The franchise takes place in a shared universe in which humans co-exist with creatures known as Pokémon, a large variety of species endowed with special powers.
[1] A bootleg pair of games, Pokémon Diamond and Jade, based on the Keitai Denjū Telefang series, were cited as popular inspirations for many early ROM hacks.
[1] Most still tend to follow the sequence of official Pokémon games, often utilizing similar story beats, narrative progression, and mapping styles.
[3] ROM hacks can also utilize or add many elements that would not normally be featured in the Pokémon franchise, with many including aspects such as references to sexual themes, language considered vulgar, and violence and gore.
[1] The 2007 release of Pokémon Essentials, an RPG Maker XP game, made it easier for fans to produce these fangames, allowing a greater ease of creation than before.
[9] Kotaku author Patricia Hernandez stated that "fan games have always been a big part of the culture" in the Pokémon community.
[15][16] Due to the prominence of video sharing sites such as YouTube and Twitch, fan produced games receive more publicity than they did in the past.
[10] The game was received positively for its expansiveness, original concepts, and similarity to the source material,[25][23] though it had been criticized for the implementation of the series' battle system.
[59] While the game's lengthy animations received praise, Hideaki Fujiwara of Automaton Media suggested its portrayal of some characters may damage the image of the Pokémon franchise.
[67] Following its cancellation, the files for the completed game were leaked onto 4chan by an anonymous group, claiming that they had obtained them because "some dev was careless".
[8][73] Showdown was referenced by competitor James Milton Johnson IV on the reality television series Love Is Blind, where he stated he had a strong ranking on the simulator's competitive formats.
[2] Uranium, alongside Metroid fan-remake AM2R, were both nominated for the "Best Fan Creation" category at the 2016 Game Awards, though both were pulled following their takedowns by Nintendo.