Pokemon Elite Redux FAQ

Pokemon Elite Redux is a ROM hack where the main gimmick is that every Pokemon has up to four abilities at a time! Using another ROM hack called Inclement Emerald as a base, this is a journey through the Hoenn region that you’ve come to know over the past 20+ years, but the Pokemon you’re used to have all been given a total mechanical overhaul thanks to these new ability changes.

The idea for this hack came from Darky, who saw Pokemon Exceeded’s idea of having multiple abilities using this system, and wanted a hack that took this concept and focused more on battling and the unique challenges that could be made with the added depth from extra abilities.

Both Pokemon Inclement Emerald and Pokemon Exceeded are great hacks in their own right, and we encourage you to give them a go if you haven’t already! They’re very different from Elite Redux, but they’re a lot of fun too.

To play the game, you need two things:

• A GBA emulator that works on your device.
• The patched game file (you’ll need to patch it yourself).

• PC/Mac: Use mGBA – it’s the best for stability.
• Android: Use RetroArch (with the mGBA core) or Pizza Boy GBA Pro.

Avoid These Emulators (they can cause crashes or bugs with Elite Redux):

🚫 MyBoy / MyOldBoy
🚫 VisualBoy Advance (VBA) / VBA-M
🚫 John GBA / John GBAC
🚫 No$gba
🚫 VBA GX
🚫 gPSP
🚫 Gbarunner2

✅ Using the recommended emulators helps the game run more smoothly.

You must use the Pokemon Emerald (Trashman) ROM.
This specific version is required — the patch won’t work correctly with other ROMs.

Yes, in most cases your old save files will work with newer versions.
Save compatibility is usually maintained unless there’s a major update that changes core parts of the game.
If such a rare update happens, it will be clearly mentioned in the patch notes.

Yes, Pokemon Elite Redux continues to receive updates, though not on a fixed schedule. The development team releases updates every few months to introduce new content, fix reported bugs, and enhance existing features based on community feedback.

After selecting whether you want to play as Brendan or May, you’ll be put into a screen with a lot of options. This may look like a lot, but there’s a handy little text box at the bottom which explains what all of these choices do! You can tailor these to your liking, and most of these options will be available to change once you’ve started the game, if you don’t end up liking what you’ve chosen.

Some notes on these options, and changing them:

• You can change your difficulty at any Pokemon Center, but increasing the difficulty will mark your save file’s future Hall of Fame with a small icon to show that the difficulty was previously lower. This is in place for preventing cheating in challenge runs.
• You cannot turn randomizer on once you’ve started the game, but you can turn it off. Turning it off may cause some issues- it is recommended to start a new game unless you really don’t want to.
• Individual Colors causes slight palette variations depending on the Pokemon’s personality value.
• Permanent Mega Evolution still only allows you to Mega Evolve once you’ve gotten the Mega Ring.
• Nuzlocke Captures is currently broken as of the time of writing. Once this is fixed, this message will be updated.

Once you’ve set up your adventure how you want it, the first choice you’ll get to make when actually playing the game is which starter you want to pick. Not only does Elite Redux feature every region’s starters, Kanto through Paldea, you have a chance to select starters for types that aren’t Fire/Water/Grass too! All of these mono-type starter lineups are handpicked three-stage evolution lines. You’ve got a lot of choices, so don’t be intimidated! If you’re unsure of what to pick, choose a region and starter you like. There are no wrong choices here, as every Pokémon has been given a lot of love by the development team, and will all guide you pretty well through the early game. It is worth noting that while there are options for all types, there may be some small bumps when choosing a starter of a different type to the main three, as they were provided for compatibility with monotype runs.

There’s a character wearing a blue uniform hanging around Littleroot Town. Talk to him! You’ll find a lot of basic information here, and if something isn’t answered here you’ll be able to find it through them. This character is also found in every Pokemon Center to the left of the nurse. Some of the things they say may be outdated, so if something is answered in this FAQ, take the answer here over what they say.

The Online Dex is the most up-to-date source of documentation you’ll find for Elite Redux (see documentation page for DEX link). This contains every Pokemon’s stats, movesets, abilities, innates, evolutions and location. Not only does it work as documentation for all Pokemon in the game, it contains information about all of the moves, abilities, location encounters and the teams of every trainer in the game. This is your most important source of information!! If you have a question about the game, there’s a good chance it can be answered here!!

Your first time visiting a Pokemon Center will be the most important one you make, as your Pokemon heal after every battle! As she says, that’s not why you’ll be making this first trip. Speaking to her for the first time will give you every held item, nearly every berry, the DexNav, all Pokeballs, and more! Right now she says that you’re given a “Candy Box” and all TMs and HMs, but those are old features that you won’t be needing anymore. Speaking to her again will fill up your items again, should you run out of anything. Do note that all Pokéballs are infinite-use and will instantly catch anything here, the difference is purely cosmetic and you can change it in the Pokémon’s summary menu, which will be discussed later.

In Elite Redux, the DexNav is even more convenient than its iteration in Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire. You’re able to instantly catch any Pokemon from this screen without even entering a battle! The different encounter pools can be scrolled through, and it’ll give you a little preview of what the Pokemon’s innates are before you catch it. There’s more options listed at the bottom of the DexNav screen that you can play around with too, such as getting every Pokemon, or ones you haven’t caught yet.

You’re playing on Elite mode.

Look at the top left of the overworld menu.

• Level encompasses moves that will be learned as the Pokemon levels up.
• Physical, special, and stat include moves that are available from the start and fall into those three categories. There are no TMs, HMs, or Move Tutors anymore, only these four categories. Yes, some Pokemon don’t learn some moves they used to in the main games or moves they had in previous versions of the hack. A full-scale movepool review began and was made public in 2.5, and is still somewhat subject to change over time.

When checking the Field Moves section, you’ll see a list of HMs the Pokemon can learn, along with Fly. Fly is accessible on every Pokemon at any point in the game, because lugging around a bird at all times doesn’t fit this hack very well. With Cut, Rock Smash, and Surf, you’ll still need to beat Roxanne, Wattson, and Norman respectively to use them outside of battle, just as you do in Emerald

Find them in the party menu and press A on them. You’ll see Evolve/Form Change in blue. You’re able to evolve Pokemon in the PC too! All Pokemon in Elite Redux evolve through level exclusively. No need to worry about held items, stones, moves, or anything like that. You can check the evolution level in the summary screens too. Pokemon with multiple branched evolutions like Poliwhirl will have both options listed when evolving.

Press A in the summary screen corresponding to what you want to change. You’ll find your abilities, natures, evs/ivs and moves on their own pages, looking slightly different to base Emerald.

• These battles look so different!

Yes! The in-battle user interface (UI) has been completely changed for Elite Redux to reflect the more competitive slant taken on battles. When selecting the Fight option, you’ll have a little section on the right showing useful information that you can scroll through by going left or right.

• Description is self-explanatory.
• The two Move Info sections show off base power, accuracy, typing, priority in the first, and then true power (factoring in STAB, abilities, etc), what abilities it’s boosted by, and contact status.
• Speed Order shows which Pokemon will go first, not factoring in priority. Higher number wins.
• Damage Calc. shows an estimated calculation, not taking into account critical hits or multiple hits. Multi-hit moves will only show calculated damage from one instance!
• Enemy Move shows the moves of the opposing Pokemon, their priority, and whether or not they’re able to land a KO on your Pokemon in one hit or not.

The Info section replaces the Bag in Elite Redux. You’re not allowed to use items in battle here, and there’s a way to quickly catch Pokémon by pressing R, so there’s no use for a bag. Instead, you’re given multiple menus that expand upon the information shown in the Fight section, keeping track of useful field conditions that don’t show up all the time and you might have lost track of in a heated battle.

• Party Info lets you check the summary of not only your own team, but every Pokémon on the enemy team too!,
• Speed Order is a more detailed version of the section in Fight, showing off enemy moves and their priority, as well as both Pokémon’s speed stats.
• Field Info shows off things like weather effects, Room moves (such as Trick Room), and terrains.
• Enemy & Player Side Info cover effects like Spikes, Stealth Rock, etc.

You don’t need money anymore! In this ROM hack, everything you could possibly wish to buy has been given to you for free by the nurse in the Pokemon Center. Instead, the currency from the Battle Frontier has been reworked into the main (and only) currency you’ll ever need. BP is used for buying Pokemon from various vendors, such as the Starter vendors you gain access to after Flannery, the baby & Hitmon vendors in Slateport market, and most importantly…

The AC is where you’ll find every new “Redux” form added by Pokemon Elite Redux! Rather creatively named, these forms have all-new sprites, stats, abilities, and movepools, much like the regional forms from the main series games. There’s a few convergent Pokemon too, that follow the same rules as Wigglett and Toedscruel. You’ll need to purchase these fancy new Pokemon with the BP you get from battling trainers, so you’ll be doing a lot of battles to get everything you want.

Bleed & fear are two brand-new status effects in Elite Redux! You’ll find these new statuses through various sources on your journey, and here’s what they do!

Bleed

• Take 1/16th max health as damage per turn, similar to Burn.
• Prevents effects of healing on affected Pokémon.
• Negates any stat boosts on affected Pokémon.,
• Rock- & Ghost-types are immune to bleeding.,
• Removed by using a healing move such as Recover or Roost. These will not heal, but will remove the status instead.,
• Bleed is inflicted by most Keen Edge moves, as well as Blood Shot.

Fear

• Traps the target for two turns, preventing switching.
• Damage dealt to Pokémon inflicted with fear is boosted by 50%.,
• Inflicted by Scary Face and Worry Seed, and will be expanded upon in future.,
• Treated as a volatile status effect like Confusion and Infatuation, and will be cured upon switching if forced out by moves like Roar.

While we’re on the subject of the statuses, Infatuation and Confusion have had a major rework in Elite Redux.

Infatuation

• Instead of having a 1/2 chance to not move every turn, the infatuated Pokémon deals 50% less damage with its moves.,
• Inflicted by Attract, Cute Charm, and a few other abilities. Still only applies to Pokémon of the opposite gender.

Confusion

• Replacing its random chance to deal damage to itself based on the Attack stat, it simply causes a Pokemon to deal 33% of the damage it deals with moves as recoil.

No! Fog here is thankfully completely separate from Sinnoh’s fog, leaving out the accuracy debuff in favour of a whole new identity as a weather themed around Ghost- and Psychic-types. There’s a lot of support for this new weather, with its own setters, synergistic abilities and moves affected by its presence. A certain Pokémon with a love for weather even has a unique form for it!

This Pokemon also gets a well-deserved Sandstorm form in Elite Redux.

Eerie Fog’s effects

• Stat buffs from non-Ghost- or Psychic-types will be reduced by 1 per turn, back down to +0 over time.
• Halves weather-based recovery similarly to other non-Sun weathers.,
• Ghost- and Psychic-types get a 20% damage reduction from moves.,
• All Curses become Ghost-type Curse.

Eerie Fog has some other effects that you can find on the Elite Redux Dex, but are not listed here so you have a chance to find them for yourself!

Every route in Hoenn has had at least some change to shake up the gameplay of going through the region. You’ll find that there’s trainers in odd places, sometimes even designed to catch you off guard; that’s on purpose! If you experiment a little, you’ll find out that a great many of the trainers going around can be skipped with some creative movement. If you’re having trouble getting through their battles, maybe you’ll be able to skip them entirely by going about it a different way?

There’s a few major skips too, to cut out some of the fluff Hoenn loves to offer. For example, you don’t need to trek all the way to and up Sky Pillar for the main story anymore, and there’s a house in Lilycove that’ll take you straight to Mossdeep. These are by no means the only skips you’ll find, but you can come across those either on your own or by asking around in the server.

Perhaps it is! If you’re a lucky duck, you may stumble upon some very rare and special Pokemon while doing mundane activities such as using honey, fishing, smashing rocks, or even just walking in the grass. Obviously as these are secrets, it’s up to you to figure out what these are!

This was explained pretty thoroughly the first time you walked into Roxanne’s gym! To briefly summarize, Gym Skills are extra factors that come into play when you don’t beat all of the trainers in a gym. This lets you skip as many of them as you want, with the caveat that the leader will be much stronger since you barged into their gym without talking to anyone. Battling and defeating a trainer will deactivate a certain gym skill from the fight, and fully clearing the gym will disable them all. Words from trainers highlighted in green give hints as to what the trainer’s corresponding gym skill is, and you can talk to them as many times as you want before battling them. You can also talk to the gym greeter after beating the gym to rematch anyone in the building!