Pokémon Reforged Bronze expands on PC with four gyms, Virus Pokémon and 27 starters

There are 27 starters to pick from

The opening choice is much bigger than usual. Players can pick from 27 starter Pokémon, covering the main generations from Kanto through Paldea. Instead of choosing between three creatures, you’re presented with the starter groups from across the series. For anyone who spends far too long staring at a starter screen, this could take a minute.

Wild Pokémon appear directly on the map, too. Encounters use visible symbols rather than relying entirely on random battles, so you can spot Pokémon before starting a fight. It changes how routes play and gives players more control over which encounters they enter. Experience sharing is available from the start. Don’t want it? You can switch it off and handle party levelling in a more traditional way.

Four gyms are playable in the current demo

The second demo pushes the main story through Anthian City and gives players access to four gyms, including Anthian City Gym. Gym leader battles have received adjustments for this version. The aim appears to be firmer opposition without turning each major fight into a wall. Teams and encounters have been reworked around a higher level of challenge, yet the game still sticks closely to a familiar Pokémon battle structure.

There’s enough here for the release to come across more like a sizeable early build than a short proof of concept. Routes, towns, trainers and story progression now sit alongside several systems created for Reforged Bronze itself. The biggest example is Dataspaces.

Dataspaces bring their own Pokémon and challenges

Dataspaces are digital areas found inside computers and linked to Data-type Pokémon. Players enter these spaces, complete challenges, catch Pokémon and search for an exit. Three are currently available, located in Silvent City, Lagoona Lake and Anthian Sewer.

They’re more than side rooms with a different visual theme. Dataspaces introduce Virus Pokémon, alternate forms connected to these digital areas. Heracross and Gallade currently have Virus variants in the demo. Custom moves appear here too, including Scorpion Slash.

This gives Reforged Bronze room to branch away from its Brick Bronze foundations without replacing the main format. You still travel between locations, build a team and take on gyms, but Dataspaces sit beside this structure as their own activity.

More fights appear after the main demo

Reaching the end of the current story content doesn’t close the game immediately. Three extra battles become available afterwards, featuring Red, Wes and Yellow. Event Pokémon can be obtained through other activities, and players can collect a Shiny Charm from the player character’s home PC.

The game has an automatic updater too, which should make future versions less awkward to install. The current public build is version 1.1.4, with the updater handling new files rather than asking players to download the complete package for each release. It’s a small technical feature, but a useful one for a PC project expected to receive more builds.

The next update is set to push into Aredia City

Development hasn’t stopped with the four-gym demo. The next planned expansion is expected to continue progression through Aredia City Gym, extending the story beyond the current endpoint and adding another major section to the playable build.

Pokémon Reforged Bronze remains an unofficial fan project with no official connection to Nintendo or The Pokémon Company. For now, its second demo offers a substantial chunk of playable material: 27 starter choices, four gyms, visible wild encounters, three Dataspaces, Virus Pokémon, custom moves and several fights waiting after the main story section. For a project still in development, there’s already plenty to play.