UPDATE: The moderators of /r/pokemonromhacking have locked the original thread and another thread underneath discussing the same issue. They cited the reason as being vile and disgusting comments “from both sides.” I strongly disagree with this framing. Marginalized people defending themselves and calling out bigotry is not equivalent to homophobia.
Following the success of their earlier ROM hack, Pokémon Seaglass, which reimagined Pokémon Emerald with beautiful Gameboy Color aesthetics, rebalances, tweaks, and additions, on November 14 2025 the creator nemo622 released their followup: Pokémon Lazarus. After just a year in the making, this new project is set in an entirely new region with an original story, characters, music, and more. It also features pokémon up to generation 9 (Scarlet and Violet) with sprites handcrafted by the community. We’d be here forever if I tried to cover everything. Suffice it to say Lazarus is a labor of love and actual labor that has been hotly anticipated by the community since its announcement under the name Pokémon Sunset.
Pokémon ROM hacks have a long and storied history, getting their name from the fact that they were originally created by quite literally hacking the game’s files to make changes; even minor tweaks were long and difficult affairs of trial and error. In recent times things have become much easier as fans have fully decompiled and even enhanced the original games’ code. Still, the amount of work is nothing to sneeze at. They range anywhere from simple balance tweaks and quality of life additions to the original games all the way to brand new adventures with original assets, like Lazarus.
I wanted to highlight the effort that goes into these things to clarify exactly how frustrating it feels when a creator like this is inundated negativity for their passion project, as reported by nemo622 themself on reddit.
nemo reports not only harsh and extremely rude criticisms about the game (specifically about its currently buggy music), but hate speech and homophobia.
I’m not against criticism. Even when something is being made for free, you’re still asking people for their time and attention. Criticism when done right helps us grow and learn. It makes it so bad things aren’t so bad next time, and makes good things be better. When done incorrectly, though, it can be dismissive, mean, and hurtful. It can make people not want to listen to their communities. It can turn into harassment that leaves lasting scars. It can make creators never want to create again.Maybe that’s what they want. But I think it would be a damn shame.
Hatespeech and homophobia do not count as criticisms. This is but the braying of bigots.