Pokémon: Kanto Reloaded is a non-profit fan remake of the original Red/Blue (or more specifically FireRed/LeafGreen), created in Pokémon Essentials v20.1, with updated mechanics, extra maps, and a massively expanded roster of Pokémon, wrapped in a pseudo-random presentation to make no two playthroughs exactly the same.

If you’ve played a Kanto game before, it’s a near-guarantee that you’ve faced down Brock with a Mankey and your starter, after wading through hordes of Caterpie and Weedle in Viridian Forest. Perhaps you chose Bulbasaur for the type advantage over the first three gyms. And you’ve definitely braced yourself for an onslaught of Zubat in Mt. Moon. That predictability is what Reloaded seeks to eliminate, instead presenting you with a game in which you’ll never quite know what’s around each corner – and in which every single playthrough is unique. You’ll still get all that nostalgic Gen 1 goodness (in GBA graphics style), but you might run into Starly, Wurmple, and Weedle in the Forest, while another player is catching Pidgey, Blipbug, and Scatterbug, and while yet another sees Pikipek, Weedle, and Caterpie (and so on). Trainers and Gym Leaders are similarly randomized: any one of 18 different Leaders might call Pewter City their home!

Traditional randomizers are fun in their own right, but they often destroy the difficulty curve when you can pick up, for example, a Snorlax on Route 1. Here, you’ll still go from catching birds and bugs early to encountering sea monsters late, preserving the game’s natural arc. But rather than a set roster of Pokémon species available to you, the ‘mons you come across will be a unique combination of creatures that fit each route. Each Reload aims to present you with a different experience while still retaining the feel and the spirit of the familiar game we all know and love.

Features

Randomized wild Pokémon encounters in each playthrough!
Essentially, each wild Pokémon “slot” features one Pokémon randomly selected from a set list, which is rolled upon starting a new game and then stays constant, resulting in quite literally millions of possible combinations while retaining the overall curve of the game. You’ll always find a bird and a critter on Route 1, but which ones they’ll be is anyone’s guess. Every non-legendary Pokémon through Gen IX is potentially available, but only ~250 will be catchable in any one game.
(Semi-)Random trainers with (semi-)random teams!
Trainers are no longer completely static, but will appear and disappear from routes based on a hidden variable that will change as you play the game. There is no VS Seeker or phone, so each can still only be challenged once, even if they appear to “reset,” but the world will feel a bit more alive as they rotate in and out. In addition, each individual trainer will randomly choose their team from a hand-crafted set of Pokémon, no longer limited by region or generation.
Mystery Gyms and a new Elite Four!
A grand total of 18 Gym Leaders are programmed into the game, one for each Pokémon type. Seven of these will be randomly selected to populate the first seven Gyms (Giovanni, for story purposes, will always be the 8th Leader – though he’s been given a type-neutral team to compensate). To complement this, you’ll face some combination of 8 different, custom Elite Four members, each of which follows a theme instead of a single type, so you’d better come prepared with a versatile team of your own! Each Leader will scale based on when they appear – Brock won’t just be using Geodude and Onix if he’s running Cinnabar Island – and all Gym Leaders, as well as your Rival, are subject to the same pseudo-random team selection as regular trainers.
A revamped Kanto with new areas to explore!
All maps have been recreated from scratch; some have only minor variations from their official counterparts, but others have undergone major redesigns. In addition, expect to see a couple of completely new areas of Kanto along the way, including the snowy top of Mt. Moon and the swampy Fuschia Moor. The story has also been expanded upon: you’ll take part in a series of events loosely following the canon of the Kanto region. Mewtwo has escaped from Team Rocket, and has a terrible plan to retaliate against his tormentors. A race between Oak, Giovanni, and Mewtwo to capture the three legendary birds ensues, and provides the backdrop for your journey through the region.
Following Pokémon, Gameplay Modes, and other QoL Adjustments!
Your Pokémon will follow you around outside of its Pokéball, just like in HeartGold/SoulSilver. You’ll also have the optionto play in different modes, like Double Battles, Level Cap, and Limited (where you can only use as many Pokémon as your opponent). HMs are replaced with key items (with an unlockable Fast Travel system to replace Fly), TMs can be duplicated at PokéMarts, and breeding has been replaced with a much more accessible “cloning” system. This is all on top of multiple save files, a speed-up switch, and a whole host of other balance changes!