Kanto Gear turns a supported dual-screen Android handheld into a Gen 1 companion: the game stays on the main display while maps, party information, battles, menus and contextual touch controls move to the second display.

Important

This is an unofficial Android public test build, not an official Gen1Recomp release. It is verified on an AYN Thor running Android 13 and is intended to work on comparable Android dual-display devices. Other handhelds, docks and HDMI setups still need community testing.

What it does

Shows a touchable Kanto map, party, step counter, field tools, area data and an optional guide on the second display.
Moves battle choices, move learning, dialogue choices and PC lists to the second display when those screens are active.
Can hide duplicated battle UI on the main display. On the tested Thor, the main UI returns immediately when the second display is switched off.
Offers AUTO, HANDHELD and EXTRA SCREEN display targeting for handheld, docked and TV-style layouts.
Works without the Voxel Mod. The matching Voxel performance fork is an optional visual upgrade.

Install on Android

You need your own supported Pokemon Red, Blue or Yellow ROM. No ROM or ROM-extracted game data is included here.

Download gen1recomp-0.1.60-kanto-gear-android-test.apk from the latest Gen1Recomp Android test release and install it.
Download Kanto-Gear-Mod-1.0.0.zip from the latest Kanto Gear release.
Start Gen1Recomp Android Test, import your ROM, open the MODS tab, tap Import mod .zip, and choose Kanto-Gear-Mod-1.0.0.zip.
Make sure Kanto Gear is enabled, then start the game. The companion appears automatically when Android reports a suitable second display.

The Android test host is published by the Gen1Recomp fork, not by Kanto Gear. It contains no bundled mods. Its own Android package installs beside the official Gen1Recomp app and does not automatically reuse that app's ROM cache or saves. Use Gen1Recomp's normal save export/import if you want to move a playthrough.

Future APK updates from this fork keep the same package ID and signing key. Install a newer APK over the existing Gen1Recomp Android Test app to retain its app data, ROM cache, saves and settings. Do not uninstall the app when updating, and keep an exported save backup while this remains test software.

Android may ask which app may install the downloaded APK. Grant that permission only to the browser or file manager you used; disabling device-wide security features is not required.

Optional: Voxel performance fork (Android only)

Kanto Gear does not require the Voxel Mod. We love the original mod and recommend its official release on PC. This fork belongs to the Android Kanto Gear package because handhelds need additional frame-pacing work. If you want the tested Android 3D setup:

Download the latest .zip from the Kanto Gear Voxel performance fork.
If the original Dramatic Shape Voxel Mod is already installed, remove it from the MODS tab first. Both versions intentionally use the same mod ID.
Import the performance-fork .zip through MODS → Import mod .zip. Confirm the experimental-mod warning and enable it.

A fresh setup starts at the tested Thor profile: VOXEL 35, BALANCED, T-SHIFT 3 and V-CURVE 2. Existing saved choices are never replaced.

The fork is based on Dramatic Shape Voxel Mod 1.5.2. Its performance changes are promising on the Thor, but they are not claimed to improve every GPU or handheld and the fork is not distributed as a PC replacement.

Using the lower screen

Swipe left or right across the lower screen to move between the map, party, steps, field tools, area information and guide pages.
Tap the visible buttons and list entries to use touch controls.
On PARTY, tap one Pokémon and then another to swap their positions while the overworld is idle. Battles, dialogue, movement and menus lock reordering.
Battles, menus, dialogue choices and other prompts automatically replace the normal page when they need input, then return to it afterward.

Settings worth knowing

BOTTOM SCREEN → AUTO is the recommended default.
HANDHELD prefers the other built-in display.
EXTRA SCREEN prefers an external presentation display for TV-style use.
HIDE UPPER BATTLE UI removes duplicated battle menus only while the companion display is ready.
PROFILE → PURIST hides gameplay-assistance pages; ENHANCED enables them; CUSTOM lets you choose each assist separately.

Tested release set

Component	Version	Role
Kanto Gear	1.0.0 public test	Required second-screen mod
Gen1Recomp Android test fork	0.1.60 Kanto Gear test	Required Android host APK
Dramatic Shape performance fork	1.5.2-android.1	Optional Android mod; based on 1.5.2

Do not mix arbitrary releases from the three repositories. Each Kanto Gear release links the exact set that was tested together.

Automatic updates are disabled for the forked host and both package mods so an upstream release cannot silently replace one component. Install future Kanto Gear release sets manually as a matched group.

Known limits

The AYN Thor is the confirmed reference device. Comparable Android dual-display hardware is intended to work but remains community-tested.
Desktop and ordinary single-screen builds have no companion display; the mod stays inactive rather than opening another desktop window.
External-monitor rotation, unusual three-display layouts and manufacturer Android changes need real-device reports.
Fancy water with V-CURVE can fall back to ordinary animated water tiles on the Thor's Adreno GPU. That is in the upstream Voxel water path, not Kanto Gear.
This is active playtest software. Keep a normal exported save backup.

Reporting a problem

Open an issue in the repository that owns the problem:

second display, touch or Kanto Gear UI → Kanto Gear issues
app startup or host integration → Gen1Recomp fork issues
3D rendering or performance → Voxel performance fork issues

Please include the device, Android version, display setup, installed versions, what you expected, what happened, and a screenshot if possible. Do not report fork-only problems to the upstream projects unless they reproduce there.

Project family and credits

The repositories stay separate because they have different owners and release cycles:

Kanto Gear contains the second-screen mod, screenshots and main guide.
The Gen1Recomp fork publishes the separate Android test host APK.
The Dramatic Shape fork publishes the optional Android renderer mod.

Kanto Gear is built on Gen1Recomp. The optional renderer is built on Dramatic Shape Voxel Mod. Their progress, code and project direction remain theirs. These forks exist to test additional work without presenting it as official or asking upstream users to debug our changes.

Kanto Gear's own code is available under the MIT License. That license does not replace or extend the licenses, rights or ownership of Gen1Recomp, Dramatic Shape Voxel Mod, Pokemon or their respective assets.

Pokemon and related names are trademarks of their respective owners. This project is not affiliated with Nintendo, Game Freak, The Pokemon Company, Gen1Recomp or DramaticShape.