Pokémon Sun and Moon are among hardest games in franchise, meaning that for some, fainting is a real danger. Others, however, don’t think the challenge is enough. Enter ROM hacks.
GTA Temp user Kobazco has developed an edit of Pokémon Sun and Moon that amps the difficulty nearly to the extreme. Dubbed Pokémon Rising Sun and Waning Moon, here’s what it contains:
- Trial Captains and Kahunas now all have teams of 6 Pokemon.
- Level curve greatly changed. Team should be in high 70s/low 80s by the end of the elite 4.
- Trainers have Pokemon not usually seen in Alola.
- Gladion is literally Owain from Fire Emblem now. (His sword hand hungers.)
- Moveset editing has begun, Butterfree is a notable change.
- Youngster Joey has a top percent Rattata.
- You will be able to battle all of the Battle Tree exclusive trainers OUTSIDE of the Battle Tree during the post game.
The ROM hack doesn’t just give you more monsters to contend with at a higher level. The quality of these creatures is higher too, with the creator noting that many of the enemies come with perfect IVs—meaning, they have Pokémon with perfect stats, just like an actual player might. The creator notes that with these changes, even they actually blacked out a few times during gameplay.
Some screenshots—note the very high levels at play.
Naturally, tackling something like this would be impossible without wild monsters to help you train, so those have been edited for the hack as well.
“Good luck to anyone who wants to Nuzlocke this,” Kobazco warned.
You can read more about Pokémon Rising Sun and Waning Moon here.