Pokémon Ambrosia
Crystal with a new story, a hand-picked dex of 253 Pokémon that all carry abilities, and an open world held together by two level caps.
More about the game
Pokémon Ambrosia is DrUltimaMan's rebuild of Pokémon Crystal from the pokecrystal source. The story is new — Kanto is about to be invaded — and every NPC has fresh dialogue. The Pokédex is cut down to 253 species from the first six generations plus a few later favourites, and every one of them has one or more abilities that are always on, implemented as custom battle code on a Game Boy Color. Johto and Kanto are open almost from the start; what keeps the game in order is a pair of level caps, one for training and one for catching, that rise with each gym badge. Battles use the physical/special split, the Fairy type and a large set of newer moves, and boss fights are set mode with no items. This guide is generated from the creator's own source tree at tag v2.8.0, with the Game Doc filling in ability descriptions and legendary locations.
What's different, point by point
- A custom dex of 253 Pokémon, each with one or more always-on abilities
- New story and dialogue across Johto and Kanto, with three recurring rivals
- Open world: Blackthorn and Olivine from the start, Kanto from Goldenrod
- Two level caps shown on the trainer card — one for training, one for catching
- Physical/special split, Fairy type, Stealth Rock, Trick Room and other newer moves
- 50 TMs and 7 HMs — TMs are reusable — plus 4 move tutors
- Overworld Pokémon, including aggressive ones and always-shiny gold ones
- 28 legendaries, a revamped Battle Frontier and around 50 level-100 post-game bosses
- Easy, Normal and Hard modes; New Game Plus
DrUltimaMan
This guide is built from DrUltimaMan's own documentation. The game, the ideas and the work are theirs — the site just makes the numbers searchable. Play it from the official page, and send them the feedback and the thanks.
What this guide covers
Every guide here is built from the game's own documentation. Where a ROM hack changed something but never published the numbers, this says so rather than quietly filling the gap with the original game's — which would be worse than leaving it out.
| Section | Source | |
|---|---|---|
| Wild Pokémon by area | From the game itself | Every wild table in the source: grass by time of day, surfing, all three rods, headbutt trees, swarms, the Bug-Catching Contest and the overworld Pokémon each map script places. |
| Encounter rates | From the game itself | From the hack's own probability tables and per-map rates. Overworld Pokémon have no rate — the game picks a changing subset — so those rows are blank on purpose. |
| Wild levels | From the game itself | Every level is the source's own. |
| Stats, abilities and movesets | From the game itself | Base stats, types, learnsets, evolutions, TM/HM/tutor flags and the Pokédex ability text for all 253 species and forms. |
| TM and HM compatibility | From the game itself | All 50 TMs, 7 HMs and 4 tutor moves, with per-species compatibility. |
| Where TMs are found | From the game itself | Read from the map scripts that give or place each machine. Prizes and event rewards without such a script are marked as not placed. |
| Trainer and boss teams | From the game itself | All 630 parties in the trainer file, with levels, held items and moves where recorded, and the map each fight is scripted on. |
Credits
- Pokémon Ambrosia: DrUltimaMan (drultimaman)
- Source code and releases, which this guide is generated from: AndrewC101/PokemonAmbrosia (tag v2.8.0)
- Game Doc — ability descriptions, item and legendary locations: DrUltimaMan
- The Pokémon Crystal disassembly the hack is built on: the pret team
- Code contributions: RaJah239
- Nown's dex art on its species page — the game's own front sprite (gfx/pokemon/nown/front.png in the source tree), served from this site: DrUltimaMan and the artists the Game Doc acknowledges, via the source repository
- Wild encounter sheet, dex sheet, sprites and music: Pepsi_Cola64, Maxwell, and the artists and musicians listed in the Game Doc's acknowledgements
- Sprites via PokéAPI; base move and TM data from PokéAPI and Bulbapedia.
Reading the tables
SpritesNown, this game's own evolution of Unown, shows the game's front sprite for it, taken from the creator's source tree (gfx/pokemon/nown/front.png at tag v2.8.0, its four Game Boy shades kept and the white ground made transparent) and served from this site. Every other species shows the usual official sprite. Like screenshots, this art comes down at once if the creator asks.
SourceEvery table is read from the creator's source tree at tag v2.8.0: base stats, types, learnsets, evolutions, move data, wild tables with rates and levels, TM/HM flags, trainer parties, and the map scripts for where trainers stand, where items and TMs sit, which Pokémon walk the overworld and where the level cap moves.
AbilitiesAmbrosia's abilities are custom battle code, not a data table, and a species can have several at once. The ability line on each Pokémon page is the text the game's own Pokédex shows for it; fully evolved species also carry the longer description from the Game Doc. Because they are not the official abilities, the comparison block does not try to say what was gained or lost.
CapsTwo caps, both on the trainer card. The training cap starts at Lv 20 and rises at each badge (the stage list carries the values from the gym scripts); the catch cap is ten below it until both reach 100. A wild Pokémon above the catch cap can be fought but not caught.
Open_WorldMost of the map is reachable long before the levels suit it, and nothing scales to you. Stages here are the badge order and the caps, not a claim about which areas are locked, so areas are not tied to a stage.
RatesSlot percentages are the hack's own probability table — 24/24/15/15/10/10/2 for the seven grass slots and 50/30/20 for surfing. The “N% of steps” figure is that map's own encounter rate. * marks 5% or less.
TimesGrass tables are split morning, day and night. Where all three are the same the row is listed once.
OverworldOverworld Pokémon come from each map's scripts: which species stand there and at what level. The game spawns a changing subset of them, so no rate is given. Red ones attack on sight; gold ones are always shiny.
FishingFishing is listed for maps that have a surfing table, using the fishing group the map header assigns. The Old, Good and Super Rod tables are the game's own.
TrainersEvery party in the trainer file, with held items and moves where the file records them. Where a fight stands is read from the map scripts; the “Master rematch” fights are the level-100 post-game rematches, and “Battle Arcade” / “Hard mode” variants are the file's own alternates. Rematches with ordinary trainers use the same party.
RivalsThe rivals' names are chosen in game (the party file leaves them blank), so they are listed as Silver and Crystal after the classes the game uses. The third rival copies your own party and has no fixed team to list.
TmsTM and HM locations are the map scripts that hand the item over — a gym leader's gift, an item ball or a shop. Game Corner prizes and event rewards that are not written as an item script say so rather than borrowing the Game Doc's older list.
ItemsThe item list is item balls, hidden items, gifts and shop stock from the map scripts and mart tables. Battle Frontier and Game Corner prizes are not in it.
UberArceus and its signature moves use a new type the game calls Uber. It is shown as the game names it.