Pokemon Dark Rising Walkthrough Guide

Latest posts by Haissam Khan, Retro RTS RPG Pokémon Expert (see all)
Table of Contents

Pokémon has become an icon in the multimedia space, and the mainline games are slowly taking steps into a new style of Pokémon games that are free from random encounters and linear paths.

Many fans still crave the old GBA classic style of Pokémon without the limiters put on the game to make it accessible for everyone. So, where do you go to get that fix? The community, of course, the fan base has created incredible versions of complete Pokémon games in the form of Rom hacks with fantastic additions, new regions, mature storylines, and crazy difficulty spikes, which are played and loved by the fans.

One of the initial Legacy works of the Pokémon Rom Hacks was Pokémon Dark Rising, mainly created by DarkRisingGirl12. She made an entirely new storyline with exciting plot development around dark and edgy themes.

In this direction, only hacked ROMs have gone in Pokémon storytelling. While the difficulty spike does seem unfair, and the number of battles might get tedious for some, the actual selling point of Pokémon: Dark Rising isn’t that it’s the best hacked rom; it is the hacked rom that changed the direction and pushed the boundaries of what Pokémon hacked ROMs can be.

Without further ado, I will cover everything about this Pokémon rom and tell you how to navigate this game in the best possible way. Pokémon hacked ROMs can get tricky.

Since not every aspect of the game is tested, you might encounter a few bugs along the way, so don’t forget to save the game often (I use multiple save states). Of course, since I will be going into detail about the game, there will be Spoilers; you have been warned.

Pokemon Dark Rising Story Synopsis

Pokémon Dark Rising starts with the God of Pokémon: Arceus, asking you, a young trainer, to help restore balance to the world that is being overrun by climate and seismic changes. That dream later leads you to go on the search for your father, who used to be the Hero of the region.

Your troubles are magnified when you realize that an evil organization is behind these evil deeds and will stop at nothing to achieve its goal. With the dream to become the strongest Pokémon trainer, rescue your father, and the goal to restore peace to the world, our player sets off on a journey.

The game features a new region and has removed the limits that GameFreak would put on Pokémon games. From the evolutions of Pokémon up to the fifth generation, this game has it all, including the legendaries. So let’s talk about the adventure.

Key Features

  • The game features an all-new region to explore, the core region.
  • There are a total of 386 Pokemon from generations one to five that can be caught in the wild.
  • The game includes all the moves introduced up to generation five including egg moves obtained via breeding.
  • The game also features an original story with many call backs from the original Pokemon anime and other popular anime.
  • Pokemon Dream World abilities (hidden ability or Pokemon with best ability combinations) are also available like Speed boost Torchic and Drizzle Poliwag.
  • New methods of Pokemon evolution have been introduced and EV’s of Pokemon have been adjusted.
  • Doctor Roy is the one that heals your Pokemon instead of Nurse Joy and talking to her will initiate a double battle in the Pokemon Center
  • All Gym leaders and Major bosses have signature Pokemon which are only available to them.

This game is jam-packed with an all-new adventure waiting to be unfolded. The difficulty of the game has also been increased massively, with it having many battles with high-level Pokemon and trainers, even those with legendaries so get ready to polish your Pokemon skills and dive into the Core region.

Dark Rising Walkthrough

Fells Town

Fells Town

Where it all begins, after talking to Arceus in a dream, you’ll wake up and have to head downstairs to your mom; before that, don’t forget to grab the potion in the PC. I would always recommend going into the text menu and turning text speed to fast since Pokémon games are usually slow, and this one’s no exception. Get the running shoes from mom, and your rival will take you to Professor Ivan to get your starter Pokémon.

Starter Pokémon

Starter Pokémon

In Pokémon games, there’s always a perfect starter, but I always go for the coolest one. Since almost every Pokémon is available to be caught in hacked ROMs, apart from the starter emotional bond (Yes! this is real), it doesn’t matter. This time you have dragon types to choose from; I chose Gible because I love Garchomp, but you can go for Bagon or Dratini if you want.

From Douba Road to Mainland Station Cave

After the standard rival fight, you must collect a package for the professor; remember to fight with the three trainers at the top of fells town; they’ll give you a nugget if you win. Move towards Douba road, where you will receive a Dragon Fang from an NPC, and I gave that to my Gible.

Battle Pete, your friend, and move left towards mainland station; go northward, and you will encounter a girl questioning you about the mysterious entity Darugis. Beat her and head into the store. Take the package from the clerk and come out, and you will see a trainer standing with a Tornadus. The trainer will battle you (I know it’s overkill) and defeat you, which is perfectly normal.

From Douba Road to Mainland Station Cave

You will wake up at your house with Pete and your mom asking if you’re okay. Head to the professor to deliver the package, get the Pokedex and talk with your rival’s mom to get the map.

Twist Woodlands

Now entering the forest it’s not going to be very difficult, but you will face a lot of battles. One thing to keep an eye out for is a 1% chance of encountering a Bulbasaur; even though he’s not my preferred grass type, you might want him on your team. The Gym you find in the forest will be closed, so get on out of there and move to Tiki Village.

Tiki Village

You’re fighting people Again! This time they’re working for the glory of Darugis, revealing that they know about your father, Blake. They won’t tell you anything, so go to the Pokémon Center to get a Munna, put her into your PC as I did, and we move forward.

Lavaburn Path and Forest

Lavaburn Path and forest

Go through the path towards the forest; inside the house on the Lavaburn path, you can always trade an Abra for a Volcarona. Once you’re almost out of the woods, you will encounter V. A dark thug with information about your father.

Still, he won’t tell you anything even after you beat him and magically disappears. Don’t forget to get yourself a Cyndaquil along this path; there is a 1% of encountering it in this area.

Flamen City

Flamen City

Go to the Pokémon center, and you will run into a man selling a Magikarp for 500 yen. I found that hilarious; poor Magikarp, head to the blue building named J.Blake’s Lab and have a battle with Emet. He will tell you about how Daruguis has kidnaped your father. Time to fight against the first Gym of the game.

Fiery’s Team

  • Vulpix               Lvl 17                     Ember,Wil-o-wisp, Iron Tail
  • Houndour        Lvl 17                     Double Team,Ember, Thief
  • Heatmor           Lvl 20                     Fire Punch ,SolarBeam ,Thunder Punch

After beating her, you can now use the HM Flash outside of battle. She was fairly easy to beat for me, and I don’t think you would have any issues with a Dragon type.

Flamen Route

On this route, you will see a few grunts heading towards some cave, and you will have to follow them. Fight all the trainers and go inside the Water Caverns. Don’t forget to use the Pokémon Center before entering the caverns since it might get rough.

Talk to the fisherman in the house to get an old rod if you haven’t bought it from the salesman from the poke center like I did. As soon as you try to enter the cavern, the girl with the Axew will rechallenge you, beat her, and she will go back into the cave. Time to head in!

Water Caverns

This is the place for you to catch a Squirtle; 1% of it happening, but it’s cool nonetheless. The shocking thing is that it will be raining in the cave, and you will see all the grunts of the dark team. You will reach three entrances leading to battles, the middle will give you an ether, and the right one will lead you to a star piece.

The left ladder is where you go after this to fight the scientist, who will then let you choose a fossil to take. Be careful! These scientists have Level 30 Pokémon, and the level scaling is just madness. Take a fossil and then head towards the Atlantic Swamp.

Atlantic Swamp

This place has a 1% chance of my favorite Pokémon, Mudkip, who I highly recommend you keep on your team. Before doing that, you’ll encounter the evil red-haired guy who will fight you again. You find out that his name is Kayo and move on.

There are two people training. One teaches drain punch, and the other teaches mega kick. I chose drain punch, but you can choose whatever you prefer.

Atlantic Sewers

Atlantic Sewers

Talk to the little girl if you want to trade a growlithe for a vulpix; if not, go down the sewers to encounter Max from the Hoenn anime. You will learn more about the evil organization from Max, then afterward, head back out and go east.

You will be challenged by a mysterious figure who turns out to be a gym leader named Eon from the Omni region. He was mind controlled by Darugis. Now it’s time to go to Atlantic City. Time for the second Gym battle; you will be challenging gym leader Typhon.

Typhon’s Team

  • Poliwhirl             Lvl 26                     Scald,Hypnosis,Double Slap
  • Lanturn              Lvl 27                     Water Pulse,Supersonic, Shock Wave , Thunder Wave
  • Marshtomp        Lvl 26                     Water Pulse,Facade,Stealth Rock,Mud Shot
  • Seismitoad         Lvl 32                     Scald,Substitute, Drain Punch

This one was rough since I didn’t establish who I wanted on my team then. Marshstomp was a bit of a hassle, and I had to use some potions, but I managed to win in the end.

Don’t forget to heal your Pokémon because now’s the time to head into the house guarded by the policeman. Enter, and you will face Brock from the anime; Darugis controls him. After you defeat him, follow him but don’t forget to heal because the rival battle is right around the corner. After beating your rival, you get a VS seeker from him, and onwards we go.

Atlantic Path and Cape

You’ll have to fight a few grunts until you reach V again. Let me warn you, his Pokémon are level 34 and above; good luck!

After defeating him, keep going, and you will reach the Atlantic Cape. You’ll have to fight so many trainers here, and it’s crazy. Keep moving on, and you will be with the Champion himself, Ash! He will reward you with the SS ticket and head into the cave. Before going in, I recommend you heal your Pokémon because this will now be a gauntlet.

Atlantic Cave

Now that we’re in the cave, there is a 1% chance of catching a Charmander here, and I tried my best to get a shiny one because a shiny Charizard is just that cool. Just follow the grunts and keep having battles, that is the only way forward, and there will be many of them.

Don’t forget to talk to the Hiker, who teaches you Stone Edge. If you keep going, you will see Ash battling Brock, and Brock manages to defeat Ash with a level 50 Dark Entei. He will ask you to recover the Jewel of life to rescue Arceus if you beat him.

Aroma Path

Time for a well-deserved heal from the Pokémon Center. Back at it again! Time for more battles. Follow the path until it ends to enter Aroma town. The amount of battlers here is a lot, and it might be a great place to grind with your VS Seeker so try that out. You can also get a Chicorita here, but I’m not too fond of it, so I won’t recommend it.

Aroma Town

You will be stopped by Pete, your neighbor who you sent back home. He’s traveling the world with his father (I know, right?); enter the house next to Pete, and you will meet Paul and Tarea. After telling you a story filled with exposition that I paid no attention to, Paul will give you a Victini.

Go north, and you will see a guy blocking the path, that’s Dray, who will battle you, defeat him, and he will tell you about your father’s past, who was a member of team Dark Rising that initially defeated Darugis. Dray goes into the cave, and that’s where you also have to go.

Battle Cave

This is the place to get yourself a Chimchar or Torchic, with a 1% chance of spawning. You will meet and battle Professor Ivan, who will tell you to meet him at Mystic Falls.

Nursery Road

You will see the daycare and meet the girl with the Axew again, but we finally get to know her name now! Her name is Sydney. She will battle you again, but she will be nicer to you and tell you her story this time. Darugis killed her parents, and now she’s out for revenge; time for you to book it! Do note that there is a 1% chance of encountering an Evee here.

Falls Route to Mystic Falls

Keep going down while battle trainers reach Mystic Falls. As soon as you see Professor Ivan, Professor Zachery will challenge you to a double battle.

He will tell you to go to Iceland City to get a Master Ball. There are many exciting things in the area and people to talk to, so I recommend exploring it and seeing it yourself. Don’t forget to speak with Scott, who is in the room with an older man and a lady; he will give you a bike voucher.

Now when you talk to the Shaman Gym lady, she will tell you to go to the SS Titanic, which is at the South of Mystic Falls. When you reach there, an earthquake will hit, and you will see V with his girlfriend sinking the ship (why name it Titanic.)

You will battle V, who will tell you that the ship is actually under a spell that Kayo is protecting. Slowly go down the ship, and on the 6th floor, you will find a lady like Nurse Joy, who heals your team. You will finally reach the end, where a guard will introduce you to a lady whose son has been kidnapped by the thugs; the most crucial part is that she will heal your team. Fight the high grunts to save the boy; it doesn’t end here.

Keep going up, and you will see your rival and Ash fighting the remaining grunts, and you’re told to go up to fight the chief. After you beat the chief, Sydney will wake up and give you the HM Cut. Now, its time to battle the Gym:

Falls Route to Mystic Falls

Serena’s Team

  • Espeon           Lvl 50                     Shadow Ball,Calm Mind,Psychic
  • Gallade           Lvl 54                     Aerial Ace,Bulk Up,Drain Punch
  • Gardevoir       Lvl 54                     Psychic, Shadow ball , Shock Wave, Calm Mind
  • Sigilyph          Lvl 56                     Cosmic Power,Psychic, Ice Beam
  • Gothitelle       Lvl 53                     Calm Mind, Psychic, Skill Swap, Dark Pulse

And now you can use the HM Fly. This Gym wasn’t that hard for me to defeat because I had Pokémon whose moves were super effective against them. I had started grinding since this game loves to throw crazy leveled trainers at you.

Grass Isle and Mystic Cave

Go right from the city center and battle all the trainers while heading up; you also have a 1% chance of encountering a Treeko or a Snivy here. Follow the path upwards to get to Mystic Cave, where you can find a Totodile and your next big challenge, V.

This time, when you defeat V, he will turn into stone because of Darugis. You will feel much angrier at Darugis, and now the real story starts; time to head to Aroma Town.

Aroma Town

As you exit the cave, you will encounter Dray again with his girlfriend Florina, who will challenge you to a battle. Beat her, and Dray will tell you about Darugis and to meet Amaris; that’s your cue to go to Salem town, which is westward.

Salem Town and Volair forest

Talk to some people in town, and you will hear that some children are missing. Since we can’t head west because a disembodied voice will stop us, let’s head south to enter the Volair forest. If you keep following the path, you will encounter Light, the man with Tornadus.

He has all the children hostage, and his team is more than level 60, so be on your guard. Beat him to get the Jewel of life and save the children. Now we can head west since we have the Jewel of life.

Rosarie Graveyard and Amarie’s Mansion

You will hear Sydney’s screaming voice, hurry up and battle all the trainers there to enter the mansion. When you enter, you will be approached by Kaiden, who is the son of V, and the other is Sakura, V’s daughter. Both of them have forms of Kyurem at level 70 and will battle you; defeat them, and they will storm out.

Now you need to Press A in front of the statue in the middle. This will open the gate, go towards it and fall from the ceiling, then move towards the stairs to head down. Press A for the other statue here and then go up to the gate that was previously closed; it is now open.

Press A in front of the final statue, and as soon as you try to pass, someone will approach you; that is Amaris herself, who will challenge you to a battle. She will tell you to meet the gym leader and pick up the item at the table. From the graveyard, you will now enter into the Frozen Dungeon.

Frozen Dungeon

This place will be rough, but the silver lining is that there is a 1% chance of encountering a Piplup or Oshawott. Get the Shaman lady to heal your team, and on we go! Keep following the path and only fall through the ice at the top (it will break if you step on it twice.), climb the ladder, and then go down; the route is mapped as Up, Right, Down, and Left.

This will let you pick up the HM Waterfall. After you’ve gotten the HM, head to the Waterfall by following the path, you won’t need to use the HM here but save the game since battles are going to happen now. You will encounter your rival, who will take you into a cave.

Kyurem’s Nest

Follow the pathway leading to Kyurem’s Nest, your rival will be defeated by Sydney, but you won’t. Beat her to save him and Kyurem, who she is trying to get under her control.

Ice Land City

Now that you’re done with that, you will reach Ice land City. Sadly the Gym is closed, so time to go battle some thugs. Go down the stairs of the poke mart and head west, and you will find an NPC selling Unlimited Lucky Eggs (I just found this interesting.)

Time to go to the ground city that is to the west, go inside, and the battles begin. Fight the grunts, and you will find a path leading to the hot springs. Rejuvenate and heal your Pokémon and head towards the cave entrance to encounter Kayo. After losing, Kayo will disappear, but you will be congratulated by the older man, who is Kai’s father with the HM Fly.

Back to the city to fight the Gym leader Kai.

Kai’s Team

  • Mamoswine          Lvl 68                     Stealth Rock,Hail,Blizzard,Earthquake
  • Glaceon                 Lvl 69                     Hail, Water Pulse , Blizzard
  • Abomasnow         Lvl 69                     Frenzy Plant,Leech Seed,Blizzard
  • Cryogonal             Lvl 70                     Confuse Ray,Night Slash,Ice Beam

I had a Charizard, and it’s safe to say my Charizard took care of the entire team easily.

Time to head on back to where you fought Kayo and head out from the cave opening.

Plain Field and Numassity Path

Now you reach the Plain field, as the name suggests, so try to get out of here to get to the Numassity path. After battling some trainers, you will see Pete, who is being mind controlled by Darugis, time to battle Pete.

Pete, after coming to his sense, will tell you that Kayo took his Ruby, another quest has been granted, now you start trying to recruit people to fight Darugis, and this team starts with Pete. Congratulations because Kai’s dad here will also reward you with the Master Ball.

Numassity City

There’s a large superstore here, which is your next destination; buy TM’s and stuff if you want, but what you really want is on the 4th floor. Buy a pokedoll from there and head to the first house next to the Poke Mart.

Go up the stairs, and the girl will trade you the Poke Doll to teach a Pokémon Mimic, do that and trust me. Go into the second house and talk to the lady; she will award your endeavors with the move Psychic. Get a bike from the bike shop, and you are good to go. The pink building in the city is the actual Gym, and the Gym is the dojo.

When you enter the Gym, you will face teleportation devices; the route is top left, down left, down right, top right, top right, and down left.

Nora’s Team

  • Ambipom                 Lvl 72                     Brick Break, Aerial Ace, Hyper Beam, Attract
  • Licky licky                 Lvl 74                     Attract, Body Slam, Brick Break
  • Milk tank                  Lvl 74                     Attract, Body Slam , Earth Quake, Milk Drink
  • Kangaskhan             Lvl 74                     Attract,Substitute, Drain Punch, Earthquake
  • Meleotta                  Lvl 75                     Substitute, Hyper Voice, Stone Edge, Drain Punch
  • Porygon Z                Lvl74                      Nasty plot,Psychic, Ice Beam, Thunder Bolt

Straight Path to Novella Town

This is where I found the third Pokémon I truly wanted for my team, and there is a 1% chance of encountering a Turtwig here. Battle the trainers and head directly to Novella Town. Talk to the fisherman in town, and he will give you a good rod.

Talk to people around town for some fun stuff and when you’re done, head to the Novella town lab, where you will first face Sakura. Then you will meet her brother Kaido who both have Kyurem as their Pokémon. Talk to Vladimir, the commander who is upstairs, and he’s trying to get Groudon; legendaries don’t feel like legendaries here.

Novella Lab

Heal your Pokémon because this will be a gauntlet, fight everyone around and be careful of the elevator since Kayo is inside waiting for you.

The Key you need is on the 5th floor, use the warp panel and then use it again but come from left to right; this will let you move towards the warp key that was otherwise obstructed by the warp floor. On floor 9, you will find a lady with beds; she will help restore your Pokémon’s strength. Enter the president’s room, and you will get a master ball again. Get out and head left to go to Desert Point.

Desert Point to No Man’s Land

Sandstorms start to blow, and you need to keep going down from there to reach no man’s land. This is where I got my Metagross; you can also try to get a Tyranitar.

Pete’s dad is there also; talk to him, and he will give you a fossil. Move downward, and you will face Light again; he will fight you with a Landorus. His team is in level ’80s, so be careful. After the fight, you will encounter Landorus, who you can try to capture. Now head on over to Inferno Mountain.

Inferno Mountain to Forbidden Lands

You can catch a Tepig here, but I don’t like it, so I didn’t. Follow the path and keep heading down until you see four statues.

Grab the Ruby sitting in the middle; as you try to get out, Vladimir is ready to battle. Get out to the Forbidden Sands, and move along the path to the outpost where you will encounter Kisho, the Gym Leader’s son Kisho, who, after defeating, will give you the HM Strength.

Montage Forretrss

Montage Forretrss

The move deleter is in this town but more importantly, its time to fight the Gym. Before that, you will encounter Kayo, who calls you to Thunder Mountain for a final fight; welp! Time to fight the Gym.

Bruce’Team

  • Metagross         Lvl 88                     Earthquake, Meteor Mash, Dynamic Punch, Signal Beam
  • Probopass         Lvl 88                     Flash Cannon, Earthquake, Stone Edge, Thunderbolt
  • Bastiodon          Lvl 88                     Iron Head, Ancient Power, Earthquake, Body Slam
  • Magnezone       Lvl 88                     Thunder Bolt,Double Team,Flash Cannon,Mirror Coat
  • Bronzong           Lvl 88                     Calm Mind, Stealth Rock, Psychic, Flash Cannon
  • Klinklang           Lvl 89                     Flash Cannon, Signal Beam, Hyper Beam, Automize

Marshtomp and Charizard became my main Pokémon to handle situations like these. I was always just a bit over-leveled for these fights. Magnezone did faint my Charizard, but Torterra picked up the slack, and I won the battle.

Time to head south.

Montage Port and Trilogy Islands

As soon as you enter, you will talk to Misty, who will give you the HM surf. Go down and then leave to reach the islands; follow the path, and you will find Raikou along with Kayo, time for a gauntlet. Keep defeating trainers, and you will see Ash, who is engaged with Misty; she is mind-controlled by Darugis, fight Misty, who has a Suicune. Follow the path and go up the Mountain, where you will see Tarea guarding the path, head inside to meet with Arceus.

Twilight Zone To Dark Rising Head Quarters

This path will lead you to the actual reality of the things you wish to accomplish, and you will also be able to catch Celebi. Follow the route, and the path will take you to Dark rising Headquarters. You will meet Florina, your rival, and Dray.

Learn the truth about Darugis and devise a strategy to face him. Your team has the Ruby and the Sapphire; all they need is the Emerald. The move relearner and Ultimate move tutor who teaches the starter Pokémon moves is here as well, so make use of that. You can also buy the mushrooms needed for this from the Poke Mart.

Huntik Route to Dark Hide Out

Move towards the right and sail out; keep following the path until you see the three legendary beasts. Paul will tell you they wish to help you and then talk to them. With this, you go towards the panel leading to the puzzling hideout. I recommend you explore the area and fight Vladimir for the last time after you’re done.

Pax Town and Dark Lab

Pax Town and Dark Lab

With him gone, now go to Pax Town and explore it; you will find a lot of fun small bits to find. When you’re done, go to the game corner and press A on the poster to enter the Dark Lab. It can be tricky, but try to follow along to obtain the lift key. Go down and then left towards an item which will be an escape rope.

Climb the stairs to get to the next level and go left. Pick the second one to the left and then go down. Go left from that panel and go down; from the stopping floor, pick the first left and go down again to choose the up warp. Move slowly from that area to the one single block pointing up.

Next, go down and pick the first block that pushes you to the right, and you will reach where you need to be. Next to the grunt on the ground, you will see the lift key. Use the Key to head to B4F and talk to Kaiden and Sakura, who are mind controlled by Darugis.

You will find V as a young man sitting on the sofa, and he was re-made by Darugis; defeat him, and he will disappear. He won’t even listen to your plea to turn his children back to normal. Time to make way towards Pinnocle City.

Drosera Fields

Head North East from the city to reach the fields where it will rain. Keep on the path to get to a big house where Dray is pacing back and forth.

He will tell you how Florina has been kidnapped, and your rival has gone after them to save her. As soon as you try to go after Florina, Pete tells you how the police found your HQ, and a fight broke out. Prioritizing things first, you tell Pete to go to the HQ while you go and rescue Florina.

Pinnocle City

Once you enter, you will see that the entire city is under the control of Dark Thugs. I almost started to feel burnout from this many battles, but the story was engaging; thugs will challenge you and Dray. Defeat them, and you can head North, East; this will take you to the Dark Rising headquarters once you have the Emerald. Otherwise, we were going North, West for another gauntlet.

Chaos Path

Get ready to battle trainers and stay on the path, you will need to surf, and when you see two islands, that’s where the fun begins. You will find Tornadus and Thunderus on the islands, and once you talk to them, they will battle you, ready to be captured. Now head westward for the Haunted Forest.

Haunted Forest and Lights Factory

There’s nothing very spooky about this forest other than the fact that it has a lot of Ghost-type Pokémon. In one instance, you will find Florina standing there; when you talk to her, you will encounter a Chandalure. Take Florina back to Dray, who will tell you everything at the HQ is also sorted. Now head back to where you found Florina and go inside the cave, leading you to Lights Factory.

Upon entering the factory, go down and rightwards, following the path to get the TM thunder. Come back to where you were from, follow the way towards the right, and then go up. When you reach a curve in which many stones surround you, you are on the right path; keep following it to reach Light, who is next to an electrical generator.

This is your final fight with him for the Emerald, so get ready because his Pokémon are level 90. Fly back to your HQ and give the Emerald to Sydney, who will then escort you to Millenium city and say goodbye for now. Honestly, I mean, you do so much, and they leave you to do nothing; well time to do what we should be doing, fighting the Gym.

Spirit Tower and the Gym

Spirit Tower and the Gym

Since the Gym isn’t open at this time, let’s head towards the spirit tower to face powerful trainers. Your rival will be waiting for you, and a double battle will start. Time to move up the building while facing every trainer you see. Don’t forget to heal your Pokémon in the blue area wherever you see it; all you need to do is stand on it.

As you move up, you will see a guy with Giratina standing behind him. He is the gym leader Atem and will ask you to weaken Giratina so he can capture it. Now I don’t get that; I mean, come on, I wanted to catch it, don’t waste your master ball on Giratina. Safe to say, I hated Atem afterward, and now you go back to the Gym to challenge him.

You have to answer the questions of the machines to move forward; if you answer wrong, you have to battle. It’s an excellent way to level up, and the answers are super easy, so you’ll be able to solve them. If you can’t, then you’re not a Pokémon fan.

Atem’s Team

  • Spiritomb            Lvl 94                     Shadow Ball, Confuse Ray, Will,o, Wisp, Dark Pulse
  • Cofagrigus          Lvl 95                     Calm Mind, Will,o, wisp, Psychic
  • Sableye                Lvl 93                     Dark Pulse,Recover, Shadow Claw
  • Chandelure         Lvl 95                     Fire Blast,Psychic, Dark Pulse, Shadow Ball
  • Dusknoir             Lvl 94                     Will,o, Wisp,Rock Slide, Brick Break, Earthquake
  • Giratina               Lvl 97                     Dragon Pulse, Shadow Claw, Calm Mind

Go out, and you will meet Sydney, who, thank god, won’t battle you this time. She will take Millennium City. I am still upset that I had to fight against the Giratina that I should’ve caught.

Trident Waters to Poseidon’s Cave

Jump down to the water and follow the path going down to Millennium city. Go towards trident waters; you can get off on an island with fishermen in it and step on the right tide, which will lead you to Poseidon’s Cave. Keep heading up Poseidon’s Cave to find your destination, which is Sydney. Guess what that leads to? A battle. Defeat her and head over to the next place.

Twilight Zone to Twist Woodlands

Go inside the Gym, and you will find Florina and Tarea waiting for you. You will learn that Darugis has now influenced the Gym as well; you will probably need to fight most of the trainers here since Blitz has a Pokémon team with 96-level dragon monsters.

Blitz’s Team

  • Dragonite                 Lvl 96                     Hurricane, Dragon Dance, Superpower
  • Garchomp                 Lvl 96                     Swords Dance,Earthquake, Stone Edge, Brick Break
  • Salamence                Lvl 96                     Double Edge, Hydro Pump,Earthquake, Dragon Dance

Now that the influence of Darugis is gone from the Gym, Blitz asks you to collect the dragon stones from Draco Village. Exit the Gym from the door to reach:

Malice Path to Draco Village

Go down and move towards the pathway, you will be challenged by your rival, but he won’t be that difficult to beat. Meet Dray and Florina, who are waiting for you, and they will let you enter the castle to find the stones, and then you will reach Draco Village.

Go through the village, and you can explore it if you want to; I did. But you need to move towards the valley entrance, defeat the trainers and follow the path to Dragon Valley.

Dragon Valley

Follow the path, and you will reach a boulder which you will have to move by using the Strength HM. Go up and move east, battle the trainers, and you will get to a point where you will see a Shaman. You will keep running into boulders and trainers, power through, and reach an entrance to two ruins. You need to go to the one on the right; otherwise, you will be teleported back to the valley’s opening.

Dragon Fang Veil and Yin/Yang Islands

You will find N just waiting for you there, and he says he’s just there to protect the Unova Dragons. N will battle you to give you the trust and assistance of the dragons. He has a level 99 Zekrom and Reshiram; after you defeat him, move past him, and you will find the Light and Dark stones.

Talk to either of them to get into a battle, the white stone is Reshiram, and the black stone is Zekrom. Both are level 95; you can capture them, so that’s perfect. Use fly to get to Draco Village and prepare yourself for yet another gauntlet. This game keeps coming with so many battles, which is insane.

Malice Courtyard

You will see Dray and Florina waiting for you and follow the path; get ready to fight a lot of Grunts. If you keep moving forward, you will encounter Florina. Don’t pay much attention to her and keep going on, and then you will see Dray. He will be fighting Sydney and battling grunts as well; time to move on.

Finally, the boss of the grunts will take you on, beat him and go to Kayo. Kayo is a good guy; he will give you the go-ahead, and you will finally take on Ash Ketchum for a warm-up. This was one of the most extraordinary moments of the game, but Ash Ketchum for a warm-up battle is just too much. Ash will only use two Pokémon, a Pikachu, and his Ho-oh, who are level 99 and 100, so that’s something.

Pandora’s Box and Malice Dungeons

Enter the cave in front of Ash to reach Pandora’s Box, leading you to a triangle thing. Talk to it, and it will tell you that you are in Darugis’s mind, and finally, The triangles are notes that will reveal the story of how Arceus and Darugis came into being. Keep talking to the triangles and follow the path forward, and you will reach Malice Dungeons.

Everyone in the Malice Dungeon is very high level, and even the Pokémon is almost at level 90. You will find Fiery here, who is mind controlled by Darugis; she also has Pokémon in the 90s. Defeat her and see the Gym leader Typhoon, and after him go to Serena.

Thankfully she won’t battle you, but as soon as you climb the ladder, Vladimir will have his rematch. Then you finally encounter the young V, waiting for you. You will have to fight a few more Gym leaders until you see Pete, who is standing there to teach your Pokémon Double Edge.

Malice Courtyard and Malice Castle

The most important you meet now is Doctor Roy, who will heal your Pokémon because now, you are basically at the Elite four. Time for the most significant battles of the game, buy a lot of revives and full restores because you’ll need them; the first one is Dark Trainer Lust.

Lust’s Team

  • Umbreon          Lvl 98                     Calm Mind, Ice Beam, Psychic, Mean Look
  • Wobbufet         Lvl 98                     Mirror Coat, Cosmic Power, Counter
  • Claydol             Lvl 98                     Calm Mind, Psychic,ThunderBolt, Ice Beam
  • Bronzong          Lvl 98                     Calm Mind, Psychic, Ice Beam, Earthquake
  • Cresselia           Lvl 99                     Calm Mind, Psychic, Ice Beam, Rest

This might be the best time to mention that all of these trainers won’t hesitate to use full restores as well, so time to put on that gameplay hat. The next battler is Wrath.

Wrath’s Team

  • Conkeldurr           Lvl 98                     Swords Dance, Stone Edge, Drain Punch, Earthquake
  • Scrafty                  Lvl 98                     Cosmic power, Drain Punch, Recover, Earthquake
  • Tyranitar               Lvl 98                     Calm Mind, Earthquake, Rock Wrecker
  • Regigas                Lvl 99                     Earthquake, Stone Edge, Hyper Beam
  • Ferrothorn            Lvl 98                     Cosmic Power, Leech Seed, Recover

Time to face Gluttony.

Gluttony’s Team

  • Darmanitan          Lvl 98                     Fire Blast, Psychic, Surf
  • Dusknoir               Lvl 98                     Cosmic Power, Stone Edge,Recover, Earthquake
  • Gengar                 Lvl 98                     Ice Beam, Flamethrower, Shadowball
  • Snorlax                 Lvl 98                     Earthquake, Body Slam, Recover
  • Palkia                    Lvl 99                     Dragon Pulse, Earthquake, Thunderbolt, Hydro Pump

You will see your rival on the floor once you enter the next room, and the one who put him in that condition would be your next opponent, Envy. Time to fight for your friends.

Envy’s Team

  • Hydregion               Lvl 98                     Ice Beam, Dragon Pulse, Hydro Pump
  • Eelektross                Lvl 98                     Surf, Ice Beam ,Thunderbolt ,Flamethrower
  • Dialga                      Lvl 99                     Flash Canon, Flamethrower, Earthquake
  • Haxorus                   Lvl 98                     Earthquake, Stone Edge, Hyper Beam
  • Aerodactyl               Lvl 98                     Iron Head, Rock Wrecker, Brave Bird, Earthquake

Save your game, heal your Pokémon because this is time for the final battle, the end all be all, and the final link Darugis has to the core region; Adrian.

Adrian’s Team

Adrian’s Team
  • Mewtwo               Lvl 99                     Psychic, Calm Mind, Ice Beam
  • Dark Lugia            Lvl 100                   Dark Chaos, Flamethrower, Aeroblast
  • Cresselia               Lvl 99                     Calm Mind, Recover, Psychic
  • Regigas                Lvl 99                     Earthquake, Stone Edge, Hyper Beam, Shadow Claw
  • Dialga                   Lvl 99                     Flash Cannon, Flamethrower, Dragon Pulse, Earthquake
  • Palkia                    Lvl 99                     Thunderbolt, Earthquake, Hydro Pump

This battle was insane, and I mean, every Pokémon is legendary; Dark Lugia’s chaos blast is the most annoying thing ever. It would just end my entire team, and I had such a rough time against him. I finally managed to beat him, and the rest weren’t as hard. I would recommend getting a Pokémon with Toxic just for Dark Lugia.

Darugis then leaves Adrian’s body but tells you he will head towards the Omni region. He has absorbed all the negative energy in the core region, which is only the beginning. You get a call from Florina telling you that the castle is collapsing, and you and your rival both make a break for it.

You say that you failed since your father hasn’t been found and Darugis still has his power but your rival helps you realize how you managed to save the region and that everything was worth it. With that said the first part of the game Pokémon Dark rising comes to a close.

The Location of Legendary Pokémon

After the game ends, you can still always go and try to catch all the legendary Pokémon so here’s a list of all their locations.

  • Aroma Town: Victini can be found in the house given to you by the old man.
  • Desert before Inferno Mountain: that’s where you will find Landorus.
  • Battle Grounds: You can find Shaymin in the battlegrounds after you defeat your mom in a battle.
  • Twilight Zone: This is where you find the mythical and celestial Pokémon Mew, Deoxys, Jirachi, and Celebi.
  • Huntik Route: On the island above Huntik Route you can see the three legendary beasts waiting for you.
  • Chaos Path: Both Tornadus and Thunderous can be found in the area.
  • Spirit Tower: You will find Rayquaza at the top of the Spirit tower and I would recommend you get it since it’s a very cool one.
  • Inferno Mountain: You can find him in the mountain, you need Strength to move the boulder to get to him.
  • Trident Waters (Poseidon’s Cave): Kyogre is in the cave above the waters.
  • Yin/Yang Island: You can capture either Reshiram or Zekrom depending on the stone you choose.

FAQs

Question: How do you trade in Pokémon Dark Rising? What about trade evolutions?

Answer: Trading in these games and trade evolutions have been removed since these games are hacked ROMs. All evolutions are based on leveling up your Pokémon. I believe you might still be able to trade Pokémon if you wanted to by using two emulators, but there is no need to do so since everything is already provided in-game.

Question: Where can I get Dark Rising from?

Answer: The legal problems surrounding hacked ROMs is a bit of a grey area. While you still need your own ROM files to play these games, there are patchers like Lunar IPS that are used to mod and change your valid roms of cartridges into these files. Get your rom from a cartridge onto the system and use the .ips file to patch it and you will have the game. There are many tutorials and also other ways to obtain these files but I won’t talk about that here.

Question: Why is Pokémon Dark Rising hated by some fans of hacked roms?

Answer: Since it is one of the first and most popular Pokémon hacks, it doesn’t hold up against the modern roms which have much better structure and design. Its battling, traversal and unnecessary difficulty are criticized a lot, but I believe that it isn’t deserved since when this game was released, it was a marvel that so much could be done in a rom hack alone. Safe to say it paved the way for all the new hacked ROMs to come and the story still holds up to this day.

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