Play Pokemon Radical Red Online

Pokemon Radical Red is a rom hack that takes FireRed and cranks up the difficulty in a way that actually makes sense. The first rival battle alone will wreck you if you're not careful—no more breezing through with just your starter.

What I like is that it forces you to think about team building early. Random trainers have decent strategies now, and gym leaders feel like proper boss fights with full teams and held items. You'll spend way more time in the menus checking movesets and abilities than in the original.

It's not just harder for the sake of being hard though. The QoL changes are great—reusable TMs, faster text speed, and visible EVs/IVs so you know exactly what you're working with. Still has that classic GBA feel, just sharper.

If you ever thought the main games were too easy, Pokemon Radical Red fixes that without feeling unfair. Just don't expect to win with overleveled starters this time.