Pokémon Dark Rising
DarkRisingGirl's dragon-starter FireRed hack set in the Core Region, where the traditional starters are found in the wild holding EXP Shares, and Nurse Joy will battle you for experience.
Straight answers
- What is the latest catalog note?
- 10 Aug 2014 — Developer steps away. Read the dated note
- Is Pokémon Dark Rising finished?
- Status: Not stated by the creator. Campaign: Eight badges. Whether the released build finishes the story is not stated by the developer.
- Which base game does Pokémon Dark Rising need?
- Base game: Pokémon FireRed (English) — the developer's own thread prefix labels it a FireRed hack; she names no revision
- Which starter Pokémon can you choose?
- Three dragons: Dratini, Bagon or Gible. The familiar Grass, Water and Fire starters are not offered at the start — you find them in the wild around level 10, each holding an EXP Share.
- Where is the checked creator/source route?
- Series site page for the first game
- Which starters does Pokémon Dark Rising have?
- Dratini, Bagon or Gible — three dragons. The usual Grass, Water and Fire starters are found in the wild around level 10 instead, and each one holds an EXP Share when caught.
- Is Pokémon Dark Rising still being updated?
- No. In August 2014 the developer wrote that she would stop taking part in the thread to focus on Dark Rising 2.
- Which Pokémon are in Dark Rising?
- 386 in total, drawn from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh and Unova, with later-generation moves such as Shadow Claw, Roost and Scald added.
- Is the Kaizo version official?
- No. The Kaizo version and the various remakes are made by other people, not by DarkRisingGirl.
What kind of adventure is it?
You dream of a Pokémon that chooses you to save it and the world, and wake in your hometown of Fells to find the Core Region hit by climate disasters — which pulls you into the conflict the dream warned about.
Recorded gameplay details
Core Region
Three dragons: Dratini, Bagon or Gible. The familiar Grass, Water and Fire starters are not offered at the start — you find them in the wild around level 10, each holding an EXP Share.
Eight badges. Whether the released build finishes the story is not stated by the developer.
Recorded features
- The starter choice is Dratini, Bagon or Gible — three dragons instead of the usual trio
- The traditional Grass, Water and Fire starters of every generation are found in the wild around level 10, and each one holds an EXP Share when you catch it
- 386 Pokémon drawn from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh and Unova
- Eight badges, with each gym leader carrying a signature Pokémon you cannot obtain
- Every Pokémon Center has Doctor Roy for healing, and a Nurse Joy who challenges you to a double battle for experience
- Dream World abilities appear on wild Pokémon, including Drizzle Poliwag, Drought Vulpix and Speed Boost Torchic, and most Pokémon learn key egg moves by levelling up instead of by breeding
Known limits
- The developer stopped supporting this game in August 2014 to focus on Dark Rising 2, so nothing here is being fixed any more
- She acknowledges bugs, tile errors and grammar mistakes without listing them individually
- No version number, release date or patch format appears on any developer-owned page
- The series fan site states that the games are not hosted there, so there is no official download link to follow
- A Kaizo version and several remakes exist that are made by other people, not by DarkRisingGirl
Recorded convenience features
- Every caught wild starter comes holding an EXP Share
- Most Pokémon learn key egg moves by levelling up instead of by breeding
- Doctor Roy heals in every Pokémon Center, alongside a Nurse Joy who offers a double battle for experience
Check your installation
- Keep an untouched in-game save backup before changing the game or setup.
- The developer's thread is the source; she names no base ROM revision and no patch format.
- The series fan site states that the games are not hosted there.
- Pocket Deal Radar links only the developer's thread, never a pre-patched ROM or a mirror.
Safe patch boundary
- Open the checked project source below, then confirm the current patch instructions through a creator-owned route before downloading.
- Use your own legally obtained copy of the required base game: Pokémon FireRed (English) — the developer's own thread prefix labels it a FireRed hack; she names no revision.
- Back up the in-game save before changing a patched build.
We never host ROM files, BIOS files, prepatched games, mirrors or unofficial download bundles.
Open the checked project source Open the complete safe patching guide Compare all three installation models Choose a GBA emulator and check your savesPlaying Pokémon Dark Rising on a handheld? Start with the device guide- Developer steps away
The developer wrote that she would no longer take part in the thread, wanting to put all her effort into Dark Rising 2 instead.
Recorded sources
DarkRisingGirl
The developer's own PokéCommunity thread establishes the project name, DarkRisingGirl as developer, the FireRed base, the Core Region and the town of Fells, the dream premise, the Dratini, Bagon and Gible starter choice, the wild starters holding EXP Shares, the 386 Pokémon across five regions, the new moves, the Dream World abilities, the egg moves learned by levelling, the eight badges with non-obtainable signature Pokémon, the Doctor Roy and Nurse Joy features, her general acknowledgement of bugs, and her August 2014 withdrawal from the thread. Dark Rising 2 and Order Destroyed are separate projects, and the Kaizo version and the remakes are by other people.
Written with AI help from recorded source notes. Catalog source checks, release reviews and save guidance have separate dates. No hands-on play or device results are recorded here.
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