Be Reborn

This is the web documentation for my Be Reborn Mod for the fangame Pokémon Reborn.

This contains all information about every species; a rendered version of every map and its encounters; locations for items such as TMs and mega stones; and hand-written walkthroughs. All data in this documentation is automatically sourced from the game data itself so it is always accurate.

All information can be found by clicking on the buttons in the navigation bar above. This website is not designed for telephones and will not work on telephones.

This project is Free Software and the source code can be found at Codeberg.

Features

  • A total rebalance of nearly every single species in the entire game, from generations one through nine
  • A total rebalance of every boss team in the entire game, to be harder
  • Three difficulty modes: Hard, Nightmare, and Abyss
  • A totally new New Game Plus Plus feature, which lets you carry over a box of your choice to the next game to be re-acquired at certain story points
  • (Optional) A new, two hundred plus track soundtrack including area music replacements, battle theme replacements, new event music, new custom music for lots of maps, new custom music for boss battles, and story-related music.

Currently rebalanced

  • Pokémon species, based on several data sources:
    • The base source for rebalances is Pokémon Blaze Black 2 Redux (v1.4.0) by Drayano and AphexCubed.
    • Then, Pokemon Photonic Sun by Buffel Salt is used for Gen 6/7.
    • Finally, my own tweaks are used on top of the base tweaks.
  • A small number of moves.
  • Every gym team, and every major boss team. Nearly all of them have been moved up to the level cap.
  • A very small number of encounter tables.

Whilst some of these changes wouldn't fly in a competitive setting, the rebalancing is focused on reducing the opportunity cost of not using the best possible Pokémon at any given moment, and the puzzle-like enemy team compositions acts as a natural counterweight to overtuned balancing decisions.

Why?

First of all, a lot of Pokémon have terrible movesets and abilities. Of course, there is a stark difference between "no coverage" and "all the coverage", and most of the changes here try to fit solidly inbetween to try and make most things viable.

Second, I like the puzzle-like nature of (early) Reborn's design. The field effect, the poor Pokémon choice, and the enemy teams are all stacked heavily against you -- unless you figure out the key weakness that lets you win. You can't grind your way past due to the level cap so you're forced into trying to build multiple teams that perfectly counter the enemy gym.

Difficulty Modes & Balance

The Be Reborn mod comes with three separate difficulty modes, so you can choose your desired difficulty. All modes are explicitly balanced around set and no items mode, and using a different mode would invalidate your warranty if this project had one (but it doesn't).

All Modes

  • All teams use Pokémon from all nine generations.
  • All enemy Pokémon have 31 IVs in every relevant stat.
  • In-battle item usage is disabled for both the player and the opponent.
  • Random damage rolls are disabled.

Hard Mode

The ideal mode for first playthroughs. This is harder than the base game teams, but not significantly so as long as you play by the rules, and the new balance changes will pivot things in your favour a bit more.

  • From the final PULSE Tangrowth fight onwards, every single boss fight team has been bumped up to the hard level cap, and every boss fight team uses six Pokémon.
  • Mega Evolutions, including custom ones from the All-Gen mod, are included in every major boss battle starting from the City Restoration.
  • Postgame fights from Tier 3 onwards are several levels above the level cap, reaching Level 162 for the final boss fights.

Nightmare Mode (WIP)

Designed for NG++ modes, this gives NPCs more advantages and gives the game more attrition, but it should work for a first playthrough (your mileage may vary). If you're doing NG++, I strongly recommend using the Early Mega-Z Ring password.

  • All the changes from Hard Mode.
  • More battleable NPCs in every area starting from South Obsidia Ward.
  • NPCs usually have around four or five Pokémon minimum.
  • Mega Evolutions are included in every major boss battle starting from Badge 6.
  • Enemy teams will begin to level beyond the level cap starting from Badge 6.
  • Boss teams will have small amounts of EVs after Badge 1, and full EVs from Badge 6.
  • Any battle may have a custom field, not just story bosses.
  • All non-low tier legendaries will now act as disobedient until after the true final boss. This means you have to continue using a real team rather than just spamming box legendaries.

Abyss Mode (Really WIP)

This mode is explicitly designed to fuck you up. It is likely not possible to beat without NG++, due to the difficulty in the first two wards, but if you somehow do please let me know and I'll make it even harder.

  • All the changes from Nightmare Mode.
  • Every single NPC battle after the first badge is considered a boss fight, with six enemy Pokémon.
  • Mega Evolutions are included in every single fight from Florinia.
  • All Pokémon have EVs and items in every single fight after the first badge.

Installation

The Rebalance Mod can be installed relatively easily in a four-step process.

This mod must be installed before creating a new save. Failure to do this will break every single Pokédex screen, including the post-catch screen, due to a difference in how forms are serialised.

This is NOT negotiable. Your save WILL break if you install the mod onto an existing one. This includes for NG++ purposes.
  1. Download the latest version of Pokémon Reborn (19.5). You must use the in-game updater to ensure it is fully up to date. This must NOT be the legacy version.
  2. Download the All-Gen Patch and install it into your patch directory. This should work with any version, but the mod was currently built around version 0.9.5.
  3. Download the desired version of the Be Reborn mod; either the no-music version or the music version, from the released page.
  4. Finally, copy all files from the pre-built download of my mod to patch overwriting any conflicts. If you're using the music replacer, be sure to download the music tarball linked on the releases page and extract it too.
  5. Optionally, install your choice of mods from the SWM Modular Modpack; the Be Reborn mod was playtested extensively with these enabled, so you'll want this for the optimal experience.
  6. When prompted to apply settings after the introduction cutscene, say "Yes" for the best effect.