Pokemon Conquest: Ultimate

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About the Game

Pokemon Conquest: Ultimate is a Nintendo DS ROM hack based on Pokémon Conquest. The project keeps the tactical grid-based battles and Ransei setting from the original game, but changes a large part of its roster and battle balance. You get 200 fully evolved Pokémon, including 150 new additions from later generations and regional forms.

⚔️ Ransei Still Uses Tactical Battles

Your battles take place on grid-based maps. You control Warriors and their Pokémon as separate units across the battlefield. Your decisions include:

Choosing where each Warrior moves.
Selecting the right Pokémon for each battle.
Using terrain to your advantage.
Checking attack range.
Managing Warrior Skills.
Protecting important units.
Taking control of enemy kingdoms.

Positioning matters because Pokémon have different movement ranges and attacks. Some attacks cover more than one battlefield position, while others work best against a single target.

🧬 200 Fully Evolved Pokémon

One of the biggest changes comes from the Pokémon roster. Pokemon Conquest: Ultimate removes the focus on LC and NFE Pokémon and uses a roster of 200 fully evolved Pokémon. The project documentation lists 150 new Pokémon and 50 returning Pokémon.

You can encounter Pokémon from newer generations alongside species from the original Conquest roster.

The expanded selection includes:

Generation 1 through Generation 9 Pokémon.
Regional forms.
New type combinations.
Rebalanced statistics.
Revised abilities.
New moves.

👑 Every Warrior Has a Perfect Link

Perfect Links are an important part of Pokémon Conquest. They provide stronger connections between specific Warriors and Pokémon. Ultimate gives all 200 Warriors a unique Perfect Link.

💥 Moves and Abilities Get Major Changes

The hack contains almost 100 new moves, along with changes to existing attacks. Many Pokémon receive moves that match their identity. Examples documented by the project include:

Walrein — Ice Ball
Metagross — Meteor Mash
Charizard — Flamethrower

Abilities and base stats also receive changes. Several Pokémon get new typings or improved statistics. Eight Pokémon are documented as having new type combinations.

🧠 Warrior Skills Require Better Timing

Warrior Skills work differently from the original game. Most skills in Ultimate last for one turn instead of remaining active for several turns. You therefore need to decide when a skill has the greatest value.

A good time to use a skill may depend on:

Your current position.
Enemy placement.
The Pokémon involved.
Remaining HP.
The next attack opportunity.
The objective of the battle.

🦊 Pick Your Eeveelution

The beginning of The Legend of Ransei receives an important change. Your Hero starts with access to all seven Eeveelutions. After the first tutorial battle, you can choose which Eeveelution you want to use.

The project documentation recommends sticking with your selected choice because changing it repeatedly can leave the replacement Pokémon behind in Link percentage.

🗺️ Battlefields Receive Changes

The changes are not limited to Pokémon data. Several battlefields have been edited as part of the project. Locations such as Illusio and Valora received map work during development.

Later updates also fixed map-related problems. One documented issue involved Kanetsugu's Starmie moving outside the intended area during the first Illusio invasion in The Legend of Ransei.

📖 Is There a New Story?

Pokemon Conquest: Ultimate does not replace the original story with a completely new campaign.

You still experience the Legend of Ransei and the other story episodes from Pokémon Conquest.

The major changes concern:

Pokémon rosters.
Enemy teams.
Warrior Perfect Links.
Warrior Skills.
Warlord Pokémon.
Moves.
Abilities.
Battle balance.
Selected maps.

So, Ultimate is best described as a large gameplay overhaul of Pokémon Conquest, rather than a new story-driven ROM hack.

🔥 A Higher Difficulty Level

Ultimate has a much harder balance than the original game. The difficulty comes from several changes at once:

Fully evolved Pokémon appear throughout the game.
Enemy teams receive stronger options.
Pokémon statistics have been reworked.
Moves and abilities have been changed.
Warrior Skills work differently.
Post-game battles receive stronger teams.

The project documentation recommends playing without items for the intended maximum-difficulty experience.

🏰 The Post-Game Has More Team Variety

The additional stories remain part of the game, but their Pokémon rosters have changed. You can encounter different teams, new Perfect Links, and special Warlord Pokémon during these episodes.

The basic structure of the original side stories remains. The main difference comes from the new tactical possibilities created by Ultimate's roster and balance changes.