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This post was last updated on April 1, 2026
Today we’re looking at the Pokemon Ultra Violet Version, a rom hack of Fire Red version that opens up a whole new world for players to explore. This exciting game offers new events, new locations, and the ability to catch every single pokemon from the first three generations.
Pokemon Ultra Violet Version: A New Take on a Classic Pokemon Game
The Pokemon Ultra Violet rom is a classic in the community, and while it hasn’t been edited in years, it still makes a perfect rom for newcomers to the scene. Is it the best pokemon game out there? No, but it does offer some incredible improvements to the base game.
What can you expect in Pokemon Ultra Violet Version?
- Catch all the pokemon from the first three generations of the game.
- Explore a massive new island with pokemon from the Hoenn region.
- A few new events to spice up the gameplay.
- A brand new title screen.
- A few new and exciting features.
- Alternate starting pokemon.
Some rom hacks put you in a completely new game in the pokemon universe. Pokémon Ultra Violet doesn’t attempt to do this. Instead, it refurbishes the classic Gameboy Advance game, Pokemon Fire Red version, and gives an exciting way to revisit the Kanto region.
The inspiration behind Ultra Violet was to create a game where you could catch every pokemon without having to trade between Fire Red version and Leaf Green. The creator, LocksmithArmy, decided that first and second-generation pokemon weren’t enough, so they added in gen 3 as well.
Since romhacks are played solo, the normal formula for cooperation in pokemon games doesn’t fit. With Pokemon Ultra Violet Version, you can finally “catch ’em all” by yourself.
WARNING!
Pokemon Ultra Violet Rom doesn’t have the easiest setup. You’ll first have to track down a safe copy of the patch to download.
Then you’ll have to apply the patch to a rom of Pokemon Fire Red Version 1.0. Any other rom download will not apply the patch successfully, and you won’t be able to make it past the title screen.
Pokemon Ultra Violet Gameplay
Pokemon Ultra Violet starts like any other pokemon game. You’ll see a flashy new title screen, with the game title and a picture of Mew, and then start talking with Professor Oak about the world of pokemon.
Starting Your Adventure
Once you begin the game, you’ll be able to choose a starter pokemon. Of course, in this game, you aren’t stuck between Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle. Once Oak lets you choose, you can talk to him to initiate a new feature: catching your first pokemon.
You’ll be sent to a mini version of the safari zone, a lab on a hidden map where Oak and his team observe rare pokemon in the wild. You’ll then be able to catch one of these nine pokemon in safari balls, using bait and rocks if necessary. (You do have a limited number of safari balls, so be careful.)
If you’re looking to choose a random starter, but don’t want to leave it up to the game’s odds, we suggest rolling a d12 (just type roll a d12 into google) and going after the appropriate pokemon on the following list.
- Bulbasaur
- Charmander
- Squirtle
- Pichu
- Machop
- Ralts
- Gastly (Just a suggestion, this one’s difficult to gain XP early in the game)
- Trapinch
- Houndour
- Spheal
- Larvitar
- Dratini
Journeying Through Kanto
The actual process of collecting all 8 badges and taking down every rocket hideout hasn’t changed much from the original Nintendo release on the Gameboy Advance.
Of course, keen players might still spot a few differences. Your rival, for example, actually says that Raticate has passed away when you confront him at the Pokemon Tower in Lavender Town. It’s a subtle nod to the popular theory and one that avid fans will enjoy.
One of the first things you might just miss is the ability to grab both the dome and helix fossils when you go through Mt. Moon. You don’t have to leave the other extinct pokemon sitting around! Just grab them both up and revive them once you get to Cinnabar Island.
The battle system hasn’t changed entirely, but again, there are some small differences you might notice. Gyarados, for example, is now a Water/Dragon type, instead of Water/Flying.
Everything on ‘continental’ Kanto may remain mostly untouched, but naturally, you’ll find the improvements as you play. Version exclusives from Leaf Green and Fire Red are both catchable, making this feel like what could’ve been if we had a 3rd gen ‘Water’ Blue Version.
Items are also a bit more prevalent, as you’ll need access to enough evolution items to fill out your pokedex. This includes more rare items that didn’t make it into red, green, or blue versions, like sun stones, upgrades, and more.
The real fun begins outside of Kanto though.
4-Point Isle: A new Island quest
Once you make it to Vermillion City (not Virmillion city) and have completed the S.S. Anne, you can embark on a new adventure. If you go to the southernmost house, just to the left of the dock, you’ll find a young girl asking you to deliver a letter.
Accepting this quest will send you directly to 4-point Isle, a place you should get accustomed to throughout your time in Pokemon Ultra Violet. This new island is the only place in the game where you can catch pokemon from the Hoenn region.
There are many pieces to this island, which you can gradually unlock as you complete more and more of the game. The main unlocking points are as follows:
- Complete S.S. Anne – Unlock 4-Point Isle Town, Dread Mountain Prairie, Dread Mountain
- Defeat Team Rocket at Silph Co. – Unlock Catacombs (a maze with a new layout for you to enjoy)
- Obtain Strength and Surf – Unlock more of Dread Mountain
- Obtaining Earthquake (Defeating the 8th Gym) – Unlock Haunted Forest, Meteor Site
- Defeat Elite Four and Rival – Unlock Guardian Meadows
You’ll find all Hoenn pokemon throughout this unique Pokemon Ultra Violet map, including rare pokemon residing in some hidden locations. We’ll cover more on those later, though, when we discuss where to find every pokemon in the game.
Guaranteed Shiny Pokemon
One of the most exciting new features this game brings is the ability to find shiny pokemon with ease. To originally acquire a shiny pokemon, you’d have to slug through hours of play until the odds rolled up in your favor. This normally takes a while, considering the odds in Fire Red and Leaf Green are 1 in 8,192.
You can still find a shiny in a random location. However, the new ‘shinyizers’ in Pokemon Ultra Violet Version allow you to guarantee shinies.
Scattered across the map are special tiles that give the next pokemon you encounter a 100% chance of being shiny. As far as we can tell, there are 18 of these shinyizers spread across the entire game.
We’ll tell you where the first one is, and remember, you can always use this spot to get full shiny odds.
Essentially, this is the only spot you’ll ever need to know. With clever movement and some repels, you can guarantee any shiny you want. Use moves like Fly and Dig to get where you need to be, and then just repel your way to the pokemon you’re looking to catch.
The first shinyizer you’ll come across is just inside Route 1, above the first ledge. The picture below has Ultra standing where you need to be. And yes, this does mean one of your first pokemon can be shiny. Hope you enjoy!
All Pokemon Locations in Pokemon Ultra Violet
Part of the intent and fun of the Pokemon Ultra Violet Rom is catching every single pokemon from the first three generations and filling your pokedex. To do this, you’ll have to search through the entire game, leaving no stone unturned.
But hey, sometimes we can get a bit stuck tracking down that final pokemon. So, we’ve included detailed catching guides on any of the tougher pokemon to track down in this new game.
Regular Pokemon
Almost every pokemon from the first generation can be found in the wild. Any pokemon that were previously version-exclusive can be found in this game since there is no fictitious rival game.
As for all the rest of the common pokemon, you’ll find them on various islands.
The second generation pokemon, in keeping with the original Nintendo release, can be found on the Sevii Islands. The gaps from the Fire Red have been filled in, so you can now catch all 100 pokemon introduced in Johto.
The gen 3 pokemon are almost entirely found on the new 4-Point Isle. Since this island is exclusive to the Pokemon Ultra Violet rom, we highly suggest exploring it as much as possible.
Rare Pokemon
The pokemon listed below aren’t necessarily legendary pokemon, but they can be hard to track down, even in a completionist game like the Pokemon Ultra Violet rom.
To be clear, I’ll only be going over pokemon that have new locations in this game. Something like the game corner Dratini, or the Jynx for Poliwhirl trade in Cerulean city won’t be covered here.
Starter Pokemon
The Pokemon Ultra Violet rom removes the necessity to trade your first pokemon several times just to fill the pokedex. All nine starter pokemon from the first three generations can be found in logical locations across the map.
- Bulbasaur – Route 21
- Charmander – Pokemon Mansion
- Squirtle – Seafoam Islands
- Chikorita – Five Isle Meadow
- Cyndaquil – Mt. Ember
- Totodile – Water Path
- Treecko – Dread Mountain (Outside)
- Torchic – Meteor Site
- Mudkip – 4-Point Isle (Dock)
Karate Master Pokemon
While technically, you could breed the fighting pokemon Tyrogue and then evolve it in Fire Red, the Pokemon Ultra Violet rom makes this a lot easier. Once you defeat the Karate Master, you can collect both Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee.
Eevee
Again, multiple eeveelutions are normally locked behind breeding. Instead, the Pokemon Ultra Violet rom makes Eevee a Game Corner prize.
OManyte and Kabuto
Normally, when you find extinct pokemon chilling in Mt. Moon, you’re forced to only take one. The Pokemon Ultra Violet rom allows you to take both, allowing you to eventually revive both Omanyte and Kabuto.
Anorith and Lileep
On your second visit to Dread Mountain, you’ll be able to find a man mining for fossils, and he’ll share one of each with you. You can then have them revived at the lab on 4-Point Isle
Legendary Pokemon
Again, we’ll only be covering legendary pokemon that aren’t in their normal places.
Mew
Once you encounter Bill at his house, you can go through the teleporter to the left (he’ll even tell you to do so). Doing this will send you to a special island where you can encounter a level 7 Mew. Be careful to drop a save file, as you might need to do a game reset or two to catch it.
Legendary Dogs
Once you’ve completed the Ruby/Sapphire quest offered to you by Celio of One Island, many legendary pokemon events are unlocked. The legendary dogs’ locations are determined by your first pokemon.
The roaming dogs aren’t easy to track down, so just go through every route or search through some other logical manner.
If you started with Bulbasaur or a caught pokemon, you’ll find:
- Suicune on Route 2 behind Diglett’s Cave
- Raikou in Rock Tunnel
- Entei roaming Kanto
If you started with Charmander, you’ll find:
- Raikou on Route 2 behind Diglett’s Cave
- Entei in Rock Tunnel
- Suicune roaming Kanto
If you started with Squirtle, you’ll find:
- Entei on Route 2 behind Diglett’s Cave
- Suicune in Rock Tunnel
- Raikou roaming Kanto
Regis
Regirock, Regice, and Registeel can all be found at the end of the Catacombs on 4-Point Isle. You’ll only get a shot to catch each once.
The Weather trio
Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza can all be found in Dread Mountain on 4-Point Isle. Be warned, they’re at higher levels than you need to be to encounter them.
Latios and Latias
Once you’ve unlocked the Guardian Meadows on 4-Point Isle, you can encounter both Latios and Latias.
Jirachi
Jirachi can be found inside an egg at the meteor site. You’ll need to have a pokemon that knows Earthquake and an empty slot in your party to collect it.
Ho-Oh and Lugia
In keeping with the original Nintendo event, you’ll catch these two box-art legendaries. You can find the ticket at the Pokemart on Six Island.
Deoxys
Deoxys can be captured by collecting the mystic ticket on Seven Island and traveling to Birth Island.
Celebi
The celebi event is in the Berry Forest. Be warned! Don’t catch celebi the first time. If you faint it, you’ll get a Pichu with Volt Tackle. Killing Celebi is completely fine since it respawns after you defeat the Elite Four again.
In Closing
Pokemon Ultra Violet is a great game if you find Fire Red to be a timeless classic. The improvements it offers over the regular version give you plenty of room to become the Pokemon Master you’ve always dreamed of being.
