Pokemon Inclement Emerald

Pokemon Inclement Emerald is a difficulty hack of Emerald by Buffel Saft that tries to be two things at once: a serious challenge and a satisfying catch-'em-all game. It started life in 2018 as a binary hack, then was rebuilt from scratch on the pokeemerald decompilation project, which is why it plays more smoothly and supports far more modern features than older Emerald hacks.

The story and map are still Hoenn, but almost everything you fight with has changed. Most non-legendary Pokemon from Generations 1 to 7 can be caught, and most routes have eight different grass encounters, with extra species hiding in Cut trees, sand mounds and berry trees. Starters are just as flexible: you pick a region first, then choose one of that region's three starters.

Battles use most Gen 4-7 moves, abilities, items and mechanics, with Mega Evolution included (Z-moves are not). Custom Megas for fan favorites like Milotic and Flygon add a few surprises. Weather also gets a rework — Drought and Drizzle set permanent weather, but the sun and rain damage boost drops to 20%, and Ice types get a 50% Defense boost in hail.

Version 1.13 is the current release. The creator still describes the project as a work in progress — the remaining Gen 8 species are planned for later — but the full Hoenn adventure, including the post-game, is playable today.

• Built on the pokeemerald decomp for a modern, stable engine
• Most non-legendary Pokemon from Gen 1-7, with eight grass encounters on most routes
• Choose any region, then any of its three starters
• Normal, Hard and Challenge modes, plus a level cap system
• Trainer EVs that ramp up to full 510 spreads on Hard
• Mega Evolution, including custom Megas like Mega Milotic and Mega Flygon
• 100 reusable TMs and a large set of move tutors
• HMs handled by Gym Leaders' Pokemon after you beat them
• Poke Vial for healing on the go, 999-item bag stacks and autorun
• Pokedex with base stats, learnsets and egg moves, plus daily post-game rematches

Inclement Emerald lets you choose how much pain you want. On Normal, enemy trainers have no EVs. On Hard, trainers gradually gain EVs until they reach full 510 spreads — regular trainers get weaker spreads, while Ace Trainers stay dangerous. Challenge mode adds two more rules on top: no bag items in trainer battles and no Shift battle style.

A level cap system (added in v1.3) and party-based scaling for trainers and wild Pokemon keep the difficulty steady. That makes it a strong middle ground: harder than a casual hack, more forgiving than Emerald Kaizo, and a popular choice for Nuzlocke runs thanks to its wide encounter tables.

• Pick Hard mode if you have played other difficulty hacks; Normal if this is your first.
• Every party member earns EXP (25% for those not battling, 100% with the EXP Share), so rotate your team freely.
• Use the in-game Pokedex to check base stats and learnsets before committing to a Pokemon.
• Visit Evie and Ivy to adjust EVs and IVs, and the nature changer in Slateport City.
• Shiny odds are 1/1024, so keep an eye out — and check Cut trees and sand mounds for rare species.

v1.13 is the latest version, with an optional Custom UI update released alongside it. The hack is offered in a Rebalanced version that changes base stats, types, moves and abilities to make weaker Pokemon worth using; the planned Standard (unchanged stats) version is not playable yet.

Because the project is still in development, the creator warns about possible bugs. Keep a backup of your save before applying any future patch.