# How to Setup the Ultimate Portable Pokémon Console I purchased a [Miyoo Mini Plus](https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805029072733.html?spm=a2g0o.store_pc_home.slider_2006597564665.0&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa4itemAdapt) with the goal of turning it into the ultimate Pokémon console for a friend's Christmas gift. I've been a fan of this device since the Miyoo Mini first came out. The Miyoo Mini Plus added wireless multiplayer which will allow us to trade, battle, and complete our Pokédex together. The plan is to install every officially-released Pokémon game for the supported systems (i.e. up to Nintendo DS), add a selection of Pokémon Hacks and Homebrew games, add the Pokémon anime and manga, install a custom Pokémon theme, and set a custom Pokémon boot image. ## Official Releases First I needed a list of all of the officially released Pokémon games. [Pokemon.com](https://www.pokemon.com/) is the official Pokémon Company website. The [All Pokémon Video Games](https://www.pokemon.com/us/pokemon-video-games/all-pokemon-games) page on their site lists all of the official Pokémon games. However, I prefer the organization of the [Fandom](https://www.fandom.com/)website's [List of Pokémon Games](https://nintendo.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_Pok%C3%A9mon_games), because it sorts each game by generation. When selecting ROMs I focused on English releases while also including the Japanese exclusives (e.g. Pokémon Green). Also of note is the inclusion of the Pokémon Mini. While most folks are familiar with Pokémon on the Game Boy they may not have heard of the Pokémon Mini, because the Pokémon Mini was released in North American as a New York Pokémon Center exclusive. There were only four games released for the system in North America (five in Europe). Additional Pokémon Mini games were released for a virtual Pokémon Mini in the 2002 Pokémon Channel GameCube game. ## How to Get ROMs I'm fortunate enough to own several Pokémon games on physical cartridges, including Pokémon Blue, Pokémon FireRed, and Pokémon Emerald. I used the [Epilogue GB Operator](https://www.epilogue.co/product/gb-operator) to extract the ROMs from the physical cartridges. ## Hacks While most Pokémon games had a coinciding English release, some Pokémon games were only released in Japan. Thankfully translation patches exist that allow players to experience these games in another language. *Pokémon Trading Card Game 2: The Invasion of Team GR!* is one such Japanese only release that now has an English Translation patch available on [ROMhacking.net](https://www.romhacking.net/). [Pokémon Trading Card Game 2 (English Translation)](https://www.romhacking.net/translations/1736/) There's also an English patch for the unreleased Pokémon Picross game for the Game Boy Color. [Pokémon Picross (English Translation)](https://www.romhacking.net/translations/5702/) ## Homebrew Even if you've played through every officially released Pokémon game, there's guaranteed to be a fan made game you haven't experienced yet. I've Googled and source multiple sites for recommendations on where to dive into the world of homebrew games. The results were complied into the following spreadsheet and sorted by popularity (i.e. the number of sites the game was recommended on). [Best Pokémon Hacks and Homebrew](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1REFly-lNOMnp9sgAl4_EqdiI_rIA_Re91TCZmvmUGQE/edit?usp=sharing) Some things to note before downloading: - Some games (e.g. Phoenix Rising, Insurgence) are Windows only downloads and won't run on the Miyoo. - Do NOT use the main site links for Dark Rising nor Flora Sky. When I attempted to download from these sites the links redirected to spam. - esport.net and Goomba Stomp both listed Light Crystal in addition to Liquid Crystal. However, I was unable to find any hack or homebrew by the Light Crystal name. In addition to the games found in the spreadsheet, I found several other homebrew games through YouTube. These games came out recently, which is why they didn't appear in my Google search results for "best of" lists. A few that stand out to me are Crown, Regis' Origin, and Scale x Fang. Crown, especially, due to its medieval setting and brand new, non-turn-based, battle system. ## Miyoo Mini Setup, Custom Theme, and Custom Boot Logo The best Miyoo Mini setup guide is available from Russ at Retro Game Corps. [Miyoo Mini (and Miyoo Mini Plus) Starter Guide](https://retrogamecorps.com/2022/05/15/miyoo-mini-v2-guide/) ### Custom Theme Russ covers theme setup under the [Customize your themes](https://retrogamecorps.com/2022/05/15/miyoo-mini-v2-guide/#ThemeMusic) section of the Starter Guide. I used the [GBC Pokedex](https://github.com/OnionUI/Themes/blob/main/generated/custom/index-04-d8.md) [(direct download)](https://github.com/OnionUI/Themes/raw/main/release/GBC%20Pokedex%20by%20Nxt.stop.please.zip) theme from the [OnionUI Themes Repository](https://github.com/OnionUI/Themes). ### Custom Boot Logo Setting up a custom boot logo is covered under the [Custom boot logo](https://retrogamecorps.com/2022/05/15/miyoo-mini-v2-guide/#BootLogo) section of the Starter Guide. The Pokémon Boot Logo I used was include as part of the base LogoTweak install. ## Miyoo Apps There are several apps that can be optionally enabled for the Miyoo Mini. The "Ebook Reader (PixelReader)" and "Video Player (FFplay)" apps must be enabled to be able to add the Pokémon anime and manga. Both can be found under: *Apps -> Package Manager -> Apps*. I put the Anime files under the *Media -> Videos* directory on the Miyoo's SD card. [Pokémon: Indigo League](https://www.amazon.com/Pok%C3%A9mon-Beginning-2-seasons/dp/B09R2B5XY3/ref=sr_1_5?sr=8-5) I also created a separate Manga folder under the Media directory for the Manga. [Pokémon Adventures (Red and Blue), Vol. 1](https://www.amazon.com/Pok%C3%A9mon-Adventures-Red-Blue-Vol-ebook/dp/B00GWRF6OA/ref=sr_1_8?sr=8-8) Note: The above links are Amazon links, but DRM free versions of the files are needed in order to upload the files to the Miyoo. ## Conclusion I love the small, portable nature of the Miyoo Mini and the addition of NetPlay to the Miyoo Mini Plus. OnionOS is my favorite Custom Firmware (FM), because of its game switcher, theme manager, and the additional features (e.g. eBook reader, Video Player) it offers over other firmware. Having a Pokémon theme, multiple generations of Pokémon games, the Pokémon anime, and the Pokémon manga all on a device smaller than the original brick-sized Game Boy establishes the Miyoo Mini as the very best that no Game Boy ever was.