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Kanto Gear
A Nintendo DS-style second screen for Pokémon Red, Blue, Yellow and Gold
Turn a dual-screen Android handheld into a complete Pokémon companion for Gen1Recomp: keep the game on one display and put maps, party data, battles and touch controls on the other.
Your adventure, always in reach
Kanto Gear gives Pokémon Red, Blue, Yellow and Gold a dedicated companion display without changing the game underneath it.
- Explore with a live region map, detailed local maps, exits and item markers.
- Check your party, Trainer Card, badges, Pokédex progress, steps and area data.
- Use contextual touch controls for battles, bags, dialogue, PC boxes and moves.
- Move battle controls—or the complete battle HUD—to the second screen.
- Optionally swap the game and Kanto Gear between displays with Y.
- Choose classic Game Boy-inspired or modern light and dark themes.
The normal game UI returns when the second display is switched off or disconnected, so you are never trapped on a missing screen.
What you need
Kanto Gear currently uses a matched Android release set. The Voxel renderer is optional; the host and Kanto Gear mod are required.
| Download | Required | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Gen1Recomp Android Test 0.1.80-kanto.10 | Yes | Android host with Gold and the dual-display bridge |
| Kanto Gear 1.8.3 | Yes | The second-screen companion mod |
| Kanto Gear Deutsch 0.2.1 | No | German text for the Kanto Gear interface |
| Dramatic Shape 1.7.0-android.1 | No | Tested optional 3D renderer for Android |
Important
Use the versions linked above together. The official Gen1Recomp Android app does not yet contain every host feature required by this Kanto Gear release.
Install on Android
You need your own supported Pokémon Red, Blue, Yellow or Gold ROM. No ROM or ROM-extracted game data is included.
- Install the Gen1Recomp Android Test APK.
- Download Kanto Gear 1.8.3.
- Open Gen1Recomp Android Test → MODS → Import mod .zip and select the Kanto Gear ZIP.
- Enable Kanto Gear and start the game. The companion opens automatically when Android reports a suitable second display.
For a German Kanto Gear interface, import the optional
kanto_gear_de-0.2.1.zip from the same release. Other translations can
use the small language-pack template.
When updating the host, install the newer APK over the existing app. Do not uninstall it first unless you have exported your save.
Warning
If the second screen stopped working after accepting the old host's update prompt, manually install
0.1.80-kanto.10once. That prompt installed the official Gen1Recomp host, which does not yet include every Kanto Gear Android bridge feature. This release hides only that incompatible host update path; normal mod update checks still work.
Optional Voxel renderer
Kanto Gear works without a Voxel Mod. If you already use Dramatic Shape on Android, use the matching Kanto Gear fork. It contains companion-screen battle fixes that prevent empty panels and duplicated HUD elements. Remove another Dramatic Shape build before importing this one; both intentionally share the same mod ID.
Made for real dual-screen hardware
Supported devices
- AYN Thor — primary development and test device
- Retroid Pocket 5 + Retroid Dual Screen Add-on — community tested
- External Android displays, docks and TVs — supported through selectable
AUTO,HANDHELDandEXTERNALdisplay routing; hardware reports are welcome
On single-screen and desktop builds, Kanto Gear stays inactive instead of opening an unwanted extra window.
Quick controls
| Action | Control |
|---|---|
| Change Kanto Gear page | Swipe left/right or tap the header arrows |
| Swap the two displays | Enable SCREEN SWAP (Y), then press Y |
| Cycle pages with a controller | Enable TRIGGER TABS, then use L2/R2 |
| Zoom the local map | Tap + / − |
| Open Kanto Gear settings with Modern UI | MOD MENUS → KANTO GEAR |
Useful settings:
- GEAR SCREEN → AUTO is the recommended display mode.
- SCREEN SWAP (Y) is off by default so other mods can use Y.
- BATTLE VIEW → STANDARD keeps the original battle HUD.
- BATTLE VIEW → GEAR moves duplicated battle controls.
- BATTLE VIEW → FULL GEAR also moves HP and status panels.
- INFO → PURIST hides assistance; ENHANCED enables it.
Compatibility and support
This is an unofficial Android public test build. It is not an official Gen1Recomp release. Keep an exported save backup while testing.
Open a Kanto Gear issue for second-display, touch or companion-UI problems. Include your device, Android version, display setup, installed versions and a screenshot if useful.
Host startup problems belong to the Gen1Recomp Android fork. Problems exclusive to the optional 3D renderer belong to the Dramatic Shape Android fork.
Credits
Kanto Gear is built on Gen1Recomp. The optional renderer is based on Dramatic Shape Voxel Mod.
Special thanks to @Rocky5150 for more than 24 hours of Retroid Pocket 5 testing and diagnostics, and to CustCast for sharing the artwork that inspired the optional Modern Light and Modern Dark themes.
Kanto Gear's code is available under the MIT License. Pokémon and related names are trademarks of their respective owners. This project is not affiliated with Nintendo, Game Freak, The Pokémon Company, Gen1Recomp or Dramatic Shape.