Pokemon Red/Blue Custom Starter FAQs

Q. What is the Custom Starter rom?

A. This is a romhack of Pokemon Red/Blue that allows players to choose any Pokemon as their starter. Players are able to specify which starter the Rival will use, as well as select what DVs (similar to IVS in later gens) their starter will have. This hack also provides some other QoL features to reduce some early game and wild encounter RNG.


Q. Why does this hack provide various QoL features (e.g., 6 Repels in the PC, ability to choose specific wild pokemon encounters, and a simplified Vermillion gym puzzle)?

A. In general, these features reduce the amount of luck needed to start runs, as extra early game encounters can result in a lot of timeloss. In addition, these features prevent the need for RNG manipulation.


Q. What is RNG manipulation?

A. RNG manipulation is an exploit found in many normal speedruns of Pokemon Red/Blue. By saving the game, doing a hard reset, and performing a specific series of actions, players can guarantee certain outcomes. This includes getting specific pokemon encounters that will always get caught in one throw, avoiding wild encounters, and guaranteeing a fast puzzle in the Vermillion gym. However, there are several reasons why speedruns for this hack do not rely on RNG manipulation:
     1. RNG manipulation has a random chance of failing, even if the player executes it perfectly. This can result in a ton of time loss based on complete luck.
     2. Manips can vary based on a large variety of factors, most notably the pokemon in the front of the party. This means that each
starter may require different manips. This is compounded by the fact that manips are very difficult to find and optimize (they
often require botting efforts to find them, determine their success rate, etc).

For more info about RNG manipulation, here is a written resource. You can also join the discord linked at the bottom of the page for more info.
- http://wiki.pokemonspeedruns.com/index.php?title=Pok%C3%A9mon_Red/Blue/RNG_Manipulation_FAQ


Q. What is "Instant Text", and why is it not allowed?

A. Instant Text is an exploit/glitch that can be activated by talking to the Bike Shop owner in Cerulean City before you have the Bike Voucher. By exiting his dialogue with "B", text will appear instantly as long as you don't open certain menus (among other things). This exploit is allowed in normal Any% Glitchless runs, so why is it not allowed for Custom Starter runs? Here are some reasons:
     1. Instant Text is detrimental to routing variability. Since the exploit is disabled whenever you enter a menu, and getting it back often takes a long time, using this exploit discourages many routing decisions (e.g. Rare Candy usage, healing, teaching TMs).
     2. Instant Text negatively impacts some starters much more than others. For example, some starters are more prone to getting poisoned, Sand Attacked, or damaged on Nugget Bridge. Dealing with these obstacles would require losing Instant Text. Banning Instant Text provides a more fair, consistent experience between starters.

For more info about instant text, here is a written resource:
- https://glitchcity.wiki/Bike_Shop_instant_text_glitch


Q. Where can I download this?

A. Here is the GitHub page for the hack: https://github.com/UnderscorePoY/pokered-custom-starter. Please don't ask where to find the base game, as I cannot legally share it.


Q. Where are the leaderboards for this game? And what are the rules?

A. https://www.speedrun.com/pkmnrbext#Custom_Starter


Q. How do you create routes for these speedruns?

A. I use a program called RouteOne, which helps with planning battle strategies, keeping track of EXP, and checking stats at certain points in the run. The program is available for download here: https://github.com/pokemon-speedrunning/RouteOne

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask on Youtube, in my Twitch chat (https://www.twitch.tv/enderborn18), or in our Discord: https://discord.com/invite/5qqmmAk