Pokemon Heart & Soul v2.0.4 FAQ

Pokemon Heart & Soul is a GBA ROM hack that recreates the Johto adventure with ideas from Gold, Silver, Crystal, HeartGold and SoulSilver. It includes the full Johto story and Kanto postgame, following Pokemon, day/night encounters, extensive customization and many Heart & Soul-specific changes.

Adds Gen 1-3 / Gen 1-9 randomizer control, adjustable EXP multiplier, Badge-scaled Trainer rematches, the Goldenrod Move Deleter and a broad set of fixes. The full v2.0.4 changelog also covers fixes, time-of-day changes and targeted learnset adjustments.

v2.0.0 rebuilds the game on pokeemerald-expansion and adds or expands the Pokégear rematch system and radio, Kanto maps and content, all 92 HGSS TMs, Gen 7 learnsets, abilities through Gen 9, hidden items and Itemfinder, Voltorb Flip, Mom's Savings, roamer behavior, new battle backgrounds, postgame content and many other systems. Existing randomizer, Nuzlocke and challenge features are also expanded rather than being entirely new.

Save files from Heart & Soul versions before 2.0 are not compatible with v2.0.4. Start a fresh save when moving from v1.x to v2.x, and keep a backup if you want to return to an older version later.

Already playing v2.0.0? Your existing v2.0.0 save is compatible with v2.0.4, so you can update the ROM and continue your adventure. v2.0.x save compatibility is intended to continue going forward.

Yes. Heart & Soul v2.0.4 is open source on GitHub and is built on the pret pokeemerald / pokeemerald-expansion foundation.

The main game keeps the established Heart & Soul roster of Generation 1-3 Pokemon plus their later-generation evolutions, excluding the Regis. In v2.0.4, the randomizer defaults to a Gen 1-3 pool and can be switched to Gen 1-9 from the PC challenge menu.

No. HeartSoulGame.com provides the Pokemon Heart & Soul v2.0.4 UPS patch only. You must supply your own legally obtained copy of Pokemon - Emerald Version (U), and the browser patcher works with that file locally on your device.

Use Pokemon - Emerald Version (U). Its SHA-1 is F3AE088181BF583E55DAF962A92BB46F4F1D07B7, and the UPS patch expects source CRC32 1F1C08FB. The browser patcher checks the file locally and rejects incompatible or already modified ROMs.

The release uses a UPS patch named Pokemon-Heart-and-Soul-v2.0.4.ups. You can apply it with the browser patcher on the Download page or download the UPS file for another compatible patching tool.

No. The browser reads, validates and patches your ROM locally on your device. Your original ROM is not uploaded to HeartSoulGame.com.

The browser patcher saves the patched game as Pokemon Heart & Soul v2.0.4.gba. Keep your original Emerald ROM unchanged. If you are updating from v2.0.0, your existing save can continue; if you are coming from v1.x, start a fresh save.

For v2.0.4, use mGBA on PC/Mac; Pizza Boy, Lemuroid or RetroArch with the mGBA core on Android; Delta, RetroArch with the mGBA core or Ignited on iPhone/iPad; and RetroArch with the mGBA core on Linux handheld devices.

No. My Boy is outdated and does not work with v2.0.4. Use one of the recommended emulator setups in the Emulator Guide instead.

v2.0.0 adds link trading and battling from the Goldenrod Pokemon Center. Multiplayer is not compatible with official Pokemon games, Heart & Soul 1.X, Modern Emerald or unrelated pokeemerald-expansion projects. Forks based on the Heart & Soul codebase may work, but compatibility is not guaranteed.

Yes. v2.0.0 adds GSC-style Pokégear rematch trainers plus additional rematches. They unlock after the third Badge, can call for battles or gifts, and match calls can be disabled if you prefer.

Yes. The old standalone radio item is removed. v2.0.0 puts the radio into the Pokégear with the Crystal channels, Buena's Password and a Hoenn Sound station in Kanto that can increase Hoenn encounter chances while playing in the overworld.

Yes. Challenge settings can be revisited after the game begins. In v2.0.4, the Gen 1-3 / Gen 1-9 randomizer setting and EXP multiplier can be changed from the PC challenge menu; some other settings can only move in the easier direction.

No. Heart & Soul already had randomizer, Nuzlocke and challenge systems before v2.0.0. This release rebuilds and expands those systems with more options, broader randomizer support and post-start challenge adjustments.

Yes. The Battle Frontier and Battle Tents were added during the 1.x releases and remain part of Heart & Soul. v2.0.0 also changes some facility behavior, including Battle Tents awarding BP.