Pokemon Altair and Sirius

Pokemon Altair and Sirius are a pair of Japanese Game Boy Advance hacks built on Pokemon Emerald by the anonymous team that later made Pokemon Vega. They first came out in Japan around 2010, and an English patch now makes both playable. Like the main series, they are two versions of the same adventure: the download includes an Altair patch and a Sirius patch, and you pick one.

The setup is simple and fun. Meteors strike Hoenn and leave behind new creatures, the Meteoric Pokemon, and Professor Birch asks you to complete the Pokedex as they spread. Standing in your way is Team BH, short for Team Black Hole. The progression follows the familiar Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald structure, so Hoenn veterans will know the rough shape of the journey even as the encounters change.

These games are the first entries in a series that continues with Vega and later with Procyon and Deneb. Many of the original designs that Vega fans know appear here first, along with new moves and Pokemon from later generations. The English patch also ports Vega's battle animations back into Altair and Sirius.

Translating them was harder than translating Vega. The originals use a Japanese Emerald base with strict text space, which limits how much the English lines can say, while Vega was rebuilt on FireRed. The result is fully playable, but the dialogue is terser and sometimes clunkier than in Vega.

• Two versions, Altair and Sirius, with separate patches
• Story about meteors bringing new Meteoric Pokemon to Hoenn
• Villain team: Team BH (Black Hole)
• Original Pokemon and moves later reused in Vega
• Vega's animations ported into the English version
• Rematches with almost every important trainer
• Post-game with a battle facility
• Custom soundtrack
• Optional Minus patch that lowers the difficulty

The standard Altair and Sirius patches are known for being tough: gym leaders often out-level your team, and you meet many unfamiliar species without knowing their typings. That makes the first playthrough a real test of preparation.

If that sounds like too much, the Minus version is a difficulty patch that rebalances the game to be easier. Fans of fakemon and Japanese hack history will get the most out of these games, and anyone planning to play Vega gains useful story context.

• Apply the IPS patch of your choice to a clean English Emerald v1.0 ROM, using Lunar IPS or an online patcher.
• Choose either Altair or Sirius; the two versions share the story.
• Try the Minus patch if gym leaders stall your progress.
• Some species in Minus are not link-compatible with the regular versions, so do not plan trades between them.
• Read new Pokedex entries carefully: typing knowledge is what keeps you alive here.

Vega is the more polished sequel: it moves to a new region, Tohoak, runs on FireRed and has a smoother translation. Altair and Sirius stay in Hoenn and keep the Emerald engine, so they feel closer to a remix of Emerald with a fresh Pokedex and story. Playing them first is optional, but Vega's notes recommend it for the full context.