Wilds of Kanto 2.2.0

Wilds of Kanto v2.2.0

This update focuses on new sprite support, follower improvements, Gen2 compatibility, performance and stability fixes.

• Added PMDCollab / SpriteCollab overworld sprite support

  • New optional sprite style based on PMDCollab assets
  • Native sprite sizes preserved
  • Supports Gen1 + Gen2 Pokémon
  • Added portrait support for Pokémon dialogue
  • Improved sprite positioning / anchor handling
  • Improved walking animation handling for PMDCollab sprites

• Improved Follower interactions

  • Talking to a follower now gives:

    • Ok
    • Ball

  • Selecting Ball recalls that specific follower with the existing Poké Ball animation

  • Manually recalled followers stay removed instead of immediately respawning

  • Generic Pokémon dialogue no longer falls back to [...]; Pokémon now use a short part of their name instead

• Added Poké Center follower behavior

  • Followers return to their Poké Balls when healing begins
  • They automatically return after healing is complete
  • The configured follower count is preserved
  • Uses the existing recall/release animation system

• Restored and improved Poké Ball release / recall animations

  • Followers visually spawn from their Poké Balls
  • Followers visually return to their Poké Balls
  • Fixed Gen1-specific follower presentation regressions

• Improved Gen2 / Gold support

  • Overworld Catching remains fully supported
  • Improved follower compatibility and interaction behavior
  • Improved support for larger / custom overworld sprites
  • Added compatibility work for Gen2 3D / voxel rendering

• Improved Overworld Catching controls

  • Catch and Ball Switch controls can now be changed in the settings
  • Controller / Touch combos can also be configured
  • Existing defaults remain unchanged
  • Catch HUD Size = 0 now completely hides the Catch HUD without disabling catching

• Improved mod compatibility

  • Better compatibility with reordered / expanded Pokédex mods
  • Sprite lookup continues to use stable species identity
  • Improved support for custom sprite providers
  • Existing HG/SS True Size, Poké-Followers and Voxel integrations remain supported

• Additional performance improvements

  • Reduced unnecessary sprite/render work
  • Existing AI / occupancy / voxel optimizations retained
  • Continued cleanup of unnecessary runtime work with multiple overworld Pokémon

• Additional bug fixes and regressions

  • Fixed several Gen1 follower interaction crashes
  • Fixed follower state after battles / map transitions
  • Fixed multiple Gen1 / Gen2 presentation differences
  • Various follower, sprite and compatibility fixes

Note: PMDCollab support is still new and may need some additional sprite-specific polish. Please report Pokémon with incorrect animation, positioning or rendering.

What's Changed

• PMDCollab overworld sprites + independent dialogue portraits by @YoDrehDenSwagAuf in #101
• Bump version to 2.2.0 and credit PMDCollab sprites by @YoDrehDenSwagAuf in #103

Full Changelog: v2.1.9...v2.2.0

Wilds of Kanto 2.1.9

Wilds of Kanto v2.1.9

v2.1.9 focuses on follower interactions, presentation and additional Gen1 / Gen2 compatibility fixes.

Followers

Poké Ball Release / Recall FX

Followers now use a short Poké Ball-style animation when intentionally released or recalled.

Technical follower rebuilds such as map transitions or battle returns remain seamless and do not unnecessarily replay the animation.

Follower Interaction

Talking to a Wilds follower now shows:

• Ok — keep the follower active
• Ball — recall that specific follower

Selecting Ball removes only that follower and plays the recall animation.

Pokémon Interaction Text

Generic Pokémon interactions that previously displayed:

[...]

now use a short fragment based on the Pokémon's name instead.

Examples:

• Pikachu → Pika!
• Charizard → Chari!

Existing scripted or custom dialogue is preserved.

Follower Stability

Improved follower behavior when the selected Pokémon faints.

Wilds now cleanly falls back to the next valid healthy follower while keeping follower selection and presentation synchronized.

Gen2 / (Gold/Silver)

Additional Gen2 compatibility and presentation fixes, including:

• follower lifecycle improvements
• Gold Farfetch'd Pokédex artwork fix
• continued shared follower behavior between Gen1 and Gen2

Gold support remains under active development.

Wild Pokémon Silhouettes

The silhouette option now supports undiscovered Pokémon.

Wild Pokémon can remain silhouetted until they have been caught and registered in the Pokédex.

Other Fixes

• Fixed a Wilds spawn conflict with the scripted Marowak encounter in Pokémon Tower
• Restored Gen1 follower RELEASE / RECALL rendering
• Improved recall ghost handling and Gen1 SpriteRenderer integration

Supported Games

• Pokémon Red
• Pokémon Blue
• Pokémon Yellow
• Pokémon Gold
• Pokémon Silver

Thanks for testing Wilds of Kanto and reporting the remaining Gen1 / Gen2 edge cases.

What's Changed

• Fix follower faint desync, Tower Marowak, Gold Farfetch'd, Undiscovered silhouettes by @YoDrehDenSwagAuf in #93
• Add follower RELEASE / RECALL presentation FX by @YoDrehDenSwagAuf in #94
• Fix Gen1 follower Ball-choice crash by @YoDrehDenSwagAuf in #96
• Restore Gen1 follower Poké Ball presentation FX by @YoDrehDenSwagAuf in #97
• Bump version to 2.1.9 by @YoDrehDenSwagAuf in #98
• Fix stale Gen2/Silver ModTargets test assumptions by @YoDrehDenSwagAuf in #99

Full Changelog: v2.1.8...v2.1.9

Wilds of Kanto 2.1.8

v2.1.8

Small polish and stability update.

• Fixed Gen 2 live-setting stutter after changing Wild Pokémon behavior options.
• Improved follower continuity when crossing town/route boundaries.
• Improved follower spacing and transition behavior.
• Updated and cleaned up the settings documentation/defaults.
• Added the new Overworld Catching Poké Ball throw sprites.
• Additional small compatibility and stability fixes.

Gen 2 support is still considered Beta.

What's Changed

• Reuse shared NO_UPDATE for Wilds trailer update hot path by @YoDrehDenSwagAuf in #86
• Fix Gen1 Catch HUD flicker via single render owner by @YoDrehDenSwagAuf in #89
• Stabilize Gen2 live behaviour toggles and outdoor follower seams by @YoDrehDenSwagAuf in #91
• Replace overworld throw Ball sprites with 22x22 source art by @YoDrehDenSwagAuf in #92

Full Changelog: v2.1.7...v2.1.8

Wilds of Kanto 2.1.7

Wilds of Kanto v2.1.7

This update focuses on Overworld Catching improvements, Gen 2 support, voxel compatibility, and release packaging.

What's New

• Custom Overworld Throw Key Mapping

  • Catch/Throw and Poké Ball switching controls can now be configured.
  • Improved support for keyboard, controller and touch controls.

• Catch HUD Improvements

  • Catch HUD size can now be customized.
  • Set the HUD size to 0 to completely hide it while keeping Overworld Catching active.

• Gen 2 / Pokémon Gold Improvements

  • Further improved Gen 2 compatibility.

• Gen 2 Voxel Support

  • Added/improved compatibility with Gen 2 voxel/3D sprite mods.
  • HG/SS and True Size sprite support has been extended for compatible voxel renderers.

• Mod Compatibility

  • Further improvements for compatibility with other sprite and voxel mods.
  • Existing Gen 1 behavior remains supported.

• Performance

  • Additional optimizations to Wild Pokémon, followers, sprite handling and voxel integration.

• Release / Windows Defender Fix

  • Improved the release packaging process after reports of a possible Microsoft Defender false-positive (Trojan:Script/Wacatac.B!ml).
  • Previous downloads could contain development/build files that are not required to run Wilds.
  • Release ZIPs are now built and validated through the proper packaging pipeline.
  • No antivirus exclusions should be required.

Note

Gen 2 support is still considered Beta. Please report any Gold-specific issues you encounter.

What's Changed

• Configurable Overworld Catch controls (defaults unchanged) by @YoDrehDenSwagAuf in #80
• Stadium2 Voxel True Size billboard compatibility by @YoDrehDenSwagAuf in #82
• Diagnose v2.1.6 Defender Wacatac as a source-archive ZIP by @YoDrehDenSwagAuf in #83
• Bump version to 2.1.7 by @YoDrehDenSwagAuf in #84
• Prepare v2.1.7 release: shorten Ball Switch option label by @YoDrehDenSwagAuf in #85

Full Changelog: v2.1.6...v2.1.7

Wilds of Kanto v2.1.6

Release Notes — v2.1.6

Wilds of Kanto v2.1.6

This update mainly focuses on three things: Gen2 Overworld Catching, better performance, and improved mod compatibility.

Added Overworld Catching for Pokémon Gold / Gen2

Performance improvements

AI decisions are no longer tied directly to render FPS

Reduced unnecessary occupancy rebuilds

Reduced repeated Voxel compatibility checks

Reduced unnecessary sprite resolves / renderer recreation

Lower config lookup and allocation overhead

Overall less redundant work, especially with multiple overworld Pokémon

Improved mod compatibility

Pokémon sprites now use stable species identity instead of assuming the current Pokédex order

Better support for mods that reorder or expand the Pokédex

Unknown/Fakemon species safely fall back to the missing sprite instead of showing the wrong Pokémon

Existing HG/SS, Poké Followers, swimming, True Size and Voxel asset mappings remain unchanged

Additional fixes for followers and overworld Pokémon after battles

Gold support is still considered beta

Known limitation: The green Overworld Catching range preview is still disabled in Voxel modes. Catching itself and the Catch HUD continue to work.

Wilds of Kanto v2.1.5

Updated Wilds for compatibility with the newest Gen1Recomp mod sandbox. Replaced deprecated/direct filesystem access with the supported mod asset APIs.

Wilds of Kanto v2.1.0

v2.1.0 — Gen 2 Beta

Added experimental Pokémon Gold / Gen 2 support

Wild overworld Pokémon now spawn and roam in Gold

Added Gold encounter data integration and random encounter settings

HGSS and Poké Followers/GSC sprites now work in Gen 2, including colored swimming sprites

Added Gen 2 town Pokémon and interactions

Added Player-as-Pokémon and follower support in Gold

Improved Gen1/Gen2 compatibility while keeping Red / Blue / Yellow on their existing path

Bugfix: Poke Followers for Yellow version

Gen 2 support is still in beta, so some map, follower, battle, sprite, or mod-compatibility edge cases may remain. Bug reports are very welcome.

Wilds of Kanto v2.0.1

Voxel Compatibility Update

A few more compatibility improvements are now in place for the new HG/SS Big Sprite system.

Voxel Mods

• Dramatic Shape Voxel Mod

  • Compatible
  • HG/SS currently falls back to the original 16×16 sprites
  • Big HG/SS sprites are not supported there yet

• Battle Art Voxel Fork

  • Now supports HG/SS Big Sprites

• Dramaless Shape Voxel Mod

  • Now supports HG/SS Big Sprites

• PotatoVoxel

  • Now supports HG/SS Big Sprites

The larger HG/SS Pokémon keep their individual sizes in supported Voxel modes instead of being forced back into 16×16.

Dramatic Sky Ride

Dramatic Sky Ride is also supported, but there is currently one known issue:

When swimming, follower Pokémon can disappear instead of following into the water and switching to their swimming sprites.

I'm not sure yet whether this is caused by Wilds of Kanto itself or an interaction with Dramatic Sky Ride. I'll investigate it tomorrow.

Poké Followers / GSC Sprites

When using the Poké Followers / GSC sprite style, everything should continue working normally, including Voxel compatibility and swimming followers.

Performance

If performance is important, PotatoVoxel is probably the best Voxel option to try.

Using the smaller Poké Followers / GSC sprites should also generally be lighter than the larger HG/SS True Size sprites.

Next

Next things I'll be looking into:

• remaining follower issues
• alternative key mappings for Overworld Catching
• Dramatic Sky Ride + Big Sprite compatibility
• the disappearing follower issue while swimming
• Gen 2 compatibility

Wilds of Kanto v2.0.0

Wilds of Kanto v2.0.0

This is a pretty big update. Alongside a lot of bug fixes and smaller improvements, v2.0.0 introduces Overworld Catching, significantly improves the new HGSS sprite system, and includes another round of work on Pokémon Followers.

🎯 Overworld Catching

You can now attempt to catch wild Pokémon directly in the overworld instead of always having to enter a battle first.

The system includes:

• Poké Ball selection directly from your inventory
• A visible throwing/range indicator
• Different Poké Ball types
• Catch chances based on the Pokémon, its level, the selected Ball and other modifiers
• A bonus for approaching and hitting Pokémon from behind
• Ball throw, wobble, breakout and successful catch feedback
• Failed catches can make the Pokémon aggressive and trigger the regular encounter/battle flow
• Poké Balls are actually consumed from your inventory
• A configurable Poké Ball HUD
• The entire system can be enabled or disabled in the settings

Controls

PC / Keyboard

• Hold C to prepare your throw
• Use the charge/range indicator to determine the throw distance
• Release C to throw
• Use the configured Ball-switch controls to cycle through your available Poké Balls

Controller / Mobile

• Overworld Catching uses controller-compatible button combinations so we don't require an additional dedicated mobile button.
• Hold the configured catch/button combination to prepare a throw.
• The directional/button combinations can be used to cycle through your available Poké Balls.

The system is intentionally optional, so you can continue playing with normal encounters if you prefer the classic experience.

Huge shoutout to gamecorner-033. His Overworld Encounters work and Poké Ball catching concept were a big inspiration for finally adding our own version of this mechanic.

✨ HGSS True Size Sprites

The HGSS/PokeMMO sprite option has received a major overhaul.

Pokémon are no longer forced into the same tiny 16×16 visual footprint. They can now use their actual individual HGSS sprite dimensions, meaning Pokémon finally have noticeably different sizes in the overworld.

Small Pokémon look small.

Large Pokémon look large.

And the original HGSS artwork can finally be displayed without destroying all of its detail just to squeeze it into 16×16.

Swimming and levitating presentations have also been adjusted to stay visually consistent with the corresponding HGSS land sprite instead of suddenly changing the apparent size of the Pokémon.

The underlying sprite work also gives us a good foundation for additional generations. Assets for Pokémon beyond Gen 1 are already possible/available in this format, so if we get proper Gen 2 / Gold compatibility working in the future, a large part of the visual groundwork is already there.

🐾 Follower Improvements

The follower system has received another round of fixes, especially for the new variable-size Pokémon.

Large True Size followers should now behave much more naturally instead of:

• teleporting around
• rapidly changing positions
• walking back and forth unnecessarily
• behaving strangely around transitions
• struggling because their visual sprite is much larger than the original 16×16 presentation

The regular Poké Followers / GSC sprite mode should retain its classic behavior and should not be affected by True Size spacing adjustments.

There is still room for further follower polish, so please report anything that still looks wrong.

🧊 Voxel Support

A lot of the groundwork for variable-size Pokémon inside Voxel mode is already prepared on our side.

Unfortunately, as of the latest testing, the Voxel renderer itself does not yet fully support the larger variable-size sprites we need.

For now, Wilds of Kanto therefore keeps the compatible fallback behavior when Voxel mode is active.

As soon as the Voxel side properly supports variable-size sprites, I would love to enable the full HGSS True Size presentation there as well.

If you know about updates regarding this, please let me know!

Also: I honestly lost track of the different Voxel implementations at some point 😅

If you're using one, I'd be interested to know:

• Which Voxel mod are you currently using?
• What are the main differences between them nowadays?
• Which one is actively maintained?
• Which one is your favorite?

🔧 Fixes & Improvements

v2.0.0 also contains a number of smaller fixes and compatibility improvements across:

• Overworld Pokémon
• Followers
• Water Pokémon
• Sprite selection
• HGSS sprite rendering
• Variable-size sprites
• Mod settings
• Overworld Catching
• Controller/mobile controls
• Mod compatibility

Please keep reporting bugs and weird interactions with other mods.

There is definitely still plenty of room for improvements, additional features and better compatibility with the rest of the Gen1Recomp mod ecosystem.

Screens

❤️ Credits

Huge thanks to everyone who has helped with Wilds of Kanto.

Special shoutouts to:

• TRW — for all the sprite work, fixes, testing, continued improvements, for the collaboration, work and a lot of help
• gamecorner-033 — for the original PokéPC / Overworld Encounters ideas and especially the inspiration behind overworld catching
• Everyone reporting bugs, testing builds, opening PRs and suggesting increasingly ridiculous things for us to add

Thank you for continuing to test and improve the mod with us.

Wilds of Kanto v2.0.0

Wilds of Kanto v1.12.2

Wilds of Kanto 1.12.2

Another round of fixes, polish and improvements to make the overworld and follower experience more reliable.

What's new

• Added Encounter Silhouettes for wild overworld Pokémon
• Improved silhouette handling across land, caves and water encounters
• Improved sprite shading across the different game color modes
• Better luminance handling for blue and light-colored Pokémon
• Removed the need for hundreds of duplicate grayscale sprite assets
• Improved Yellow follower behavior when entering and leaving buildings
• Followers now recover and reform their trail more reliably after map transitions
• Fixed several cases where followers could become stuck behind buildings or at entry points
• Improved follower spawning and positioning after warps and door transitions
• Fixed Yellow party follower selection affecting party order
• Improved overworld Pokémon contact battles
• Added Wilds AI toggle directly to the Wilds of Kanto options
• Various smaller fixes, cleanup and compatibility improvements

Credits

Huge thanks again to TRW / TheRhysWyrill for the continued sprite work, fixes, testing and improvements.

Also thanks to gamecorner-033 for the original PokéPC / overworld follower concepts and related work.

And thanks to everyone reporting bugs and testing the mod — especially when it comes to issues caused by different combinations of mods. It helps a lot!