Pokémon Crossroads

Pokémon Crossroads is a ROM hack of Pokémon Emerald developed by the Crossroads Dev Team.
It combines the regions of Hoenn, Kanto, and (in development) Johto into one seamless, epic adventure — the kind of ultimate Game Boy Advance experience Game Freak might have created if they had merged these regions back in the day.

Discussion thread:
https://www.pokecommunity.com/threads/pok%C3%A9mon-crossroads-kanto-johto-and-hoenn-joined.536507/

New Discord Link!

You can join our Discord community with this link: https://discord.gg/ReWmTP86Ap

Beta 1.2 – Now Available! (March 17, 2026)

The Beta 1.2 release is live and ready to play.
Download the .ups patch file from the Releases section on GitHub.

Main devs:

• eonlynx
• justgoose

Special thanks to:

• The pokeemerald-expansion team

Key Features in Beta 1.2

• Three fully explorable regions: Hoenn, Kanto, and the Sevii Islands.
• Dual complete storylines: Play through the full stories of Pokémon Emerald and Pokémon FireRed — in any order you choose.
• 16 Gym Badges total (8 from Hoenn + 8 from Kanto), with a major surprise planned for Beta 2.0.

Known Issues

• Trainer Card: Kanto badges do not currently appear on your Trainer ID card.
• Regional Travel: Travel between Kanto and Hoenn via the Pokémon Centers in Viridian City or Oldale Town.
• Save Compatibility: Existing Pokémon Emerald save files are not compatible due to expanded memory allocation. Old saves are unlikely to ever work.
• Some specific items ported from FireRed are currently non-functional.

What's Coming in Beta 2.0?

(Clue here – keeping the mystery as in the original announcement)

Story

What if Game Freak had built the ultimate Game Boy Advance Pokémon adventure?

Pokémon Crossroads lets you step into the shoes of a young trainer journeying across not just Hoenn, but also Kanto and (coming soon) Johto — all connected seamlessly into one grand storyline.
Built on the powerful pokeemerald-expansion engine, we've integrated systems to bring these worlds to life authentically.

How to Patch the ROM (Play the Beta)

You will need a legally obtained copy of Pokémon Emerald (U) (USA version, .gba file).

1. Go to: https://www.marcrobledo.com/RomPatcher.js/legacy/
2. Click "ROM file" and upload your Pokemon - Emerald Version (U).gba
3. Click "Patch file" and upload the pokemon_crossroads_beta1.2.ups file from our Releases
4. Wait for the green checkmark to appear
5. Click "Apply patch"
6. The patched ROM (pokemon_crossroads_beta1.2.gba) will download automatically

Play the resulting .gba file on your favorite GBA emulator.

Recommended Emulators

• PC / Mac / Linux: mGBA (highly recommended — best accuracy and debugging)
• Android: Pizza Boy GBA, Lemuroid, or RetroArch (with mGBA core)
• iOS: Delta, RetroArch (with mGBA core), or Ignited
• Handhelds (Steam Deck, Anbernic, etc.): RetroArch with mGBA core

For Developers – How to Compile

This project is based on pokeemerald-expansion with custom multi-region features.

Requirements

• devkitARM (version 65 or older recommended for compatibility)
• git, make, python3, and other standard build tools

Steps

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/eonlynx/pokecrossroads.git
   cd pokecrossroads
   

2. (Optional but recommended) Initialize submodules if any are present:

   git submodule update --init --recursive
   

3. Build using the modern compiler:

   make modern
   

   • This produces poke_crossroads.gba in the project root.
   • Use make clean first if you want to rebuild from scratch.

For full setup details check INSTALL.md.

Note: This project is not yet compatible with the latest Porymap versions. Use Porymap 5 for mapping work.

Current Progress

Development is moving steadily!

Completed core systems:

• ✅ Region switching: Seamless transitions between Hoenn, Kanto, and Johto with proper flag handling.
• ✅ Map integration: All major Kanto overworlds ported and functional with FireRed layouts and palettes.
• ✅ Multi-region minimaps: Each region displays its own map in the AreaNav with correct location names.
• ✅ Updated Fly system: Respects your current region and available landing points without cross-region bugs.

Current focus: Porting events, scripts, gym logic, dialogues, and cutscenes from Johto and Kanto into the Emerald engine.

Actively looking for scripters and event designers familiar with Gen III decompilation!

Team & Help Wanted

Building a four-region adventure is a massive project.
If you're a scripter, mapper, composer, or programmer, we'd love your help.

To contribute:

• Fork / join the repository: https://github.com/eonlynx/pokecrossroads
• Join the discussion: PokeCommunity Thread
• Join the community: Discord Server

Credits

• Game Base: pokeemerald-expansion by rh-hideout.
• Engine Logic: cawtds for importing FireRed logic into Emerald.
• Travel System: AsparagusEduardo for fixing Kanto/Hoenn travel.
• Sprites: @h y o for Gold / Ethan sprites.
• Community: Special thanks to the decompilation and ROM hacking communities.

Full and continuously updated credits available on the GitHub repository.

Reporting Bugs

Please report all issues, glitches, or oddities on the GitHub Issues page.
You can also post in the PokeCommunity thread.

Your feedback helps make the project better!

Thanks for playing Pokémon Crossroads!
Enjoy the journey across the regions!