Download Pre-Patched Pokemon Iridium NDS ROM Hack
- Creator: sauceyaTTa
- Version: Demo 0.3
- Hack of: HeartGold
- Updated: May 29, 2025
- Language: English
- Status: Demo
Pokemon Iridium is an NDS ROM Hack by sauceyaTTa based on Pokemon Heart Gold in English. And they are now available to download. It was last updated on May 29, 2025.
Also, be sure to check out Pokemon Shadows Of Time
Description
Pokemon Iridium Version is a ROM hack featuring a brand-new story set across two custom regions. Built to push the boundaries of NDS ROM hacking, it offers a fresh experience beyond typical enhancement hacks of Platinum, HeartGold, or SoulSilver. If you’re burned out on Johto, this one’s for you. Aiming for high-quality design and storytelling, the first demo is expected by the end of May—barring any last-minute issues.
Features
A Brand-New Region: East Iridia
Forget Johto, Sinnoh, or Kanto—Iridium isn’t a rehash of existing maps. This is an entirely original world, beginning in East Iridia, a diverse region with unique biomes, towns, and cultures. The graphics have been a major focus, featuring Gen 5 and 6 assets, special camera angles, and countless ripped and custom-made sprites. Visual fidelity is one of Iridium’s biggest draws, with mapper Silast (known for Gen 5 Platinum overhauls) contributing extensively to the tilework and artistic direction.
A Custom Storyline with Familiar Faces
With a new region comes a fresh narrative. Iridium blends classic Pokémon themes—rivals, evil teams, and a sense of exploration—while avoiding over-the-top edginess. The tone is mature but accessible, steering clear of excessive darkness. Expect returning characters from past games reimagined in new roles, especially members of Team Plasma and Team Galactic, who both feature as antagonist groups—similar to how Emerald used both Aqua and Magma.
A Modernized Pokédex
With support from hg-engine (HeartGold’s version of the CFRU), over 800 Pokémon sprites have already been integrated. The final game will include most, if not all, Pokémon across generations. Custom learnsets have been handcrafted by a five-person team, but types and base stats remain vanilla to ensure intuitive gameplay. No overcomplicated documentation needed—just play.
Updated Moves, Abilities & Mechanics
Thanks to the hg-engine, Iridium brings modern features to the Gen 4 engine:
- Dynamic speed calculation
- Elemental terrains (Grassy, Electric, Misty, Psychic)
- Fully animated, generation-accurate moves
- Modern items like Loaded Dice
- Mega Evolutions (fully implemented)
Tera and Dynamax are not planned, due to balance and feature bloat concerns.
Custom UI
Thanks to ROM hacker Avatar, Iridium boasts overhauled UI screens:
- Updated bag interface
- Enhanced summary screens
Mirror Battles (New Battle Mode)
A unique battle feature developed by Mixone, Mirror Battles pit you and the opponent against each other using identical teams, with only the lead Pokémon varying. These puzzle-style encounters are peppered across both regions, offering tactical challenges that test your strategic depth. Each one has multiple possible solutions and is extensively tested.
Adjustable Difficulty Settings
Iridium supports two tailored modes to satisfy all types of players:
Elite Mode: For experienced players and nuzlockers. Inspired by difficulty hacks like Run & Bun, it features:
- Hard level caps
- Weather/terrain-based team builds
- Competitive-grade team balancing
- Encounter/trainer documentation
- Optional external damage calculator
Casual Mode: A smoother experience just above vanilla difficulty. Optional level caps are included, making it more forgiving for casual play.
Overhauled Battle AI
After two months of dedicated work and nearly 9,000 lines of code, Iridium’s AI has been rebuilt from scratch. It doesn’t cheat or pull gimmicky tricks—it simply thinks. The AI evaluates:
- KO potential
- Field conditions
- Stat advantages
- Status move timing
- Setup opportunities
Each major trainer encounter is designed with a unique strategy that you’ll need to outsmart.
Music and Audio
With contributions from HD125D, Iridium features over 100 custom music tracks, many created from scratch or ported from various Pokémon titles. These are implemented at the sequenced audio level, using accurate .sseq and MIDI data with carefully mapped instruments. Expect a rich audio landscape across battles and overworld scenes.
Quality of Life Enhancements
Modern ROM hacks need to play smooth, and Iridium delivers:
- Porta-PC: Press L to access the PC from anywhere
- Porta-Move Relearner: Press R to relearn moves on the go (like Legends Arceus)
- Note: Disabled during gauntlet fights for balance
- Instant Text Printing: All dialogue prints in one frame—great for speed-readers
- Transparent Text Boxes: Minimal and clean UI
- Level Cap Candy: Instantly level up to the cap—no more mashing rare candies
- Hard Level Caps: Enforced in Elite Mode; toggleable in Casual Mode (demo will not include this toggle yet)
- IV/EV Viewer: Check your stats directly in the summary screen using L/R/Start
- 60 FPS Battles: Enjoy silky-smooth battles and fast HP bar animations—no more Blissey slogs
Creator Note
Because of all of these features, Iridium has taken significantly longer to develop than my previous hacks (such as Garbage Gold or Mythic Silver, other hg-engine based hacks which have original stories, but more focused and less comprehensive features). The demo will feature the first full gym split of the game (~25 trainer fights). There is aimed to be around 12-14 total splits between the two regions. About half of the first region is fully mapped, for context. The level of quality dictates a good chunk of time spent in level design, balance, and aesthetics. Most of the development time leading up to now has been spent acquiring assets, sprites, music, models, and developing custom AI, in addition to the necessary scripting, storytelling, and bug fixing. There will, of course, be bugs in the demo. Some trainer battle sprites are still in development, so please be patient (our spriter is also a graduate student).
I truly intend on making this hack a full and exciting experience. That being said, real life stuff sometimes takes precedence (I am also a graduate student and work another job outside of hacking and youtube videos/streaming), but I am absolutely committed to finishing this hack. I’ve done it 5 times before, and I will do it again.
If you want to be the first to be notified of its releases or any of my other hack developments, you can join our community discord: https://discord.gg/eu2NrD4tYW or follow along in the YouTube development streams (Youtube Link). See you in the next post,
-sauceyaTTa
Useful Stuff
Downloads
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: I want to help with this project. What can I do?
A: At the moment, most of the work that can be distributed across contributors has already been completed. What I need most right now are balance testers, especially those with a higher level of game knowledge or competitive experience.
Q: How can I support this project?
A: For a variety of reasons (including legal ones), I’m not accepting monetary donations via Ko-fi or any other platform. If you’d like to support development, the best ways are:
- Subscribe to sauceyaTTa’s YouTube channel — it features dev updates, ROM hacking tutorials, and semi-regular development streams.
- Play the current version of the hack and share your progress with friends, on forums, or with other players.
- Join the community on the Discord server.
Q: Can I stream this game?
A: Absolutely. You’re welcome to stream it to your friends, on Twitch, YouTube, or anywhere else. Publicity and word-of-mouth are incredibly helpful to the project.
Q: When is the full game coming out?
A: Short answer: when it’s done.
The current goal is to have an extended release by the end of 2025, with at least one full region completed within the next year. That timeline is flexible, though. Much of the earlier development focused on foundational work—like acquiring assets (sprites, music, etc.) that will be reused across the game. With most of that done, I can now shift focus to mapping, story development, and trainer balancing, which should move at a steadier pace.
I’m committed to maintaining a high level of quality, so each release will only come when it’s ready to meet that standard.
Credits
sauceyaTTa
