GtI/Super custom starters guide

To do most of this, you need access to a CFW. Follow https://3ds.hacks.guide or https://hax.b4k.co/3ds/guide before starting this guide, if you don't already have a CFW installed. It's not as hard, dangerous or time consuming as it might seem, so don't worry.

-romfs editing-
A way to get custom starters in Super is editing the romfs files with Sky Editor. This takes more time than RAM editing (explained below), but it also offers better results.
https://projectpokemon.org/tutorials/rom/editing-roms-with-sky-editor/3ds-mystery-dungeon-mods/starter-mod-r48/


RAM editing works for both Gates to Infinity and Super.

-What you need to edit the RAM-
First of all, you need to download CTRPluginFramework. This tool, among many other features, allows you to edit the game's memory freely.

Download this CTRPF-compatible fork of Luma (the boot.firm file) and put it in your SD card
https://github.com/Nanquitas/Luma3DS/releases

Download CTRPF (CTRPluginFramework-BlankTemplate.3gx)
https://github.com/Nanquitas/CTRPluginFramework-BlankTemplate/releases
and rename it to "default.3gx"

Go to the "luma" folder in your SD card. It should contain a "plugins" folder (create it if it doesn't exist). Place the default.3gx file inside this folder.

You can now open the CTRPF menu by pressing Select while playing a game.


-RAM editing-
Launch your game and press Select.
Choose "Tools" in the CTRPF menu, and then "Hex Editor". Read the last part of this guide if you want a basic explanation of what this tool does.

Press X to bring up the menu and select "Jump to"
you are now asked for a RAM address. This can be anything stored in the game's memory, but you probably want to edit the species of your Pokémon.
Gates to Infinity addresses: https://pastebin.com/beZE1Kpc
Super addresses: http://pastebin.com/whz5DUmP
Find the address you need in these lists and type it in CTRPF.

The tool will then bring you to that value in memory. Press B to close the menu. The value the blue cursor is on is the value of the address you typed, and the value corresponds to the Pokémon it currently is. Use the bottom screen to type the value corresponding to the Pokémon you want.
Gates to Infinity values: http://pastebin.com/iahAZvA8
Super values: https://projectpokemon.org/site/pok%C3%A9dex/pokemon/psmd/

Press A to apply the changes and then press Select to close the CTRPF menu.


If you have a way to replace your save file (like access to homebrew software but no CFW) you can also use one of these.
Premade save files for Super (European and American): http://pastebin.com/9146PLgH



-Introduction to RAM editing-
If you are unfamiliar with hex editors, this is a basic explanation to understand the process
Data is made of bits, numbers that can be either 0 or 1. 8 bits form a byte, which can be represented using hexadecimal numbers.

In decimal single digits can go from 0 to 9. Once you get to 9, if you add one, it becomes 10, adding another digit to the left and making the first digit 0 again.
In binary, the digits can be only 0 or 1. So once you get to 1, if you add 1, you put 1 to the left and the digit on the right becomes 0.
In hexadecimal, once you get to 9 you have A, then B, C, D, E and F. Once you get to F, you put an 1 on the left and the digit on the right becomes 0.

This means a byte can be represented as either
10100101
or
A5
The latter is what hex editors use.

Both addresses and data are expressed in hexadecimal. Addresses point to a specific byte, a value stored in memory. This can be anything, like the species of your Pokémon, a letter, or just the decimal number it corresponds to, being used for your HP or stats.

The address is the long hexadecimal number you see on the left of the screen when you're in CTRPF's Hex Editor and that you can change by pressing X and choosing one of the options.
Bytes are the two digits hex numbers in the middle. Every address points to one byte.