How to Play Pokemon Reborn on Android with JoiPlay (.jgp Install)
Pokemon Reborn is the giant of the fan game world: a complete, difficult, story heavy adventure set in the decaying Reborn City, with gyms for all 18 types and a battle system rebuilt around Field Effects. It is also the game that confuses Android players the most, because old guides describe an outdated install method. Here is the current truth: Reborn’s official download page offers a dedicated JoiPlay build that arrives as a .jgp package, and you install it with JoiPlay’s Install Package option. This pokemon reborn joiplay guide uses that official method, explains what to ignore from older tutorials, and covers performance and save care for a very long game.
Quick Facts
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Game | Pokemon Reborn, created by Amethyst and team |
| Built with | RPG Maker XP and the Pokemon Essentials Starter Kit |
| App you need | JoiPlay plus the RPG Maker Plugin, version 1.20.53 or newer per the official page |
| Status | Complete. Episode 19 is the final story release, current build 19.5 |
| Price | Free fan game |
| Official source | The download page at rebornevo.com |
| Install method | Download the build labelled JoiPlay, then use Install Package in JoiPlay |
One detail from that table matters more than the rest: the official page lists separate downloads for Windows, macOS, Linux and JoiPlay. For this guide, you want the JoiPlay one, not the Windows one.
What Pokemon Reborn Is
Reborn City is a crumbling metropolis of smog, crime and acid rain, and the region around it is in just as much trouble. Into that setting the game drops one of the biggest stories in any fan game, with content through Generation 7 and 807 Pokemon available. The features players know it for:
- Field Effects: Reborn’s signature battle system. The terrain of a battlefield actively changes the fight, boosting some moves and types, weakening others, and sometimes transforming mid battle. Gym Leaders are built around their fields, so learning the field is part of learning the gym.
- All 18 types get a gym: instead of the usual eight badge structure, progression runs through leaders of every type, which is one reason the game is so long.
- Serious difficulty: Reborn expects you to build teams for specific fights, use items intelligently, and adapt to fields. It is famous for not holding your hand.
- A complete story: Episode 19 finished the game, and the current 19.5 build is the polished final form, not another episode in progress.
If you are comparing the big Essentials titles before committing to one, our guide on How to Play Pokemon Games on JoiPlay shows how Reborn sits next to Uranium, Insurgence and the rest.
Ignore the Old Windows Build Advice
Search results for Reborn on Android still carry tutorials from before the dedicated package existed. Those guides tell you to download a Windows build and warn you to pick one Windows version over another. That advice is outdated.
The official download page now handles Android properly with its own JoiPlay download, and its instructions are short: use the RPG Maker Plugin version 1.20.53 or newer, and use Install Package in JoiPlay. Follow the current official page over any older tutorial, including older versions of general JoiPlay setup guides. Our own How to Download Games for JoiPlay guide covers safe downloading habits, but for Reborn specifically, the dedicated package is the whole story.
What You Need Before Starting
- ✅ Download and Install Joiplay App.
- ✅ The RPG Maker Plugin installed, at version 1.20.53 or newer as the Reborn page requires
- ✅ Space for a download of roughly 700 MB, plus room for the installed game afterwards
- ✅ A stable connection, because re-downloading a file this size after a failed attempt is nobody’s idea of fun
- ✅ A few minutes of patience for the package install step
If your plugin is older, update it before you download the game. Our JoiPlay RPG Maker Plugin guide explains how plugin versions pair with the main app and where to get current builds safely.
Step by Step: Install Reborn With the .jgp Package
This is the official method, start to finish:
- Open the official Reborn download page at rebornevo.com and find the list of builds.
- Choose the download labelled JoiPlay. Do not choose the Windows, macOS or Linux build for this method.
- Download the package file and let it finish completely. The file is large, around 700 MB, so stay on a stable connection.
- Make sure JoiPlay is installed, and that the RPG Maker Plugin is installed and updated to 1.20.53 or newer.
- Open JoiPlay and tap the + button.
- Choose Install Package instead of the normal add game flow.
- Browse to the downloaded package file and select it.
- Wait while JoiPlay installs the package. Extraction and setup of a game this size takes time, and the app may look busy for a while.
- When the install finishes, find Pokemon Reborn in your JoiPlay library and launch it.
Pro tip: keep your phone in landscape while the package installs if progress text is hard to read in portrait. It makes status messages easier to follow on some devices.
If the package install stalls completely, the usual cause is a damaged download. Delete the partial file, download the package again from the official page, and repeat the steps rather than trying to repair a broken package.
First Launch Notes
Reborn is a marathon, and the first launch sets expectations:
- First load is slow. A game of this scale takes time to prepare on first run. Later launches settle down.
- Read the field. When a battle starts, check the Field Effects in play before choosing moves. The in-game field information exists because guessing wrong costs fights.
- Text and menus are PC sized. Reborn has a lot of reading. It is playable on a phone, but longer sessions are kinder on a bigger screen.
- Expect a challenge curve. Early gyms already assume you are paying attention to fields, items and team composition. That is the game’s identity, not a sign your build is wrong.
Field Effects: Why They Matter So Much
It is hard to overstate how central Field Effects are to Reborn, so here is the plain version. Almost every serious battlefield in the game has a field active on it: an indoor arena, a chessboard, a burning landscape, a factory floor, and many more. The field is not decoration. It can strengthen moves of certain types, weaken others, change how statuses behave, and grant advantages to Pokemon that fit the terrain.
Three habits will carry you through most fights:
- Read the field before you lead. The game gives you field information for a reason. Two minutes of reading can save a full team wipe.
- Build for the gym’s field, not against the leader’s Pokemon alone. Counters that ignore the field often lose to weaker Pokemon that abuse it.
- Expect the field to change. Moves and events can transform or end fields mid battle, and strong players plan around the field that is coming, not only the one on screen.
Master those habits and Reborn’s difficulty becomes fair, even generous with information. Ignore them and the same fights feel impossible.
Playing Reborn in Mobile Sessions
A game this long is rarely finished in sittings at a desk, and honestly it suits phone play well if you organise it. Keep your current objective in mind when you stop, because returning after a week to a huge city with no notes is disorienting; a one line note in your phone’s notes app solves it. Use longer sessions for gym attempts and story pushes, and short sessions for team building, training and shopping, so a interrupted battle never costs you a long attempt. Players who treat Reborn as a slow burn, a gym or two a week, tend to finish it. Players who rush tend to bounce off its difficulty spikes.
Performance Tips for a Very Long Game
Reborn will likely live on your phone for months, so set it up to age well:
- Keep free space in reserve. A phone that is nearly full slows everything down, and Reborn’s saves and data need breathing room.
- Close background apps before long sessions. Field heavy battles and big city areas are the first places a strained phone shows it.
- Shorter sessions help weaker phones. Heat builds over time, and a cooler phone performs better in the late stages of a long play session.
- Do not move the installed game casually. Once the package is installed and working, leave its files where JoiPlay put them.
Back Up Your Save Like It Matters, Because It Does
A Reborn save can represent an enormous amount of play time, spread across 18 gyms and a full story. Treat it like something valuable:
- Back up your save files before installing any updated Reborn build or package.
- Keep the backup somewhere separate from the game folder, such as cloud storage or a PC.
- Update the game, launch it, and confirm your save loads before you delete the old backup.
Our JoiPlay Save File Transfer Guide explains save locations and how to move saves between devices safely. If you ever switch phones mid run, that guide plus a recent backup will save your entire playthrough.
Common Problems and Fixes
| Problem | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| JoiPlay refuses the package | RPG Maker Plugin older than 1.20.53 | Update the plugin to 1.20.53 or newer and try Install Package again |
| Install stalls or fails partway | Damaged or incomplete package download | Delete the file, redownload from the official page, and reinstall |
| You downloaded the Windows build by mistake | Wrong build selected on the download page | Download the build labelled JoiPlay instead, and use Install Package |
| Game launches but runs slowly | Phone under load or low on storage | Close background apps and keep generous free space available |
| Worry about losing progress on update | No backup taken | Back up saves first using the save transfer guide, then update |
Conclusion
Pokemon Reborn is the rare fan game that can anchor your phone’s game library for months: 18 gyms, Field Effects that rewrite battles, and a complete story in the current 19.5 build. The Android setup is simpler than its reputation suggests, as long as you use the current official route. Download the build labelled JoiPlay from rebornevo.com, keep the RPG Maker Plugin at 1.20.53 or newer, install through Install Package, and ignore the outdated Windows build tutorials. Back up your save before updates, and Reborn City is yours.