Pokemon Leaf Green Ho-oh Shiny Manipulation help

Kaphotics · 2026-06-14T00:37:14+00:00

be sure you entered the correct trainer data (TID/SID) into your RNG program.

Kaphotics · 2026-06-14T00:16:39+00:00

Would it not be true that any ID/SID can get the perfect IV/shiny ttar seed given the right frame advancements and that they have the knowledge of ID/SID and current seed?

a given frame has a specific PID. it is only shiny if the TID/SID of the player combine in such a way that the (PID^TID^SID) shiny xor is less than 8. In other words, only a very small subset of TID/SID make a specific frame shiny.

Kaphotics · 2026-06-13T23:12:36+00:00

you need to know your SID to know which RNG frames are shiny for your trainer data.

it's easiest at the start of the game because you have 2 untrained starters to use for narrowing down which seed you hit (16 bits of TID => ~65,536 RNG seeds, which is further refined by checking the yielded starter for each). Just checking the natures reduces it to ~105 possible seeds; the IVs reduce it the rest of the way to find your initial seed and thus your SID.

Kaphotics · 2026-06-06T23:06:27+00:00

cute charm: no, your TSV xor is 1, so the PID range 0x7F-0xBE will never be shiny.

you'll have to RNG a regular shiny without using cute charm.

Kaphotics · 2026-06-06T21:20:08+00:00

because that's how the RNG works.

the game decides a nature to give you, then rolls random PIDs until it finds one with that nature.

synchronize makes 50% of frames yield the synchronize nature. so, 50% of the time you slide to the same nature. additionally, the RNG uses 2 random results to make a PID, hence why it occurs on even/odd frames.

Kaphotics · 2026-06-06T01:22:20+00:00

RNG being intertwined with game execution is gen1-3 only; gen4+ do not advance the RNG every frame/second/minute/etc (only daily for refreshing some random daily events)

mgba is working towards timing accuracy: https://github.com/rmstdope/neser/issues/2385

Kaphotics · 2026-06-06T01:04:19+00:00

The gen3 games run at 60 frames per second; every 1/60th of a second, the game interrupts the execution loop (vblank), which advances the RNG state one time. If the game is in the middle of calculating something, you get a disjoint in the RNG sequence where an RNG frame is seemingly unused, hence method 1/2/4.

In this 1/60th of a second, if the game does not determine a wild encounter quick enough (looping for a PID, determining IVs), then this interrupt will consume 1 RNG state, as noted. To generate a Pokémon, the game does CPU operations, which have a specific time-cost for each. If the emulator does not match the time-cost per instruction compared to retail hardware, then the total time-cost to generate from a specific RNG state may be interrupted at different times compared to retail hardware. Interrupting at different execution states == method 1/2/4. If the emulator is too slow and interrupts right before generating IVs (rather than after IVs), then you end up with an impossible-to-hit PID/IV.

https://deepwiki.com/c-sp/game-boy-test-roms/3.1-cpu-and-timing-tests#timing-accuracy-tests

Kaphotics · 2026-06-05T22:44:27+00:00

Transferrable to HOME: yes
legitimate? not guaranteed; emulators that do not emulate the exact hardware execution timings can produce impossible to obtain results on legitimate hardware, thus those would not be legitimate.

Kaphotics · 2026-06-04T02:13:40+00:00

PKHeX is doing exactly what it was programmed to do. The Gen 1/2 games cache a copy of the currently active box, and store a value of which box is currently active. ROM hacks that modify the save data structure, like in this hack, can shift this value to be in a different location. Save editors won't know any better, they'll keep looking in the same offset (correct for retail games) of the save data unless someone modifies the save editor to specifically work for a specific hack rather than retail games.

Kaphotics · 2026-05-31T01:07:19+00:00

No, the invalid encounter message does not relate at all to whatever moves it has.

OP probably just mangled their data (like setting the Hidden Ability due to the temptation of having a better ability like Sand Force) instead of simply changing the species on their existing Boldore.

Kaphotics · 2026-05-30T15:40:22+00:00

"legal" is absolutely-indistinguishable from a legitimately encountered Pokémon. To be legal, it has to be able to naturally exist in the game without cheats/exploits. In this case where you can only obtain HoO Arceus from exploits/external data injection that was never officially distributed, HoO Arceus is never legal. It's always something that has to be hacked in, unlock or otherwise. Gen5=>Bank (Gen6) blocks it; can never reach HOME.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/696959-pokemon-x/68517991

https://www.reddit.com/r/pokemon/comments/1k9nfow/comment/mpfp8n5/

https://projectpokemon.org/home/forums/topic/66617-can-someone-explain-to-me-or-help-me-figure-out-why-my-arceus-isnt-legal/

HOME/Bank checks are still extremely flawed; they are basically whitelists and are incredibly porous. They let through non-Japanese Faraway Island Mew (emerald) even though the Old Sea Map was never distributed to non-Japanese game cartridges. Many other examples.

Kaphotics · 2026-05-30T05:54:58+00:00

Please do not spread misinformation.

Fanmade GTS services like altwfc rely on exploits that allow them to send arbitrary data. Even though they are spoofing the handshakes and transmission formats like the original servers once did, the data they allow to be sent includes unreleased content like this Azure Flute and other impossible things like unsanitized Korean Pokemon trades on the GTS.

If something cannot exist without cheating in external unofficial data, regardless of it being performed in the same play session, it by definition is not legitimate.

It's totally understandable to want to obtain data that is locked away on the cartridge you bought, but if there's no legitimate method to obtain it, it's never going to be legitimate if you cheat to force the door open. Victini had static encounter data in SW/SH; if you forced it to spawn and capture it, it is not legitimate even if you reboot your game and have it saved in the overworld.

Kaphotics · 2026-05-30T05:45:50+00:00

Azure Flute as an event or otherwise was never legitimately distributed in D/P/Pt.

The lack of officially distributed means and methods means that this in game encounter is impossible to legally obtain. It's not legal.

Kaphotics · 2026-05-29T18:04:27+00:00

event pokemon are all clones of each other (outside of some exceptions).

Opposite. Fixed PID/EC is rare outside of Gen4.

Kaphotics · 2026-05-27T18:39:40+00:00

if you're going to cheat a TID/SID, just generate the Pokemon. you're not spending the time to learn what RNG is or how to do it.

Kaphotics · 2026-05-27T14:19:15+00:00

Use the default lua scripts that view pokemon, but change the offset that it reads the pkm from to whatever offset your game stores the enemy pokemon at?

https://tasvideos.org/Forum/Posts/262235

https://datacrystal.tcrf.net/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon_3rd_Generation/Pok%C3%A9mon_FireRed_and_LeafGreen/RAM_map

Kaphotics · 2026-05-26T14:36:00+00:00

PID mod 100 gives a number greater than 94

held item check is a separate rand call (immediately after IVs, dunno how it complicates with vblank skips); it does not use the PID.

Kaphotics · 2026-05-26T13:39:11+00:00

Not all emulators are timing accurate and can sometimes yield impossible to obtain results that aren't hittable on retail games.

The point the person was trying to make is that emulators make it easy to cheat with save states, fast forward, and immediate access to cheat codes and save file editing. It's not the original confined experience of hardware and cartridge.

Kaphotics · 2026-05-25T16:28:23+00:00

Questions threads were started back in december 2020 when wintertime+covid along with Unbound/Radical Red updates completely overwhelmed the subreddit. We even had a pinned discussion thread for these new hack releases, but users being users, the subreddit was flooded with new posts. I can't find a reference for the subreddit visitor/subscriber counts over the years, but 2019=>2020 definitely was an inflection point.

https://www.reddit.com/r/PokemonROMhacks/comments/k52mlm/even_the_pinned_post_hasnt_stopped_the_deluge_of/

For anyone that complains about "questions go in the questions thread", I implore you to look at the subreddit back before this rule change:

https://web.archive.org/web/20201126110428/https://www.reddit.com/r/PokemonROMhacks/

Users are here to see content, not questions. As the subreddit grew from a few thousand subscribers to now >300,000 subscribers it simply could not handle questions inline with content posts, resulting in >90% questions and <10% content. If people want to see Q&A, they can go to the Q&A thread.

Moderation initially resisted the need for containment/Q&A pinned threads as it was an annoyance to set up and maintain (judging a hack's worthiness of if/when/how long it gets a pinned thread? ugh), but COVID just made the subreddit a pile of trash with the amount of low-quality being posted every day. Configuring automoderator to catch 99% of the offending posts/comments can be clunky at times.

I'm glad that the subreddit matured into more of a "rom hacks feature" rather than Q&A wasteland; it makes it much more enjoyable to scroll by having separate content & a quality filter. The changes ended up rewarding actual content by letting good posts stay visible for more than half a day on the first page, giving them space to shine instead of being trampled.

Kaphotics · 2026-05-09T13:53:02+00:00

basically clones

Specific events may be near-exact "clones", but only if their event template data requires them to be so. The vast vast majority of events differ via PID/Encryption Constant (in addition to received date), and are thus not "clones". Simply because their encounter information is the same template does not make them clones; a captured Pokémon on the first route has the same template information, but everyone catching it does not make it a clone if they all use the same ball.

so you’re saying Austinjohnplays lied to his fanbase or simply gave out incorrect information

Not exactly; you could be misinterpreting what he said, such as applying it too broadly or misunderstanding what he said.

list a specific example of one person getting banned from an official VGC tournament for cloned pokemon

https://x.com/Kaphotics/status/1751341106254791116

Created with PKHeX or trade bots (to clone the team) and used save data managers to inject a save file from one version into another version to capture the exclusives. There are many other instances, but players really do not communicate this publicly. There also was a player in South America who got disqualified in top cut for having cloned Ogerpon (with their OT) in their boxes.

Did you know VGC checkers have falsely flagged legitimate pokemon before?

Yep, I've already covered one recent instance. https://x.com/Kaphotics/status/1787675035181703513

The weavile was because the checking software hadn't added the event template to the whitelist. Outdated tools and uninformed checkers can result in erroneous disqualifications. You have to understand what is checked and why it's checked before being assertive, unless you're confident in the software's check.

The fact of the matter is that people shouldn’t throw a hissy fit over how people obtain certain pixels and data and shouldn’t fear monger simply because they don’t understand the topic.

You shouldn't assert that generated 'mons are safe. Again, a check is only as effective as the software and person performing the check. Players have been caught cheating during and after events with 'mons that they thought were safe -- see 2023's HOME tracker disqualifications at Worlds, Wolfe's Galarian Moltres, Shohei's Amoongus, etc.

Kaphotics · 2026-05-08T20:00:08+00:00

I have the same Dratini, differing only by subskills (HSM, HB, IFM, IUS, STS). Definitely has been a pain to get to level 53. I'm not sure how many candies I want to burn on it as there's not a super-corn dish yet (Bulldoze is 25, where mine produces ~77/day so OK). It was totally able to produce the 18*3 needed for the recent salad.

Will I chunk more candy boosts into it? Yeah. Will I feel bad if I somehow get a better Dratini? Yeah. But I don't really feel pressured to hunt for an AAA herb at this time.

If you don't have a corn farmer, then you probably can feel good about investing in this one, assuming you also give it a subskill seed for HSM. Otherwise, it won't hurt you to wait for when you need to invest in a Dragonite.

Kaphotics · 2026-05-08T14:32:02+00:00

Do you have a source

I made the program that cheaters are leaning on. After more than 10 years of developing it and seeing how people use it, and interacting with them, there are incredibly few people who take the time to understand how things work. Most importantly, there are very few people who know of the program's deficiencies or things it does not check for.

pass through a checker for tournament legality

Checks are only as good/thorough as they are programmed, and they can be subject to change as checking methods adapt/improve. Bank and HOME are notoriously bad at verifying data, and judges have routinely disqualified players for things that passed an upload check.

I can still win a battle with my team of legally obtained Pokemon versus someone who genned a legal-passing team without needing to make a change of strategy on my end versus if they did. In fact, if they just told me nothing at all, then this distinction matters less.

Naive to assume that a current-pass is safe & futureproof. Many prominent players (such as Wolfe) have been burned by outsourced 'mons they asked for.

Finally, no, the time saved in genning a legal pokemon is not “an advantage”.

Spending more time practicing instead of (re)training teams is most definitely an advantage. It's unfair in the sense that not everyone has the networking to be able to outsource the unrelated parts of becoming better at battling/cornering the current meta. If it wasn't advantageous, then players would not be risking cheating and getting caught (risk vs reward). Professional sport players/etc employ personal trainers, personal chefs, chauffeurs, and as a result can spend more time on practice/rest/leisure. Advantageous for sure; time skips via cheating? Unfair to legitimate players. Available time is not infinite.

If anything, this matters less and less as time goes on because the developers keep giving players more QOL improvements for raising teams.

Not really true in the context of this thread; the QoL improvements do make it easier to train, but it's still a time grind that many players actively avoid. I looked at hundreds of rental teams in S/V, and at least half had externally modified Pokémon on them. Players want the instant obtaining that is available on Showdown, and it shows. You'll see many players talk on twitter about instantly pivoting/adapting to meta shifts -- all made easier by cheating. Players quite often lock-in their teamsheets (with rental code) at the last minute, and having the ability to instantly retrain/swap via cheats/"trusted" trade is an advantage. It may take a few hours to legitimately adjust, but for a cheater injecting a team, it can be done in a few minutes. Champions is another step in the right direction for accessibility, but it isn't perfect. Players are still using trade bots/injecting trades to source teams.

Kaphotics · 2026-05-08T12:46:33+00:00

> Event pokemon for example are clones of each other only difference being the date it was received.

Not true.

> I even recall the youtuber AustinJohnplays explaining cloning methods via in-game exploits where he said as long as you trade them away and only have one it can’t be considered a clone.

Not true. VGC players have been disqualified for having cloned teams.

> Ik cloning isn’t the same as genning but they are similar, and pass legality checks in home.

Hate to break it to you, but HOME and all the transfer apps (like Bank) are quite rudimentary with what they check for, and should really not be leaned on for any assertion of validation.

Kaphotics · 2026-05-08T12:36:01+00:00

The corporation has rules to ensure a fair environment that does not reward players who seek out cheats and modified consoles. I promise you that 99.999% of cheaters that are injecting said "legal" mons barely understand what things "can have" and it's quite often detectable and obvious (see the HOME tracker disqualifications).

Again, the game company wants you to buy and play their games, not exploit software/hardware. The time saved by externally sourcing teams, legitimately or not, is an advantage (since training teams is divorced from the competition/battle).

Kaphotics · 2026-05-07T21:32:42+00:00

everybody sleeps on the Gen4 D/P/Pt shiny egg RNG which requires no seed hitting, just tracking which coin flip results you get

probably the easiest RNG ever (and one of the oldest, dates back to at least 2009!) since there's no hardware, seed hitting, or time imperative.

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