Pokémon Ash Gray is a classic GBA rom hack that recreates Ash’s Kanto and Orange Islands journey with anime-style events. The Pokémon Fire Ash game takes things further, covering every region up to Alola with hundreds of Pokémon to catch. Both offer unique experiences, but which one plays better?
What Are Pokémon Ash Gray and Pokémon Fire Ash
Ash Gray is one of the most talked-about Pokémon rom hacks. It lets you relive Ash Ketchum’s journey through Kanto and part of the Orange Islands, complete with scripted events, anime losses, and nods to episodes like the Butterfree event. Many fans treat it as close to a playable anime adaptation.
Fire Ash, on the other hand, is bigger in scope. It covers more regions, from Kanto all the way through Alola, and offers a more ambitious fan game instead of just a GBA hack. If you love the anime and want something compact, Ash Gray shines.
If you want a grander adventure with many regions and postgame content, Fire Ash might pull ahead. That’s the gist of it, at least. Let’s take a closer look and directly compare both of these fan-made GBA ROM hacks below to get a better idea of what they are and where they shine.
Story, Scope & Faithfulness to the Anime
Ash Gray zeroes in on Ash’s first season. It follows many anime beats pretty faithfully, losing to Misty early, the Butterfree evolution and release, Charmander’s disobedience, and more. Many NPCs and lines are borrowed straight from anime scripts.
That level of detail helps it feel like I was playing the show. But it ends around the early Orange Islands arc, so there’s a visible cutoff. Fire Ash expands the canvas by a mile and a half. You get Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, Alola, and the Orange Islands, they’re all in there.
It doesn’t hit anime-level detail in every event, but it has sheer content volume going for it. There are rematches, optional battles against characters across regions, and postgame depth. The trade-off is that you lose some of that tight, faithful episodic feel that makes Ash Gray so charming.
Pokémon Available, Side Events & Replay Value
Ash Gray forces you to work with Ash’s team (Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, Pikachu, etc.), and many side events depend on you having the same Pokémon he had in specific episodes (for example, the Butterfree event).
Side events are optional but add flavor, and fans often urge players to complete them for the full experience. Because of its narrower region, the total Pokémon variety is limited to what’s catchable in Kanto + Orange Islands.
Fire Ash gives you a much broader roster, almost every region’s native Pokémon, evolutions, and more. The side events are fewer in tied-to-anime detail, but there’s more freedom and exploration. Because of its length, replaying with different teams or trying to get full completion is more rewarding.
Gameplay Balance, Difficulty & Grinding
Here’s where criticisms pile up, especially for Ash Gray. Many players say it’s poorly balanced. You might face trainers at level 65 one moment, then a weak level 40 the next.
If you strictly follow Ash’s team, like never evolving Squirtle or Bulbasaur, the difficulty spikes even more. Because of this, grinding becomes inevitable. I felt it right after Cerulean City, and it just kept spiking until I hit Koga’s gym.
Fire Ash is no cakewalk either. After the Orange region, Pikachu becomes ridiculously powerful compared to other trainers. Early regions felt really unbalanced to me. But as newer regions bring in fully evolved Pokémon and stronger teams, the balance becomes more reasonable. The scaling isn’t perfect, but it’s more consistent than the wild swings in Ash Gray.
Fire Ash is not a ROM hack, so you don’t need an emulator on PC. In Ash Gray’s case, you will have to use a GBA emulator. There are plenty of them available online, and if you don’t know where to start, our Complete Pokémon ROM Hacks guide will sort you out.
The Ash Gray GBA ROM has been around for a while as well. I basically grew up watching it grow with us. It started off as far back as 2009, and it shows with choppy animations, funky sprites that never quite feel right, and some cutscenes feeling wonky. That said, the sheer amount of work that went into this game deserves recognition.
Technical & Save Considerations
Because Fire Ash is a fan game built using RPG Maker and Pokémon Essentials, the file format is .rxdata, and you must back up your saves often. Although I have not personally had any issues with it, some people report losing 40+ hours of progress due to corruption.
Also, updates sometimes break backward save compatibility, so being cautious is key.
Ash Gray is a GBA hack, so the usual emulator save states, ROM file management, patching, and more apply. Because it’s smaller and older, there’s less risk of “game-breaking updates,” but you’re more limited in platform options.
It will also not receive any further updates, which is a bit of a double-edged sword, as the existing bugs and glitches will not be resolved in the future.
Which Should You Play First?
If you crave anime fidelity, tight side events, and feeling like Ash, start with Ash Gray. It’s compact, emotionally resonant, and gives a slice of the anime you can’t find elsewhere.
If you want epic scale, lots of content, longer playtime, and more Pokémon variety, go for Fire Ash. Ideally, I’d suggest playing both! Start with Ash Gray for that nostalgic rush, then bleed into Fire Ash for the grand journey.
That said, if you love the anime or just want to play through Ash’s journey through Kanto, the Ash Gray game has you covered. However, if it’s the content you’re after and you don’t mind skipping a few story beats, the Pokémon Fire Ash game is probably your best bet.
Time to Choose: Pokémon Ash Gray or Pokémon Fire Ash
Pokémon Ash Gray nails what it sets out to do: give you Ash’s early journey in game form, complete with memorable events. But it’s limited in region and can be frustratingly unbalanced if you stick strictly to Ash’s roster.
Pokémon Fire Ash trades some of that tight anime precision for sheer size and replay value. The balance isn’t perfect either, but it handles scaling better and offers more to explore.
You have all the info you need to make your pick now, and an informed choice at that. No spoilers here to ruin your playthrough. Check out a few playthroughs on YouTube if you need to, but in my view, both of these games deserve some love.
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