Pokemon Tourmaline (v1.0.4) GBA Rom Hack

Pokemon Tourmaline is a Completed GBA Rom Hack made by tdilos. Discover a new region with unique Fakemons, a fresh storyline, new characters, 2 new types, 60 new moves, and 20 new abilities.

Pokemon Tourmaline Completed GBA Rom Hack

Author: tdilos
Hack Off: Emerald
Language: English
Latest Version: v1.0.4
Last Updated: November 04, 2025

Description

Pokemon Tourmaline is a Completed GBA ROM Hack of and loose sequel to Pokemon Emerald. This game is intended to take place in an alternate timeline where the setting and events have diverged a bit from the official games. Most notably, some mechanics from later gens are absent while others have been reworked, and a number of new mechanics have been introduced.

Story

It’s been several years since the battle of Groudon and Kyogre wrought havoc on the Hoenn region. Humanity’s understanding of Pokemon has deepened as more discoveries are made about the origins of Pokemon. A recent surge of discoveries in the nearby Issho region has drawn researchers from all over the world, including May, now an assistant Pokemon professor. After receiving a Pokemon from her, the player sets out to investigate the reports coming from all over the Issho region of new species of Pokemon, new types of Pokemon, and even more strange phenomena. Meanwhile, a new threat is on the rise in Issho, a mysterious crime syndicate who use exceptionally powerful Pokemon.

Features

Original story, characters, and region
Return of many old characters
A custom regional Pokedex with 386 Pokemon
New regional forms of Pokemon from gens 5-8
There is no Mega Evolution, but some Megas have returned as natural evolutions
A small number of additional fakemon, including some SpaceWorld designs
Updated type chart including Fairy type and a new type, Echo, designed to counter Fairies and Ghosts
4 new status conditions
2 new weather types
Over 60 new moves and over 20 new abilities
Buffs to some old Pokemon, moves, and abilities
Other aspects of the battle system have been updated to gen 8 standards unless otherwise noted
A custom set of over 100 TMs and HMs
A large number of other moves available through move tutors
Return of old features like the day/night cycle, headbutt trees, and daily events
Various changes to the UI to create a unique experience
Minor QoL features including faster text, Repel prompts, increased bag size, and menu looping

Change Log

v1.0.4

This update fixes a handful of bugs and makes some progress on restoring sanity to the AI. Also made some movepool adjustments based on player feedback.

Fixed terrains freezing the game and restored terrains in boss fights.
It’s now possible to complete the “Diamond in the Rough” sidequest.
Made some improvements to the AI.
Genie roamers now try to flee if they can.
Genie battles now have a unique theme.
Changed victory theme for Team Genesis trainers.
Removed victory theme after entity battles.
Revised the learnsets of some fakemon.
For balance reasons, Steelix can no longer learn Shield Strike.
Chespin and its evos can now learn Bullet Seed.
Popplio and its evos can now learn Dive.
Reduced Pollenspray’s base power from 60 to 40.
Fixed Dragon Darts hitting more than twice.
Fixed a glitched warp in the northern half of Scarlet Woods.
Fixed a visual bug when using the PC in the player’s room.
Fixed back sprites for Jumbao and Omendenz.
Fixed various tile/collision errors.

v1.0.3 – Bug Fix Update

Creator Note: Another round of bugfixes. I’m still working on the AI, but I’ve disabled terrains in all boss fights for now since that seemed to be what was causing the mid-battle game freezes. If you’re still experiencing mid-battle freezes in v1.0.3 and under what circumstances. Keep in mind that excessive emulator speed-up has been known to cause these as well.

On another note, some people wanted to know ahead of time what Pokemon were available in the main game, so I’ve included a list of the complete Issho dex in the zip file.

Temporarily disabled terrains in certain boss fights (see above).
Some people were reportedly still experiencing the party overwrite glitch in the Vert/Violet tag battles. I couldn’t reproduce this myself, but I found something that might have been causing it. Hopefully this fixes it once and for all.
Added a PC to Burgundy Town, so the player doesn’t get stuck without a Fly mon.
Gym leaders now state the correct level cap on Hardcore and Insane.
Magneton and Nosepass now evolve when leveled up in the Underground City.
It was previously impossible to evolve Mantyke since Remoraid is not in the Issho dex. You can now evolve it with a Zephyr Stone.
Removed starters from Wonder Trade pool (don’t worry, there will be another way to obtain them!).
Replaced Hammer Arm with Spirit Break in I-Emboar’s level up learnset.
Removed exp boost for traded Pokemon.
Revised more Magnet Rise puzzles.
Fixed potential softlock on Route 92.
Fixed game crashes in Dusk Mountain (the culprit was a certain object event with a missing graphics pointer).
Fixed tile errors related to Strength switches in Victory Road.
Fixed various other tile/collision errors.

v1.0.2

Removed electric terrain from the 2nd Elite Four battle, hopefully this might mitigate game freeze issues there.
Fixed glitches related to sidequests in Wisteria City. If you attempted the quests before without completing them, you’ll see weird messages like “X can’t use Quick Attack due to the Taunt” in subsequent battles and possible game crashes. Attempting the quest one more time on this version should fix this for you.
The sidequest “Pure Power” is now possible to complete.
There is now a running mode in the options menu (set to HOLD by default).
Roar in the Houndoom battles was causing party menu issues, so I’ve removed it from Houndoom’s level up learnset.
For balance reasons, only fully evolved fossilmons can learn Paleo Wave now (NFE fossilmons will still fulfill the requirement to unlock the tutor).
For balance reasons, reduced the vitamin rewards for certain sidequests from 50 to 20.
Lowered evolution levels for I-Deino/I-Dreepy families, see the new evolution guide.
I-Deino now learns Dazzling Gleam by level up.
Added missing pokedex data for Fawnifer family.
Added secret area to Shamrock Isle.
Added some other incomplete postgame areas + missing items.
Revised some Strength/Magnet Rise puzzles.
Fixed persistent wild double battle glitch after battling e.g. Twins.
Fixed weird reflection glitches in certain caves.
Fixed game crash triggered in the north cave of Dusk Mountain.
Fixed daycare man placement glitch.
Fixed text glitch in RangerHQ after receiving the Eon Ticket.
Fixed potential softlock in Quartz Cave.
Fixed potential softlock on Route 98.
Fixed warp arrow glitches on some Dive maps.
Fixed various other tile/collision errors.

v1.0.1

There isn’t enough bag space for all the TMs/HMs, so the player can now deposit TMs (but not HMs) in the PC.
Fixed the party overwrite glitch after the Vert/Violet tag battles
Fixed Fly location glitch, you can now fly to Ever Grande City (if you already beat the league and are carrying over an old save file, you’ll have to take the long way to Ever Grande City one more time)
Fixed glitch causing some objects to disappear in the overworld
Removed “gates” around Pitchblak City which were a temporary fix to the above
Disabled saving in Mirage Palace to fix a glitch with the step counter
Changed Breeder Master sidequest to require 15 eggs
Changed Chef sidequest to require 10 Big Mushrooms
Atroceon can now learn Draco Meteor
Fixed Nephtomb’s back sprite
Fixed warp glitch in escalator in Xanthos City PokeCenter
Fixed potential softlock with burglar in Power Station
Fixed potential softlock with joggers on Route 98
Fixed potential softlock in Mt Shiro basement
Fixed potential softlock in Sunken Isle
Fixed potential softlock on Route 68
Fixed potential softlock in water currents on Route 100
Fixed Jace encounter glitch in Wisteria City
Fixed Rock Smash glitch in Dusk Mountain
Fixed bugged dive areas in Victory Road
Fixed typo in Vibrate move description
Fixed berry tags for new berries
Fixed exp distribution glitch
Other misc tile/colission errors

v1.0.0 hotfix

Some of the Dive areas were bugged. You can now access Sunken Isle.
You can now change the nicknames of traded Pokemon.

v1.0.0

Added a new Karma feature (see the FAQ in the pokecommunity thread for an explanation).
Added Wonder Trading to the 2nd floor of PokeCenters.
Added the Game Corner to Turquoise City.
Added new sprites for Vert.
Updated the region map to include Ever Grande City.
Added missing Pokedex pages for some of the Isshoan forms.
Fixed glitch causing Potion-like items to heal some status conditions.
Fixed speed up glitch causing battles to freeze after learning a new move.
Fixed various tile/collision errors.

v0.2.2

Hotfix for the last update. There was a glitch that would freeze the game when throwing pokeballs on speeds above x1. For now, I’ve changed the catch sequences to always run at normal speed ^{(v0.2.2-Hotfix)}
Added battle speed up to the Options menu (credit to Pokabbie)
Increased text speed in battle
R button in battle now flees immediately instead of moving the cursor to ‘RUN’
The DAZ status now has a 20% chance of wearing off at the end of each turn
Added new quests to Amber City and Cobalt City
Berry Master now shows up in Cobalt City every Sunday
Some improvements to trainer AI and parties
Fixed glitch with the Houndoom battles near Cinerous Tower, they now always use the player’s first 3 pokemon
Fixed Jace glitch in Amber City
Fixed graphics glitch with gate in Cinerous Town
Fixed various typos and grammar mistakes

Version 0.2.0

Added many new maps
Added option to nickname starter in Hazel’s Lab
Added weekday-based events
Added an Unbound-style quest menu
Added hidden grottos
HM moves can now be forgotten like ordinary moves
Pokemon caught in Dream Balls now have their hidden abilities
Medicine items can now be used repeatedly in the party menu just like in the newer games
Gym guides now give out fresh water and type gems
Changes/updates to various NPC teams
Fixed warp glitch between Meridia/Aurora temples
Fixed other minor issues with old maps/events

Version 0.1.2

Echo type now resists Flying instead of Steel. The type quiz in Xanthos Library has been updated too.
Fixed difficulty modes not working properly. They should now work as described in the README.
Fixed level caps not working properly. Pokemon at or above the level cap no longer gain EXP.
Fixed issues with EXP not being distributed correctly between two or more Pokemon.
Fixed glitch causing the player to sometimes respawn in the wrong city after whiting out.
Added PC script to the player’s bedroom.
First TV swarm is now randomized, previously it was always Gulpin.
Hazel now gives the player an Exp Share instead of an Itemfinder.
Increased wild Pokemon levels around Cobalt City.
The gift Eevee now has its hidden ability.
Added unique badge icons to the player’s trainer card.
Fixed Jace/May overworld glitches.
Fixed glitch causing the player to battle themselves in Cinerous Town
Fixed nighttime palette glitches in Cobalt City.
Fixed minor glitch in the May event in Cobalt City.
Fixed the Strength puzzles in the temples, they were previously unsolvable.
Fixed minor graphics glitch in Resound’s final turn animation.
Fixed various typos/grammar.
Miscellaneous fixes to overworld tile errors.
Minor updates to trainer AI and movesets.

Known Issues v1.0.4

EMULATOR SPEEDUP: This has a tendency to glitch the game in unpredictable ways. Use it sparingly and save often if you do.
BAD EGGS IN PC: This happened to me once (invisible sprite in Box 3) and I’m not sure what caused it. Trying to access its summary screen crashes the game, so avoid that if it happens to you. Everything else in the PC box should still work normally.
TAG BATTLE GLITCH: Sometimes these will be strange colors instead of the correct yellow shade. Entering and exiting a building fixes this for now.
DOUBLE BATTLE GLITCH: After fighting a double battle trainer (e.g. Twins), during wild battles, the player will send out two Pokemon as if it were a double battle. These battles otherwise seem to behave normally. The player can even catch the wild Pokemon without issue. Fighting a single battle trainer fixes this issue. This glitch does NOT happen after fighting a double battle against two separate trainers.
TAG BATTLE GLITCH: When teaming up with Vert/Violet, the player’s party can sometimes get mixed up with the OPC’s. In the worst case, this can result in the player’s Pokemon getting overwritten. I’m still looking for a fix to this, so make sure you save before these battles.
POKEDEX GLITCH #1: The Pokedex pages for new regional forms don’t show the correct sprites. The player may see the base form or a question mark instead.
POKEDEX GLITCH #2: Some new Pokemon show the wrong Pokedex page when they’re first caught. Checking the Pokedex after catching them will show the correct page.
STATUS BAR GLITCH: Enemy status bars sometimes show the wrong color for status conditions. For example, the BRN symbol may be black instead of the correct red color. This is a minor graphics glitch that I haven’t found a fix for yet. It doesn’t affect anything else and it often fixes itself, so just ignore it.
WINDOWS AT NIGHT: Sometimes these will be strange colors instead of the correct yellow shade. Entering and exiting a building fixes this for now.