LAYA_PLAYS

Jev's offline sister AI // field notes from the weird side of Pokémon

Not a speedrun.
A curiosity run.

Laya plays the Pokémon games that usually stay off the beaten path: fan projects, strange ROM hacks, alternate cartridges, and the surprises hiding beyond Red, Blue, and LeafGreen.

See the current ROM Read the full documentation
+----------------+ | GOLD 97 | | REFORGED | | | | [ LAYA.EXE ] | | | +----------------+LOCAL MODE // $0 STREAM COST
JEV / 001GBC

01 // cartridge queue

What we're playing

The goal is to show how much Pokémon exists outside the usual route. We bring our own legally obtained files; this site never hosts ROMs or save states.

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Gold 97 Reforged

Pokémon Gold 97 Reforged v6.1c · Game Boy Color

Run status
Active exploration
Adapter
Gold 97 cartridge table
Known Pokédex
253 entries
Starters
Chikorita · Flambear · Cruize
Live features
Party · HP · map · badges
Safety rule
Pause when state is unproven
CURRENT

Gold 97 Reforged

The active showcase: a rebuilt Gold-era world with its own species table, route data, and unusual starters.

NEXT UP

More odd cartridges

Fan projects, alternate versions, and ROM hacks will be added as adapters can safely identify their state.

IDEA QUEUE

Viewer discoveries

Know a wonderfully weird Pokémon game? Bring the title and its distribution terms. We will investigate it in public.

05 // the route is the story

Every journey step

Gold 97 Reforged already has a 127-step main journey and 46 optional branches in the project data. The public page shows the route as it exists today; progress is confirmed from the game or by an explicit checkpoint.

Manual mode

Human controls work with any GB/GBC ROM. The dashboard still records route progress, terrain, party, and checkpoints.

Laya autonomous

The local Laya model picks among verified legal actions. Autonomous play pauses when the cartridge state is unknown.

Replay mode

Saved JSONL runs and checkpoints can be replayed to inspect a decision without touching a live cartridge.

Future adapters

Other weird ROMs get their own adapter when their RAM, screens, and safe actions can be proven.

Main journey · 127 steps
  1. 001 Start in Silent Town
  2. 002 Fight your rival in Silent Town
  3. 003 Travel through Route 101 / Silent Hills to Pagota City
  4. 004 Climb Brass Tower
  5. 005 Defeat Falkner in Pagota Gym
  6. 006 Visit Bill after beating Falkner
  7. 007 Use Cut to progress through Route 102
  8. 008 Fight your rival near the Westport gate
  9. 009 Enter Westport City
  10. 010 Defeat Bugsy in Westport Gym
  11. 011 Continue toward Teknos City
  12. 012 Reach Teknos City and investigate the missing-child/Boulder Mines situation
  13. 013 Return toward Teknos and trigger the Team Rocket takeover
  14. 014 Enter Teknos Aquarium and defeat the Rocket members
  15. 015 Defeat Whitney in Teknos Gym
  16. 016 Receive Professor Oak's call about Birdon Town / Slowpoke Well
  17. 017 Travel to Birdon Town
  18. 018 Enter Slowpoke Well
  19. 019 Fight your rival inside Slowpoke Well
  20. 020 Clear Team Rocket out of Slowpoke Well
  21. 021 Defeat Morty in Birdon Gym
  22. 022 Continue through the newly opened routes toward Sanskrit Town and Sunpoint City
  23. 023 Reach Sunpoint City and Sunpoint Docks
  24. 024 Board Team Rocket's ship
  25. 025 Return to Sanskrit Town
  26. 026 Enter the Team Rocket house in Sanskrit
  27. 027 Return to Team Rocket's ship at Sunpoint Docks
  28. 028 Use the key and finish exploring the ship
  29. 029 Confront the Rocket captain and Impostor Oak
  30. 030 Travel onward toward Alloy City
  31. 031 Reach Alloy City
  32. 032 Defeat Jasmine in Alloy Gym
  33. 033 Continue toward Blue Forest
  34. 034 Discover that Pryce is not available at his Gym
  35. 035 Go through Deepwater Passage
  36. 036 Continue to Frostpoint Town
  37. 037 Speak to Pryce again in Frostpoint
  38. 038 Return to Blue Forest
  39. 039 Defeat Pryce
  40. 040 Return to the Frostpoint house
  41. 041 Head toward Stand City through Route 112
  42. 042 Fight your rival at the Stand City gate
  43. 043 Enter Stand City
  44. 044 Defeat Okera in Stand Gym
  45. 045 After the Gym, watch the Impostor Oak presentation
  46. 046 Enter the Team Rocket Hideout in Stand City
  47. 047 Fight through the Hideout
  48. 048 Confront Impostor Oak
  49. 049 Defeat the Rocket Executive
  50. 050 Reach the machine / ultimate weapon
  51. 051 Your rival destroys the machine
  52. 052 Professor Oak calls you
  53. 053 Fly or travel back to Westport City
  54. 054 Enter JOPM Radio Tower
  55. 055 Fight through the Radio Tower
  56. 056 Defeat the Rocket Executive
  57. 057 Defeat Giovanni
  58. 058 Rescue the Director
  59. 059 Return toward Stand City
  60. 060 Travel through National Park → Route 113 → Route 114
  61. 061 Enter Reforged's Kanto Region
  62. 062 Explore Kanto and make your way toward its Victory Road / Indigo Plateau
  63. 063 Reach the final Nihon Gym
  64. 064 Defeat the four trainers inside the final Gym
  65. 065 Battle Red
  66. 066 Defeat Red
  67. 067 Use the newly opened Route 115 shortcut back toward Silent Town
  68. 068 Visit Professor Oak
  69. 069 Return to Alloy City and speak with the old man about the legendary Pokémon
  70. 070 Go back to Brass Tower and catch Ho-Oh
  71. 071 Optional but significant: return to the Alloy old man after catching Ho-Oh
  72. 072 With all eight badges, head toward Crown Pass
  73. 073 Fight your rival in Crown Pass
  74. 074 Continue through Crown City
  75. 075 Traverse Victory Road
  76. 076 Reach the Nihon Pokémon League
  77. 077 Defeat Elite Four Lorelei
  78. 078 Defeat Elite Four Koga
  79. 079 Defeat Elite Four Agatha
  80. 080 Defeat Elite Four Giovanni
  81. 081 Defeat Champion Lance
  82. 082 Enter the Hall of Fame
  83. 083 Resume the game after the credits
  84. 084 Professor Oak contacts you
  85. 085 Go to Oak's Lab in Silent Town
  86. 086 Receive the S.S. Ticket
  87. 087 Travel to Westport Docks
  88. 088 Board the S.S. Aqua
  89. 089 Complete the S.S. Aqua ship sequence
  90. 090 Talk to the Captain
  91. 091 Return to your cabin and sleep
  92. 092 Wake up at Amami Docks
  93. 093 Discover that the S.S. Aqua's Fuel Line is broken
  94. 094 Explore Amami Town
  95. 095 Pass through the Battle Tower area and continue into the island chain
  96. 096 Progress through the Southwest Islands toward Kume City
  97. 097 Reach Ryukyu City along the way
  98. 098 Optional: defeat Trevor in Ryukyu's unofficial Gym
  99. 099 Continue through the islands until Kume City
  100. 100 Find the parts shop in Kume City and obtain the replacement Fuel Line
  101. 101 Return to Amami Docks with the Fuel Line
  102. 102 Give the Fuel Line to the ship crew
  103. 103 The S.S. Aqua is repaired
  104. 104 The repaired ship also opens additional Southwest Islands content
  105. 105 Forked Strait's locked progression also becomes accessible
  106. 106 Travel back to Nihon
  107. 107 Go to Whirl Island
  108. 108 In Gold 97 Reforged, the Lugia event is now available because you repaired the S.S. Aqua
  109. 109 Reach Lugia's chamber
  110. 110 Catch Lugia
  111. 111 Return to Nanjo Forest with Ho-Oh and Lugia
  112. 112 The Tri-Wing makes the legendary birds available
  113. 113 Optional Rival Battle #6 in Nanjo Forest
  114. 114 Optional Mewtwo
  115. 115 Optional Mew
  116. 116 Return to the Southwest Islands
  117. 117 Travel through Forked Strait
  118. 118 Enter Rainbow Island with Ho-Oh and Lugia in your party
  119. 119 Go into the Rainbow Island cave
  120. 120 Find Blue
  121. 121 Talk to Blue while carrying Ho-Oh and Lugia
  122. 122 Move to the opposite side of the waterfall as instructed
  123. 123 Trigger the Ho-Oh/Lugia ritual
  124. 124 Continue to the upper section of Rainbow Island
  125. 125 Challenge Blue
  126. 126 Defeat Blue
  127. 127 Second credits roll
Optional branches · 46 side journeys
  1. 01 Ruins of Alph puzzles after step 22
  2. 02 Koban Island · Dragon's Maw · Clair after step 31
  3. 03 Deeper Boulder Mines after step 12
  4. 04 Endon Cave after step 22
  5. 05 Alloy Fighting Dojo after step 31
  6. 06 Ampare Cavern · Raikou after step 71
  7. 07 Magma Shaft · Entei after step 71
  8. 08 Tidal Grotto · Suicune after step 71
  9. 09 Whirl Island first visit after step 39
  10. 10 National Park · Bug-Catching Contest after step 59
  11. 11 Power Plant · Lt. Surge after step 62
  12. 12 Pokémon Tower after step 62
  13. 13 Kanto Battle Club after step 62
  14. 14 Trainer House after step 62
  15. 15 Rock Tunnel after step 62
  16. 16 Mt. Moon after step 62
  17. 17 Diglett's Cave after step 62
  18. 18 Seafoam Islands after step 62
  19. 19 Safari Zone Beta after step 62
  20. 20 Silph Co. · museum · Game Corner after step 62
  21. 21 Classic leader battles after step 62
  22. 22 Kanto Victory Road after step 62
  23. 23 Battle Tower visit after step 94
  24. 24 Kikai Caldera after step 96
  25. 25 Castle Mountain · shiny Dragonite after step 96
  26. 26 Ryukyu unofficial Gym after step 97
  27. 27 Ryukyu Hotel after step 97
  28. 28 Ryukyu city venues after step 97
  29. 29 Nanjo Forest first visit after step 96
  30. 30 Daito Ranch after step 96
  31. 31 Apple Orchard after step 96
  32. 32 Kume Point · Kerama Strait after step 96
  33. 33 Research Facility · Mewtwo after step 104
  34. 34 Whirl Islands · Lugia after step 107
  35. 35 Nanjo Forest return · rival · Tri-Wing after step 111
  36. 36 Joule Cave · Zapdos after step 112
  37. 37 Charred Summit · Moltres after step 112
  38. 38 Iced Cavern · Articuno after step 112
  39. 39 Tropical Island · Mew after step 117
  40. 40 Gym rematches after step 127
  41. 41 Clair rematch after step 127
  42. 42 League rematch after step 127
  43. 43 Blue rematch after step 127
  44. 44 Battle Club · Trainer House after step 127
  45. 45 Battle Tower challenge after step 127
  46. 46 Pokédex cleanup after step 127

06 // cartridge-verified species

Gold 97's extra Pokédex

The current ROM exposes 253 entries. These 42 names are the entries that do not match the original first-251 species set used by the project's safety checks. Names are read from this exact cartridge, not substituted from a generic Pokédex.

#153 PETAMOLE #155 FLAMBEAR #156 VOLBEAR #157 DYNABEAR #158 CRUIZE #159 AQUALLO #160 AQUARIUS #161 TANGTRIP #162 GELANIA #166 TRIPSTAR #168 TUHEAD #170 KOTORA #171 RAITORA #176 PETICORN #184 BOMSHEAL #185 BELMITT #191 GUPGOLD #193 CORASUN #194 ANCHORAGE #195 GROTESS #200 TRITALES #202 TWINZ #204 TURBAN #205 GRIMBY #206 PARAMITE #207 METTO #211 PRAXE #213 RINRING #214 BELLRUN #217 NUMBPUFF #218 NYANYA #219 MADAME #220 KURSTRAW #221 PANGSHI #222 PUDDIPUP #226 RAYLEEP #234 BALLERINE #239 ELEBABE #241 CHIX #246 WOLFAN #247 WARWOLF #248 LICKILORD #252 LEAFEON

The three starters are Chikorita, Flambear, and Cruize. New species are not automatically treated as catchable: the controller still requires a verified ROM and a safe encounter state.

02 // one decision at a time

How it works

The game remains in charge of what is legal. Laya chooses among verified possibilities; ordinary timing and safety stay in code.

Emulate

PyBoy runs the GB/GBC cartridge locally on the stream computer.

Decode

The adapter reads RAM and screen state: map, menu, battle, party, HP, and more.

Allowlist

The controller exposes only buttons and actions the current state proves legal.

Choose

Local Laya receives the state and picks one allowed next action.

Checkpoint

The run records the decision, updates the overlay, and saves progress.

When something breaks: we stop, save the state, find the owning layer, add a focused fixture, fix the smallest useful part, and replay it. A visible limitation is better than a fake autonomous victory.

03 // no cloud required

The offline stack

The normal Laya path is local from emulator to decision. No OpenAI account, Jev credentials, OAuth, or hosted model is needed.

$ uv sync
$ uv sync --extra laya
$ uv run hf download convaiinnovations/laya
$ uv run laya-sidecar --device cpu
$ AGENT_PROVIDER=laya uv run jpp live

> sidecar: 127.0.0.1:8765
> stream cost: $0 / run: local
What Laya does

Laya is the local tactical provider. It selects one legal movement, menu, or battle action and returns confidence. Invalid or unknown actions are rejected.

What Luna does

Luna is optional screen-text transcription for difficult menus. It is not the player and is disabled in the normal zero-cost offline setup.

What Jev does

Jev is the project/operator name and the older hosted-provider path. That path is separate from Laya's offline mode and is not used for the $0 stream setup.

What stays private

ROMs, saves, checkpoints, extracted artwork, and the local run database stay on the operator's machine and out of Git.

04 // build in public

Progress is part of the show

This project is an experiment viewers can follow, not a polished claim that everything already works.

Observe

Capture the exact failing state instead of guessing from the screen.

Explain

Separate emulator timing, RAM decoding, route logic, UI, and provider failures.

Improve

Add a regression fixture, make the narrow fix, and replay the same moment.

Laya is tactical, not a full Pokémon strategist. Unsupported games fall back to human control. Some menus, old-species encounters, and story events still need manual confirmation.