Pokémon ROM hacks with Mega Evolution: every one worth playing (2026)

Ten ROM hacks really have Mega Evolution. If you want the most Megas, play SoulGold. If you want Megas in a long new-region story, play Unbound.

A lot of “Mega hacks” lists pad themselves out with Gen 2 and DS hacks that can’t run Megas at all. Those are at the bottom so you don’t waste a download on one.

I’ve finished SoulGold (v1.2.1, postgame included) and Unbound, and I’m partway through Gaia and Lazarus. I haven’t finished the rest.

Every hack with Megas at a glance

Hack	Base game	How you get Megas	Custom Megas	Difficulty
SoulGold	Emerald (pokeemerald-expansion)	Mega Ring from Prof. Oak after the Goldenrod Rocket takeover; 18 type-generic stones in item balls, Bondstone from Elm after badge 8	Yes: Typhlosion, Meowscarada, Primarina, plus Z-style and Gigantamax-derived Megas	Normal or Hard mode, level caps per badge
Unbound	FireRed (CFRU)	Unlocks after beating Successor Maxima in Tarmigan Mansion; 49 Mega Stones from item balls, Mega trainers, the Magnolia Café and Cube Corp	No	Hard by default (Difficult); Easy to Insane
Radical Red	FireRed (CFRU/DPE)	Stones from overworld pickups, gym leader rematches and challenges, and NPCs; some only after the Mega Ring	Yes: 17 Megas not in the main games	Very hard; Hardcore mode is harder
Gaia	FireRed	Mega Stones hidden across Orbtus; item-location doc lists them	No (Gen 6 Megas only)	Vanilla+
Lazarus	Emerald	Not stated	Yes: six new Megas in v2.0	Vanilla+ to Hard (level caps on by default)
Inclement Emerald	Emerald (decomp)	Stone locations in the bundled docs; some trainers Mega Evolve	Yes: Milotic, Flygon, ex-Gigantamax forms	Hard on Normal; Hard and Challenge modes above that
Elite Redux	Emerald (via Inclement Emerald)	Every Mega Stone before Norman, the fifth gym	Yes (inherits Inclement Emerald’s)	Very hard; Easy mode is still Hard
Quetzal	Emerald	Not stated	Not reported	Five levels, Very Easy to Very Hard
Run & Bun	Emerald	Yes; stone locations not confirmed	Not reported	Kaizo; hard level caps
Glazed	Emerald (binary)	Mega Stone used like an evolution stone; permanent, not in-battle	No	Vanilla+

Pokémon SoulGold (Emerald)

Play this if you want every Mega there is. It’s also the only Johto hack with Megas.

There are 118 Mega forms:

• The Gen 6 and ORAS set
• Legends Z-A style Megas, like Meganium, Feraligatr, Dragonite and Greninja
• Pokémon Champions Z forms: Mega Lucario Z, Garchomp Z, Absol Z, Gardevoir Z, Raichu X and Y
• Gigantamax forms turned into Megas, like Snorlax, Lapras, Corviknight and Rillaboom

You don’t collect one stone per species. There are 18 stones, one per type (Normalite, Firetite, Watertite and so on), and each works for every Mega of that type. Dragotite covers Mega Charizard X, Salamence, Latios and Garchomp Z. Firetite covers Mega Charizard Y, Camerupt, Heatran and Cinderace.

Every stone is in an item ball in Johto. Grasstite is in Deep Ilex Forest, Darktite on Rocket Hideout B3F, Steeltite on Victory Road B1F. Fairytite is a gift at Mr. Pokémon’s house on Route 30. I checked every item ball like a kid on an egg hunt.

Prof. Oak gives you the Mega Ring after Team Rocket takes over Goldenrod, so you’re Mega Evolving from the Radio Tower on. Rayquaza needs no stone, just Dragon Ascent. That Radio Tower moment is still the best power spike I’ve had in a ROM hack.

Three starters finally get Megas:

• Typhlosion Mega Typhlosion: Fire/Ground, Drought, 149 Special Attack, 120 Speed
• Meowscarada Mega Meowscarada: Grass/Dark, Protean, 140 Attack, 140 Speed
• Primarina Mega Primarina: Water/Fairy, 134 Defense, 128 Special Defense

All three use the Bondstone, which Prof. Elm gives you after badge 8, so your starter Mega shows up late. Mega Typhlosion carried my Elite Four run on Hard. Drought plus Eruption kills most leads before they move.

There are no Z-Moves and no Dynamax, but the Gem Merchant in the Indigo Plateau Pokémon Center sells all 18 type Gems.

Raichu Y and Gardevoir Z use the Bondstone too, so you can’t run two Bondstone Megas at once. Every stone location is in my SoulGold Mega guide.

Pokémon Unbound (FireRed)

Play this if you want Megas inside a long, polished story. Megas, Z-Moves and Dynamax raids all run together here.

Megas unlock after you beat Successor Maxima in Tarmigan Mansion, and there are 49 stones to find. The important ones are in these places. My heart jumped the first time I saw a Mega trainer on a route:

• Your starter’s stone (Garchompite, Metagrossite or Tyranitarite) is in Shadow Base 1F. The other two come from the postgame mission Portal Purge.
• Plenty of stones are prizes from Mega trainers on routes, like Alakazite from Timothy on Route 11.
• Kanto starter stones come from Magnolia Café trainers on a weekly rotation.
• Hoenn starter stones get made at Cube Corp in the postgame.

There are no custom Megas. On Insane, a Beldum starter finds a Focus Sash in Shadow Base instead of Metagrossite, so don’t count on Mega Metagross early. If I ever do an Insane run, I’m taking Gible for exactly this reason.

Pokémon Radical Red (FireRed)

Play this if you already know competitive singles. It’s a difficulty hack first and a Mega hack second.

It runs on the same CFRU and DPE engine as Unbound, so you get Megas, Z-Moves and Dynamax raids. It also has 17 custom Megas you won’t find in the main games, mostly for Pokémon that had Gigantamax forms, like Snorlax, Lapras and Copperajah.

Mega Stones are spread across Kanto. You find some on the overworld, earn some from gym leader rematches and challenges, and get others from NPCs. Several only show up after you have the Mega Ring. I want to play it badly, but I’m waiting until I’ve got a free month and a lot of patience.

Hardcore mode and Minimal Grinding Mode (perfect IVs, no EVs) sit on top. Some emulators are blocked on purpose, and if you use cheats nobody will take your bug report. I haven’t finished it.

Pokémon Gaia (FireRed)

Play this for real in-battle Megas in a region that feels like an official game, at a vanilla-plus difficulty.

Mega Stones are hidden all over Orbtus, and the item-location document linked in the thread lists every one. You only get the official Gen 6 Megas. No custom forms, no Z-Moves, no Dynamax. I’m partway through and haven’t needed to grind once. Finding a Mega Stone tucked in a corner of Orbtus is the little hit that keeps me going.

Beta 3.2 (November 2018) is the last release. There’s no postgame and v4 never shipped. Early betas had abilities not activating on Mega Evolution and a missing Mega Lopunny sprite, and both got fixed later.

Pokémon Lazarus (Emerald)

Play this for custom Megas that were built for balance, not flash.

It’s by the Emerald Seaglass author, with Greek-myth “Mythic” forms on top of the Megas. Version 2.0 added six new ones: original designs for Typhlosion, Carracosta, Aurorus and Tyrantrum, plus Mega Crabominable and Mega Golisopod. It also rebalanced the old ones. Mega Golisopod is the one I’m most excited to finally use. Its Mega Typhlosion is a different design from SoulGold’s, with different stats.

You get GBC-style art, modern mechanics and a story that runs about 20 to 25 hours for most people. My run feels like it’s landing about there. Level caps are on by default, and 2.0 lets you switch them off. I’m partway through and still can’t tell you where the stones or the Key Stone are, so keep the PDF that comes with the game open.

Pokémon Inclement Emerald (Emerald)

Play this for a hard but fair Hoenn where Milotic and Flygon finally get Megas.

It’s a Drayano-style decomp hack with Megas but no Z-Moves or Dynamax. Milotic and Flygon have custom sprites and cries, and some Gigantamax forms come back as Megas. Some trainers Mega Evolve against you, so watch for it. Mega Milotic is the reason it’s high on my to-play list. The patch comes with a list of where every stone is.

Level caps are enforced since v1.3. Pick Normal, Hard (trainers have EVs) or Challenge (no bag, no Shift). The Battle Frontier and Trainer Hill are locked, and 1.0 saves don’t work on 2.0 and later. I haven’t finished it.

Pokémon Elite Redux (Emerald)

Play this if you want every Mega Stone early and a fight that will beat you on the first trainer.

It’s built on Inclement Emerald with permission, so it keeps those custom Megas (Milotic, Flygon, the ex-Gigantamax Kingler). Some Megas let you pick from three abilities. You have every Mega Stone before Norman, the fifth gym, which is the earliest full Mega access on this list. That sounds like a dream to me, right up until I read how hard it is.

Every Pokémon gets up to three switchable abilities and three innates, and the AI runs full competitive teams. On Elite, the first trainer can beat you. Set style is forced, and you can lower the difficulty at a Pokémon Center but never raise it again. I haven’t finished it.

Pokémon Quetzal (Emerald)

Play this with friends. It has every gimmick at once and one-to-four-player co-op.

You get Mega Evolution, Z-Moves, Dynamax, Gigantamax and Terastallization, all usable in co-op, and Mega forms can follow you around. It’s the one I keep pitching to friends for a co-op weekend. There are three full regions (Kanto, Johto, Hoenn) with Pokémon from Gen 1 to Gen 9.

It’s still on version 0.x, and I couldn’t find a creator-run page. I also can’t tell you where the stones or the Key Stone come from. I haven’t finished it.

Pokémon Run & Bun (Emerald)

Only play this if you already run damage calcs for fun. It’s the hardest Emerald hack Nuzlockers talk about.

There are about 500 custom battles with trainer teams built to work together. It has Megas and Pokémon up to Gen 8, but I can’t tell you where the stones are. Level caps are hard: you stop gaining EXP at the cap, and only a few Rare Candies get you past it. EVs are gone and an NPC sets your IVs, natures and moves, so Megas are part of your plan, not a reward.

It’s inspired by Emerald Kaizo and Radical Red, and under Nuzlocke rules it’s close to impossible. Every Run & Bun clear I’ve seen posted gets treated like a moon landing. I haven’t finished it.

Pokémon Glazed (Emerald, a Mega in name only)

Play this for an old-school three-region hack, as long as cosmetic Megas are fine with you.

Glazed shows up on every Mega list, but its Megas don’t happen in battle. You use the Mega Stone on the Pokémon like an evolution stone. It stays Mega for good, can learn moves, and changes back if you use the stone again. There’s no Key Stone at all. I’ll admit the idea of a Mega that never turns back has a goofy charm.

You get three regions (Tunod, Johto, Rankor) with modern Pokémon. The original thread is gone, and 8.5.1 is the last real hotfix. Any 9.x build you see floating around is unofficial. I haven’t finished it.

Hacks that do not have Megas, despite what lists say

These keep showing up on Mega lists. They don’t have Megas, and most of them can’t.

• Heart & Soul: 2.0 added abilities and items up to Gen 9 and moved to pokeemerald-expansion, but no Megas. People mix it up with SoulGold all the time. I did too, once, before I’d played either.
• Polished Crystal, Crystal Clear, Crystal Legacy, Fool’s Gold, Prism: Game Boy Color hacks on the Crystal engine. No Megas.
• Sacred Gold, Storm Silver, Renegade Platinum, Blaze Black 2 Redux, Volt White 2 Redux: DS hacks on Gen 4 and Gen 5 engines. No Megas. Sacred Gold doesn’t even have Fairy type without an unofficial mod.
• Liquid Crystal, Light Platinum, Fire Red Omega, Rocket Edition, Emerald Kaizo: older binary hacks with no Megas. Emerald Kaizo doesn’t even have the physical/special split or Fairy type.
• Infinite Fusion: a PC fan game, not a ROM hack. Fusion is the gimmick, not Megas.
• Clover, Odyssey, Sors, Adventure Red Chapter, Emerald Seaglass: I found no sign of Megas in any of these. Call them “probably not”.
• Emerald Rogue: the vanilla build has no Megas. The EX build does, once you have the Mega Ring, and Z-Moves, Dynamax and Tera each have their own key item there.

Why the engine matters more than the hack

If you want to know whether a hack can have Megas, check the engine first. Learning this saved me from a lot of disappointing patch notes.

• Complete FireRed Upgrade (Unbound, Radical Red): in-battle Megas, Z-Moves and Dynamax in one package, with Gen 6 style stones.
• pokeemerald-expansion (SoulGold, Inclement Emerald, Elite Redux, Quetzal): Megas come with the engine, and the source is editable, so creators add custom Megas, change how stones work, or let a Mega pick its ability.
• Older binary hacks: done by hand. Gaia pulled off real in-battle Megas on FireRed. Glazed settled for a permanent stone form.
• Crystal or DS engines: no way to get Megas at all.

Picked one? For SoulGold, start with the Mega Stone locations so you know what’s coming.