Pokémon Ash Gray lets you play through Ash Ketchum’s journey from the original anime, starting in Pallet Town with Pikachu. Built on Pokémon FireRed, this ROM hack recreates familiar characters, battles and story moments from the show.
It isn’t a ready-to-play ROM. You apply a small patch to your own copy of FireRed, and the steps below take a few minutes. It’s also unfinished: the story stops partway through the Orange Islands.
Pokémon Ash Gray download
| Game | Pokémon Ash Gray, by metapod23 |
| Original version | Beta 4.5.3 |
| Available patch | Unofficial community bug-fix (updated July 2, 2026) |
| Base ROM | Pokémon FireRed (USA) Rev 0 |
The button opens the community patch repository on GitHub, where you choose your file. Direct file pages: BPS or IPS. Either works, just use one.
metapod23’s own download links have been removed, which is why the community patch is the one to use. The original thread is still up for history and credit. You’ll need to supply your own FireRed Rev 0 file, and the install steps below explain how to check it.
About Pokémon Ash Gray
metapod23 opened the thread in May 2009 with a fan’s wish: play through the anime with Ash’s actual lineup. The story follows the show’s episodes instead of FireRed’s script, so you oversleep, miss out on a starter and walk out of Oak’s lab with a very stubborn Pikachu. Gary struts around with the best starter, Misty turns up by the water and Team Rocket drops in with the motto right on schedule.
It follows the show even where that should annoy you. Pikachu doesn’t trail behind you the way it does in Yellow. Brock’s first gym fight is scripted as a loss even if you win, and Pikachu flatly refuses to battle Misty. That’s the anime all over, and it’s a big part of why the hack is so memorable. It’s also the opposite of Pokémon Ultra Violet, where you can catch every Gen 1–3 Pokémon on one save; here you catch what Ash catches.
Main features
- You are Ash. You catch what he catches, and carrying his team can trigger special events and items.
- Story by episode. It runs from Pallet Town through Kanto and partway into the Orange Islands.
- Tools instead of HMs. A hatchet replaces Cut, a raft replaces Surf, a pickaxe replaces Rock Smash and a Computer Teleport System replaces Fly. A Climb Kit and a Whirlpuller are new.
- A stubborn Charizard. Once your Charmander evolves it may ignore you, and that’s the plot talking.
- A FireRed feel. Battles keep FireRed’s familiar layout.
- Community bug fixes. The patch fixes known problems such as missing running shoes and an Indigo Plateau guard who won’t let you in.
More from the game
The creator’s episode list reads like a tour of the series: Pokémon, I Choose You, The Water Flowers of Cerulean City, Bye Bye Butterfree, Pikachu’s Goodbye and Primeape Goes Bananas, to name a few. Misty gets her moments too.
Jessie, James and Meowth arrive with their motto and a battle challenge.
To see the opening before you commit, PurpleRodri’s Let’s Play starts right at that first morning. It’s about fifteen minutes long.
How to install and play
- Get a clean FireRed (USA) Rev 0 ROM. Not Rev 1. Our guide to FireRed Rev 0 and Rev 1 explains how to tell them apart and which emulators suit PC and Android.
- Patch it once. Open PatchMyROM’s online patcher, choose your FireRed file and the IPS or BPS patch, then save the result as a new
.gba. Use one patch only, and never patch a file that’s already patched. - Open the patched file. Load the new
.gbain your emulator, not the original FireRed ROM or the patch. If plain FireRed starts, you opened the wrong file. - Test saving early. Start a new game, save from the in-game menu (a save state doesn’t count), close the emulator and reopen it. If your progress is there, you’re set.
Optional: checksums to compare
Base FireRed (USA) Rev 0: MD5 e26ee0d44e809351c8ce2d73c7400cdd, SHA-1 41cb23d8dccc8ebd7c649cd8fbb58eeace6e2fdc
Patched file: MD5 f6b3162afc333dcf543597066d8b3091, SHA-256 6fdfc3bbcad462a2384792a2aaebefe0dafb7398bfb6af4729a5a3b8357e77cd
These are the values the patch maintainer publishes for the July 2, 2026 build. A mismatch usually means the wrong base file, so start again from a clean Rev 0.
Save tips
- Back up your save. Copy the
.savfile before a long session and keep a few rotating copies. - Leave PC Boxes 2, 3 and 6 empty. Ash Gray keeps story progress where those boxes live, so the patch closes them. The other eleven work normally.
- Bringing a beta 4.5.3 save? It uses the same format, so it can move over. Copy it first and take your Pokémon out of Boxes 2, 3 and 6 before loading it.
Is Ash Gray complete?
No. The story stops partway through the Orange Islands, around the third Orange League gym, and the last update was a bug fix on May 9, 2015. The fourth gym and the Drake finale were never built, and the community patch fixes bugs without adding story. If you want the anime detours, a stubborn Charizard and a few rough edges, it’s well worth the trip.
If you’d rather have a finished adventure, Pokémon Unbound is a long one set in an original region, and Fire Red Omega is a complete replay of the familiar Kanto map with tougher trainers.
Quick questions
Does Pikachu follow Ash around?
No. It doesn’t walk behind you the way it does in Yellow, and the creator’s FAQ addresses the question directly.
Where is the original download?
The creator’s links have been removed and we couldn’t verify a working copy, so we only link the thread.
Which FireRed ROM does the patch need?
A clean FireRed (USA) Rev 0 file, not Rev 1. The optional checksums sit under the install steps.
Is there an Ash Gray 4.6?
Community threads mention one, but we couldn’t confirm who made it or what it changes, so we don’t link to it.
Want another adventure? Browse our FireRed ROM hack guides.
Pokémon Ash Gray was created by metapod23, with contributors credited in the original thread. The community bug-fix patch is by patrickfcarey. Screenshots show an Ash Gray beta build. Patch details last checked October 16, 2026.
