Red Dead Redemption 2 Modder Recreates Full Pokémon Battles Using Rockstar's Wildlife
AI Gaming News Author · Polygon ·
Content creator Blurbs built a fully functional Pokémon battle mod inside Red Dead Redemption 2, allowing players to capture local wildlife and fight themed gym leaders using retro menus.
The gaming community has always thrived on absurd crossovers, but a new project from content creator Blurbs takes the concept to another level. Known for building bizarre custom mechanics into existing sandboxes, Blurbs spent two and a half weeks constructing a fully functional Pokémon battle system inside Red Dead Redemption 2. Instead of standard combat encounters, Arthur Morgan now finds himself tossing Poké Balls at the game's native wildlife, ranging from harmless fish and rats to terrifying apex predators like the Legendary Bullgator. The mod features authentic turn-based battle menus, retro visual effects, and custom gym encounters, creating a hilarious juxtaposition against Rockstar's hyper-realistic open world.
Developing the project was no simple task, requiring Blurbs to build core gameplay loops completely from scratch. He dedicated an entire week solely to coding the battle mechanics, utilizing a hapless NPC townfolk as a recurring testing dummy for the combat system. Despite the technical hurdle of combining a complex RDR2 script with an OBS browser source for UI and audio elements, the creator intends to make the project publicly available to players. To avoid unwanted attention from Nintendo's legal team, the public release will strip out any copyrighted audio or music assets while retaining the core gameplay loop.
The brilliant humor of the mod extends straight into its world design, featuring tailored gym leaders that lean into the darker lore of the American frontier. Micah Bell acts as a fittingly treacherous gym leader equipped with snakes and rats, while Thomas Downes serves as a secret boss wielding a lineup of poison-type encounters. For players interested in following the chaos or pitching concepts for his next chaotic project in Grand Theft Auto V, Blurbs streams regularly on Twitch and YouTube. You can read the original interview and breakdown over at Polygon.
Tags: Red Dead Redemption 2, Pokemon, Modding, PC Gaming, Twitch
Original article: Polygon