Pokémon Crystal Kaizo

Hack description

This is a significantly more challenging hack of Pokemon Crystal, where you can obtain all 251 Pokemon in Second Generation.

Numerous areas have been redesigned, many dungeons and routes are more treacherous than before. Every non-boss trainer in the game has an AI boost, and the default movesets are made to be far more threatening. Team Rocket members and especially Team Rocket leaders are a considerable threat.

Wild Pokemon distribution is vastly improved, with levels fairly close to trainers. You can catch quite a variety of pokemon early on. In addition, the odd egg from the daycare man can yield one shiny pokemon, which could be either one of the starters, Dratini, Larvitar, one of two Tyrogues with different attack DVs, Magby, Smoochum, Elekid, or an Eevee.

Apart from Slowking, who evolves by water stone, you can evolve trade evolutions by level up. Eevee evolves into Espeon and Umbreon using Sun Stones and Moon Stones respectively.
You can purchase stones as early as goldenrod, where the game will start to pick up on the difficulty.

Every major Boss in the game has shiny pokemon, and apart from the early rival fights, every boss in the game has a full team of six, with dangerous movepools, healing items, and as time goes on, held items. Initially the Gym Leaders will stick to their specialty types, but as soon as you get to the Rival in Ecruteak, they will start to use diverse pokemon with a few of these specialty types, using moves corresponding to that type as coverage or status, and sometimes, counters. These major bosses include Team Rocket Executives, the Elite Four, and Champions.

After seven badges, you will face against very powerful enemies with fully evolved and dangerous pokemon, and you will eventually reach level 100 after the eight badge. The Rival at the end of Victory Road may catch you off guard, and the Elite Four and Champion will probably be the most difficult part of the game.

Post-game will be slightly less intense than victory road, apart from Kanto Gym leaders, who will be on part with the Champion in terms of difficulty. However, there are 4 superbosses, including Leader Blue, who will be far more difficult than the others. The other three include the Trainer House, Red on Mt. Silver, and one obscure Rival fight at the indigo plateau, that only appears on Mondays and Wednesdays only after you beat him in Mt. Moon.

A major update involves Revives, Max Revives, and Revival Herbs; they cannot be used during battle. They can only be used outside of it, so there are consequences to losing your pokemon in battle, in which you cannot revive them while you are battling, only when it is over.

Added the Team Rocket Battle Music to Executives and Scientists. As well as ethers in shops, some graphic changes, and bicycling in Goldenrod Underground and Team Rocket Hideout.

Contributor	Type of contribution	Description
SinisterHoodedFigure	Hacking

Reviews

Kaizo Meth? Not even once!	pdleck8v	2022-07-09	Version 3.0
SUMMARY: This is the 2nd hack of SHF's main trilogy and his hardest hack yet! This hack even has some decent novelties in it like shinies on all the major characters and all 251 Mons catchable to make the game more enjoyable. Unfortunately, that's where the fun ends with this hard hack. There's just too many aspects of Crystal Kaizo that's making the game more frustrating and less enjoyable. All of those guess-and-check mazes, low encounters on some good Mons, and Legendaries that Phaze (Roar/Whirlwind) you away from them permanently do not make up for the joy you get from beating Lance, Red, or anyone else in this game. The final nail in this hack's coffin is the existence of better hacks out there. Pyrite, Perfect Crystal, and many other Crystal hacks are much more enjoyable than this rage-inducing concoction. WHAT'S SHINY (Pros) + The gauntlet of trainers in the route and every Mon being used at least once gives the hack a unique and enjoyable challenge. + The Odd Egg from the daycare and all the Mons used by the major characters are always shiny, which is a nice touch to showcase the alternate palettes. WHAT'S FAUX (Cons) The routes, caves, oceans, etc. are all turned into linear mazes with only guess-and-check passageways placed in to break up the monotony. Many of the better Pokémon in the game are either low encounters or lock away very late in the game. There are even Mons that either Explode or Phaze (Roar/Whirlwind) you away from them to simply add to the frustration of getting them. Some of the Gym Leaders and other characters rely on annoying tactics such as using Double-Team, Confusion based moves, and Attract. The quality of life improvements that are present in the other kaizo hacks SHF made are missing. There are no buyable Rare Candies and Master Balls to keep the grinding in check. There's even 2 places that are made exclusively for the purpose of grinding just so you can get your Mons to level 100 before the Elite Four. SUPER SILVER!? (Fun Fact) I feel like I've been a bit hard on this hack but with good reasons. There's one thing that I find interesting enough in this hack to share that isn't really bad or good. The optional battle with Silver in the Pokémon League building is without a doubt the hardest trainer in the game and possibly the entirety of Crystal hacks. He has all of the best Mons in the game with boosting moves on some of them while you don't get access to any of those in addition to no Revives and PP increasing items at your disposal (you can use other items, but still challenging regardless). It's just lame how you not only go through so much to get to him, but there is no reward for beating him whatsoever. Is our reward the glory of beating the hardest trainer in the history of Crystal hacks just satisfaction? Or did SHF get the last laugh on how you got through it all to get little back?

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