What are the best Pokemon ROM hacks to play in 2025?

[Brayan]

I’m looking for the best pokemon rom hacks that have great stories, new regions, or harder difficulty. Which ones are actually worth playing nowadays?

 

[megamind]

To be honest with you, if you haven't tried Pokemon Reborn, then you're missing out. The story is dark, choices are important, and it is no joke. It's way more of a stretch than official games you'll feel as though you've truly earned each and every gym badge and each and every team member. Plus the world building and the side-quests are top notch. IMO this is what a ROM-hack is supposed to be.

 

[ethancarter]

Totally agree with you. Reborn is awesome. But I also think Pokemon Glazed is still worthy of love, even in the year 2025. It's kind of a "classic" hack now. It's got a huge region, multiple islands, tons of optional stuff and enough pokemons to catch to keep you busy for weeks. Great for those that like to play casually but not super brutal MUAHAHA.

 

[Emmawoods]

If you are looking for something that's fairly new check out Pokemon Eclipse / Pokemon Prism (or both, if available). These newer-ish hacks have some very interesting regional maps and new story lines. I heard that Prism leans more toward nostalgia with some nice twists and Eclipse tries to experiment a little bit more. Not as hardcore like Reborn, but a good mix of a fun story, exploration and moderate challenge.

 

[Lisa]

To be honest I am bored of "safe and pretty" hacks. For really something, you should try Pokemon, Crystal Clear -- this is vanilla Pokemon with a slight twist: open world-ish gameplay. where you choose to go, what gym to take on when. It's not story-heavy, but if you are one to like the sandbox style of freedom and you really want to "live in the Pokemon world", it's super satisfying. Plus RNG screws you over every once in a while adds that "survival / rogue-ish" feel to it.

 

[captainghost]

Eh are some people over hypes on these hacks. Reborn or Glazed Cold as nice, but buggy too (on some emulators), and kind of questionable balance. If you are going for a clean and smooth experience, I'd say Pokemon Gaia good story, nice region, updated pokemons roster, and difficulty that's fair. Not too easy, not hardcore. For 2025 that balance doesn't matter for everyone to want to rage quit at the urge to stop after first boss

 

[jameswill8520]

Lol agreed some ROM hacks are like “here’s 500 new pokemon, enjoy crashes and broken scripts.” I tried one “ultra-mega hack” last month that looked cool but glitched so badly I couldn’t even finish the first gym. So yeah, for me: Reborn and Gaia win. Maybe Prism/Eclipse if you just want chill fun. Others? Meh.

 

[ArthurMex]

But hold on that crash probably had not so much to do with hack as it did with emulator/settings. The things run smoother if you use a usual stable emulator and correct patch for it. Also "challenge and bugs" sometimes give a some character (in a weired way). I still think Eclipse/Prism is worth a shot especially if you are looking for something "different but playable."