Pokemon Radical Red: A New Way To Play Pokemon FireRed

Pokemon FireRed is one of the greatest Pokemon games ever made. It’s a fantastic remake of the original Pokemon Red. However, most players have played FireRed way too many times to justify another playthrough.

Pokemon Radical Red is a ROM hack of the Pokemon FireRed ROM. The developer describes it as a difficulty mod, but it adds so much more to the game. 

If you’ve played FireRed before, then I highly recommend trying your hand at a Pokemon Radical Red playthrough.

Pokemon Radical Red Download

The Pokemon Radical Red download is a bit more difficult than vanilla ROMs, but not too much. The developer created an online patcher, so all you need is the Pokemon FireRed ROM (Squirrels version). 

Simply download the .gba file that I’ve linked below, and 

1. Download Pokemon FireRed Zip File here

2. Patch the ROM on the Official Radical Red Online Patcher 
3. Choose where to save the Pokemon Radical Red Download

Pokemon Radical Red Review 

Alright, so what makes Pokemon Radical Red so much better than the original Pokemon Red and the remake Pokemon FireRed? 

Well, it’s not necessarily better. But, there is a lot more to this new ROM hack than we could’ve ever dreamed of when Pokemon FireRed was released. 

The Pokemon Radical Red ROM offers new challenges, many quality of life changes, as well as Pokemon and features available throughout all eight current generations.

Pokemon Radical Red launches one of our favorite classic games into the modern era of Pokemon.

Also Read: Pokemon Fire Red Cheats

Engine Upgrade

People have been dedicating their free time to Pokemon Rom hacks for over a decade now, and one of the best hacks ever released is the FireRed engine upgrade. 

This engine upgrade has been implemented inside of Pokemon Radical Red ROM and includes things like expanded PC boxes, a modern battle engine, dynamic overworld palettes, custom characters, a DexNav, and so much more. 

This engine makes the game feel more modern in general and already pushes Pokemon Radical Red above its predecessor as far as gameplay and content go.

But, there is still more to talk about with this ROM. 

Every Pokemon, Move, and Item (Up to Gen 8) 

This is not an exaggeration. The Radical Red Pokemon include every single Pokemon from Pokemon Red to Pokemon Sword and Shield. This game even has Mega Evolutions, and if that doesn’t make you excited to replay FireRed, nothing will. 

Pokemon Radical Red also has every single Move and Item from the modern generations. This even includes some of the Isle of Armor DLC moves.

These moves and items have been added with competitive Pokemon players in mind, so enjoy them and thank the Dev! 

Raid Battles

If you’ve played Pokemon Sword and Shield then you’ve likely experienced a Raid Battle. Raids are a very fun way to battle and catch rare, powerful Pokemon. 

Pokemon Radical Red includes these Raid Battles. They use the same mechanics as Sword and Shield. You find a Den, you check out the Star Difficulty Rating, and you fight the Monstermon until you lose or capture it. 

Quality of Life 

Pokemon Radical Red has many quality-of-life changes and additions. Additions such as EV Training Gear, Reusable TMs, and Gen 8 Exp Share make the game much less of a slog than the original. 

This isn’t really a Quality of Life feature, but they’ve also added Day and Night cycles to Radical Red.

Some players may not care about this little feature, but I find it much more immersive and modern. 

Difficulty Options

There are a few ways to play Pokemon Radical Red. In most Pokemon games, you will have to self-regulate and enforce rules upon yourself for things like the Nuzlocke or no-heal challenge. 

Radical Red comes with these options built-in, and I’ll cover all of them for you. 

• Hardcore Mode: This is the hardest mode in Radical Red. There are crazy team compositions to fight against, and straight-up unfair obstacles to overcome. Challenge at your own risk. 
  
• Restrict Mode: Restrict mode puts limits on what kind of team composition you can use. It doesn’t have a lot of the extra challenges of hardcore mode, but it can still be a bit difficult. 
  
• Easy Mode: Easy mode is still a lot harder than FireRed. However, it’s the easiest way to play Radical Red. This is fantastic for those that want a bit of a challenge, but not have to think too hard at the same time. 
  
• Min Grinding Mode: Normal Radical Red requires a lot of grinding in order to keep up with the trainers and Gym Leaders you’ll face. This mode eliminates the need for that grinding. This mode can be combined with Easy or Restrict Mode as well. 

Pokemon Radical Red Guide

Building a Team

In Radical Red Pokemon teams need to have more than just your favorite cuties. You’re going to need to put effort into building a competitive team. 

The trainers will be much harder and have good team comps of their own to compete with, so you’ll want a team full of diverse types and strengths. 

There are many team comps that will work. Some players like going for all-out offense/defense and others like having a nice mix of the two. 

Natures & Skills

Every Radical Red Pokemon has a nature, and you’re going to want to find Pokemon with good natures to add to your team. Nature gives a Pokemon -10% to one stat and +10% to another. 

For example, if you want a Machamp on your team, you’re going to want to find a Machop with a Nature that gives it -10% Special Attack and +10% Attack. 

Do this with all of your Pokemon in order to build a team of strong individuals. 

IVs 

Pokemon have 6 stats. Each of these stats will have a base number from 0 – 31. These are the Pokemon’s IVs. 

Some Pokemon will have maxed IVs, aka 31 points in all 6 stats. Pokemon Radical Red allows you to max out the IVs of all of your Pokemon for some Pokedollars.

 I’ll explain how to do this in the walkthrough, but it is something you will need to do. 

EVs

EVs are like skill points in other games. You can receive 508 EVs per Pokemon, and these EVs buff a specific stat. Each Pokemon rewards specific EVs upon defeat. For example, Golduck gives Special Attack EVs. 

So, if you want to buff your Pokemon’s Special Attack EVs, you’ll want to defeat many Golducks with that Pokemon until its Special Attack EV is maxed (252 for 1 stat). 

Items

You are going to want a competitive Item on every single Pokemon. The item you use will depend on your Pokemon’s strengths and weaknesses. 

Some items will save your Pokemon from being one-shot for example. This item would be good on a Pokemon with strong moves, but low health. 

There is also an item that will damage any Pokemon that uses a physical attack on the holder. This would be good on tanky Pokemon with high health and defense. 

Movesets

Movesets are even more important than items. You want to ensure that all of your Pokemon have a well-rounded moveset that can handle every situation. 

For example, if you have an electric Pokemon, you may want to ensure it has a move to deal with Ground-type Pokemon.

You may also have a Pokemon dedicated to stat effects like Paralysis, Poison, and Sleep. Crafting Movesets is an essential part of creating powerful Pokemon teams.  

Pokemon Radical Red Walkthrough 

I will do my best to give a quick walkthrough of Pokemon Radical Red without spoiling much of the actual gameplay and story. 

If you need a specific walkthrough to get you through any specific parts, I recommend looking up a Pokemon FireRed walkthrough as it will be very useful. 

If you’re stuck on a specific battle, then read through my walkthrough and use my advice to get you through the battle. 

No Overleveling 

First of all, in Pokemon Radical Red there is no such thing as over leveling. Do not waste your time in early games trying to over-level your Pokemon because there will be no point. 

Your focus should be on building strong team compositions, getting good movesets, and EV training your Pokemon. 

Pokemon Center Nature Swapping

I talked about Nature above. In Radical Red, every Pokemon Center allows you to nature swap as many Pokemon as you’d like. Do this as early as you can because it is cheap and will increase the power of your Pokemon exponentially. 

If you know you will keep a Pokemon until the end game, then there is no risk. If you think you’ll switch out a Pokemon eventually then use your best judgment on whether you need the power boost of a Nature swap or not. 

Collect TMs

There are many NPCs all over the world that hand out TMs. You will want to research where every TM is in each City you enter.

You do this so that when you are building your team, you can patch up weak points in your Pokemon with these moves. 

There are also many Move Tutors located around the region that will teach specific moves to your Pokemon. 

Celadon City – Max IVs 

In Celadon City, there is a Hotel to the East of the Mall. On the first floor, there is an NPC known as the IV perfector.

This NPC will max out your Pokemon’s IVs for 350,000 Pokedollars. This is quite a steep price, but you will want to max out every Pokemon’s IVs before you decide to face the Elite Four. 

If you get stuck at any point, then I also would recommend grinding for some cash so you can max out one or more of your Pokemon’s IVs for an instant power boost.

Saffron City – EV Reducer

I mentioned that there is a max limit to how many EVs you can give your Pokemon. So, if you find yourself in a situation where you’ve accidentally leveled up the wrong EVs of a Pokemon, you will want to go to Saffron City. 

There is an NPC in Saffron that will reduce the EVs of your Pokemon for free. This allows you to reset the bad EVs so that you can redistribute those points to better stats. 

EV Training

Finally, before facing the Elite Four (or any other big bads you come across), you need to EV train. I explained how EV training works, you defeat specific Pokemon that increase the EVs you want. 

Radical Red makes this easy because there are areas across the world with wild Pokemon dedicated to a specific EV. Look at signposts as you run along routes and you will find some that specify which EV is available in the area. 

Elite Four

The Elite Four in Radical Red is extremely difficult. The teams used by the leaders change depending on your starter Pokemon and teams. 

The only advice I can give is not to be cocky. Prepare yourself for a challenge. Do not slack on EV Training, don’t be lazy with your movesets, and choose strong Pokemon even if it means your favorite has to sit in the box until you’re the Champion. 

Many players have to lose to the Elite Four a few times in order to see every team comp so they can come back more prepared. There is no shame in this strategy and sometimes it is necessary. 

Pokemon Radical Red Cheats

Pokemon Radical Red is a difficult mod of FireRed, so if you find yourself stuck and you don’t mind trotting over to the Darkside, then cheats are a great way to make your life easier! 

Here are some of my favorite Radical Red Gameshark cheats for your favorite emulators. 

Walk Through Walls

• 509197D3 542975F4
• 78DA95DF 44018CB4

Infinite Master Balls

• 820257C4 0001

Infinite Rare Candy

• 820257C4 0044

Infinite Hyper Potions

• 820257C4 0015 

Infinite Max Revives

• 820257C4 0019

Infinite Money

• 29C78059 96542194

• Shiny Encounter

• 1670047D 04815C68
• 18452A7D DDE55BCC

I’d recommend trying one of the easy modes before going nuclear with the cheat codes. However, the Shiny Encounter cheat is a favorite of mine. 

Infinite Money can also decrease the amount of time needed to grind out cash for the Max IV NPC. So there are some cheats you can utilize to make your life easier without completely destroying the competitive integrity of your game. 

And that’s all the information you need about Pokemon Radical Red and how to play it successfully.

Meanwhile, you can also check out our review of Pokemon Insurgence, one of the latest fan-made Pokemon games, and our guide on how to play Pokemon Crystal on PC.