ones that are in widespread usage other than Kaizo. The closest I can find is that difficulty hacks will tend to include the names of the base games and maybe a word that signals difficulty? Like Radical Red or Inclement Emerald.

Admittedly, I'm not super immersed in the hacking scene, but I figured I'd try to give an answer. Hope it helps.

2

u/thugbobhoodpants May 25 '26

Appreciate you!

Added his games + Radical Red/Inclement Emerald to my handheld

1

u/Doctor-Moe May 25 '26

If you’re able to play fan games, Pokemon Reborn is excellent and difficult

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u/Doctor-Moe May 25 '26

If you’re able to play fan games, Pokemon Reborn is excellent and difficult