September 03, 2026
This post will, obviously, have spoilers for FRLG.IPS. They're all towards the bottom with a huge gap. There's a single minor spoiler above the gap, and it's something you more or less need to know to play the game at all.
FRLG.IPS starts being creepy before you even download it. The promotional page does a lovely job of setting the tone, with suspiciously specific insistence that it's normal - despite this obviously not being the case. It has a "catchphrase" that's fun to repeat, too. It sounds like something meaningless, but when everyone says it over and over it takes on a nicely ominous character. I really do like that it's nothing - FRLG.IPS avoids the major pitfall of a lot of "edgy" or "dark" Pokemon stuff - trying too hard.
THERE IS A NEW ROCK BY THE WATER
Once you find the weird stuff, it's good. The game does a lovely job handing you just enough information to theorize, without giving you too much until you're in deep enough for it to feel right. It's also nice about what it is, which is an "alternate route" which is actually the real content of itself - once you're in, you can do a lot of "not necessary" things without fucking up and getting locked out. One of the ways you can get locked out is really funny though, and you have to do it very much on-purpose.
So, I lied up above. There's actually two huge breaks in this article. Between them is a section about how to get to the new content FRLG.IPS - if you want to play the hack, I suggest reading the next section.
Spoiler Spacer
The Pokecommunity thread has a series of screenshots of what appears to be a normal copy of FireRed, but each has a bit of "gibberish" text. This is a cipher, which is obvious to anyone ARG-brained. This wasn't me, actually, and I felt deeply stupid when I realized it was something to deal with now rather than later.
This actually bounced me off the game the first time. I thought something in the game would be amiss. I played up through Misty, and it was not, so I set it aside.
So, that gibberish! It's a Caesar Cipher with a shift of 6. It translates to "httpsabbyspokemonaquariumneocitiesorg" - a fake old-style fansite. I love it. It's so OLD and so WEIRD and it's just "bad" enough that it feels super super real. Since nobody wants to type out a URL, here's a nice easy link to Abby's Pokemon Aquarium.
Once you find this site, you can actually play the game. If you dont have it, you ain't gonna find anything particularly special until deep in the postgame - you'll play a normal game of FireRed with a couple niceties, like catchable starters, legendaries for trade, and no version exclusivity. Look around the site, though, and you'll know when you've found the bit that matters.
Also, there is only one working starter. I'm saving you a reset.
Spoiler Spacer
Once you're in, it starts very respectably slowly. It doesn't come out swinging - you get some weird glitchy stuff and your starter turns into a horrifying monster. You kill Blue's Raticate. The pacing is excellent, and because you almost certainly know Pokemon, it's all very expected - this is the stuff of creepypastas and old rumors. Even though some wild things happen pretty quick, it doesn't feel like the game is rushing. The ARG is a big part of this - you've already been following a weird guide, so you're primed, and then what does happen isn't too out there. In short, the hook is a masterclass in pacing.
It ramps up from there. Your starter gets worse. Something starts communicating with you. The game starts to resist you - the comparison to Deltarune's Weird Route comes to make a lot of sense. You kill, and kill, and kill. By the time you're left on your own, and you will be, the game is thoroughly abnormal, and the steps are clear enough that you won't need your hand held. There's a few points at which you might get held up - I did use a guide, because I didn't back up my saves and didn't want to have to start over, but without it I would have found the way forward eventually.
I've put a few hints below a third Spoiler Spacer, if you want to play through it yourself, which you really should.
I also used a lot of guides for base game FireRed. I haven't played FireRed since I had it and my original Nintendo DS! I don't know Rock Tunnel, Seafoam Islands, the Safari Zone, Pokemon Mansion... any of it! I could have just done them normally, but on the day I played I was, in full honesty, impatient. It didn't hamper my enjoyment one bit - I was grinning like a maniac the whole time.
That's an important bit of framing for my playthrough. I'm a bit of a bastard. Maniacal. I'd make a great evil advisor. I love fucking with a setting, I love working above-board, and I love imposing my will on a game. It pleases me greatly, in the sort of way that has me cackling in the dark. The protagonist of FRLG.IPS is clearly not okay with what I'm driving them to do... but I am. I'm sitting here swirling my drink like a wine glass and grinning wide enough to startle myself in the black mirror.
I'll gladly place a new rock by the water.
Spoiler Spacer
After the first cipher to find the website, further ARG segments optional or really easy. You can find some stuff by poking around, but nothing necessary.
NPCs will tell you what to do next, more or less, throughout the game. Listen to them.
You must use Abyss in certain fights. You can use other moves outside of them. I had to risk this - I won't say why - but it's fine.
You don't need to write anything down - all information is recorded in some capacity on Abby's Pokemon Aquarium. However, some of it is kinda vague, and writing it down will make your life a bit easier. Taking note of anything you think you'll need will leave you with a fun madman's scrawl, though.
The "glitch guide" never tells you to use the second Mist Stone on your starter. You have to do that to get onto Cycling Road, which it does tell you to do - but if you think you need a signal before using it, you'll be stuck like I was.
Keep winning battles you get into. There's some actual fights you'll want the levels for.
Use Abyss. It's fine.
There is a softlock risk in the Strength puzzles, so be careful there. Save and make a backup.
Once you have Dive, you no longer need Abyss.
THERE IS A NEW ROCK BY THE WATER
