Pokemon Rejuvenation Save & Story Choices Guide
How saving works, how to protect your progress, and which choices actually matter: Karma quests like Save Starly!, binary calls like save Maria or officer, Paragon vs Renegade, the .Karma Files, and the truth about New Game Plus.
Save System & Backup Basics
Pokemon Rejuvenation saves your game at designated save points and after key story moments, RPG-Maker style — there's no autosave every step of the way, so get into the habit of saving before gym battles and story triggers. Your save files live on disk, which makes backing up simple and essential, especially before updating to a new version like V14.
How to back up your save (and survive a corrupted one)
- Close the game completely. Never copy files while the game is running.
- Find the Save folder. In current builds it sits inside the game's folder (files named like File1.rxdata); depending on your platform/installer it may instead be under your user's Saved Games directory. The folder contains your save slots and settings.
- Copy the whole folder to a safe location (desktop folder, USB drive, or cloud). Add a note with your chapter number so you know which backup is which.
- Before updating to a new version or installing mods, make a fresh copy. If your save becomes corrupted after an update (the classic "save corrupted" problem), restoring this folder is the reliable fix.
- If you have no backup and the save is corrupted, try re-extracting the game files or asking on the official Discord — but expect that unrecoverable saves sometimes stay unrecoverable.
Worried about losing progress during the story itself? The chapters guide flags the points where the game locks you out of earlier content — that's when a pre-chapter backup is most valuable.
Choices That Shape Your Run
Rejuvenation tracks your decisions through Karma and the Paragon/Renegade axis. Side quests and dialogue options quietly build this score, and it changes how characters — especially Aelita — react to you. The table below lists the choices players search for most, with what the official wiki confirms as of V14:
| Choice / feature | When it appears | What it affects | Notes (as of V14) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Save Starly! | Chapter 1, East Gearen Help Plaza | +1 Karma | Missable once you head to Grand Dream City; part of the 7-quest Help Plaza batch. |
| Other Help Plaza quests (Missing Mother!, Love Letter!, Dangerous Pokémon, Wretched Music, Hidden Library, Battle Me!) | Chapters 1–2 | +1 Karma each | All permanently missable after leaving for GDC. |
| Save Maria or officer | Mid-game story event | Karma and the Paragon/Renegade direction | Official wiki doesn't publish a "correct" answer as of V14; back up your save to test both. |
| Renegade Route trigger | Chapter 15 truth sequence | Switches the run onto the Renegade path | Only available if prerequisites were met — plan your choices early. |
| .Karma Files mini chapter | After Chapter 15 (V13.5) | Bonus story content before the Xen HQ invasion | Skippable on later playthroughs in V14. |
| Story Mode / Classic | V14 | Gameplay difficulty & mode options | Details not documented on the wiki as of V14. |
| New Game Plus | V14 | NG+ exclusive content | NG+ exists in V14 — contract battles, the Twingold Code Route and an NG++ tier (see below). The wiki does not document it. |
Karma quest rewards follow the official wiki's sidequest documentation; route details are marked as of V14 where the wiki is silent.
Paragon vs Renegade — choice comparison
| Decision point | Paragon option | Renegade option | Consequences |
|---|---|---|---|
| Help Plaza quests (Save Starly! and the other six) | Complete all 7 quests — each grants +1 Karma | Skip or miss them; the whole batch is permanently missable after leaving for Grand Dream City | Karma is the currency of your moral direction — the quests are among the earliest Paragon-style choices in the game. |
| Save Maria or officer | Save the person you want to prioritize — the wiki publishes no "correct" answer as of V14 | The same binary call; the other character is left behind | Feeds Karma and the Paragon/Renegade direction of the run; back up your save if you want to try both branches. |
| Story & dialogue choices (e.g. with Aelita) | Supportive, Paragon-style responses | Cold or hostile responses | Relationship-positive choices feed the same Karma score; on a Renegade run, Aelita "seems to be aware of the Protagonist's actions" and reactions run colder. |
| Renegade Route trigger | Continue on the Paragon path | Meet the prerequisites and trigger it during Chapter 15's truth sequence | Switches the run onto the Renegade path and changes how characters react to you. |
| .Karma Files mini chapter (after Ch. 15, V13.5) | Play it through — bonus story content before the Xen HQ invasion | Skip it (allowed on later playthroughs in V14) | A quality-of-life skip, separate from NG+: the skip saves time, while NG+ adds the exclusive content layer on top. |
Comparison built from the page's Karma summary as of V14; where the wiki publishes no canonical answer, the table says so instead of guessing.
New Game Plus — Does It Exist?
Short answer: yes, and it is one of V14's headline additions. The official wiki does not document it, which is why older versions of this page — and a lot of forum answers — still say it does not exist. But current V14 recordings show NG+ content in detail, from several independent creators, and it goes well beyond a skip button.
I went through the V14 NG+ videos published between July and September 2026 to establish what is actually in it. What the recordings document:
| Feature | What it is | Source recording |
|---|---|---|
| NG+ contract battles | A set of boss fights that only exist on a NG+ file. The documented roster runs Shiftry, Gardevoir, Karrina, Archeservant, Deoxys, Kieran, Vivian, Regirock, Ace and Shayda — several of them characters you would not otherwise fight. | Partyhardy, NG+ Contract Battles + Cutscenes |
| An exclusive route | The Twingold Code Route — an alternative path through a large part of the Xenpurgis, with its own scenes (Spotlight Ruin, a Police Department key, and further meetings with Eizen). | Partyhardy, Twingold Code Route NG+ |
| Skip-with-reward points | At Blacksteeple you can battle Foehn and Mistral and then skip the section, receiving a reward for doing so. This is the pattern: NG+ offers shortcuts that pay out rather than just skipping content. | Partyhardy, Blacksteeple NG+ Skip & Reward |
| A deeper NG++ tier | There is content gated behind a second completion, labelled NG++ — for example "Shayda's Charm", and a second Eizen fight with its own follow-up scene. | Partyhardy, All New Game+ Scenes; A big noob, Second Eizen Fight + NG++ Scene |
| The prologue, replayed in stages | The V14 prologue is split into sections that unlock progressively with your save's progress, and you cannot see the whole thing without a finished V14 Paragon file (see the table below). | Partyhardy, The Full Prologue |
| "Soft NG+" | A community term, not an in-game label, for scenes you can see without a NG+ file but only if you know they are there from a previous playthrough. Useful to know when a guide tells you something is NG+ only — it may not be. | Partyhardy, All New Game+ Scenes |
The prologue structure is worth its own table, because it doubles as the clearest picture of how NG+ gating works. Each stage checks your save, and if the save does not qualify, the sequence skips ahead:
| Prologue section | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Base | No preconditions — always available. |
| Stage 1 | 3 badges |
| Stage 2 | 9 badges |
| Stage 3 | A completed V14 story |
| Ending | Follows from Stage 3. |
Separately, the earlier second-playthrough conveniences still exist and are not the same thing as NG+: you can skip .Karma Files, and skip the first two Chapter 15 Component episodes (the Diamond and Pearl hunts) once you have done them before. Think of those as quality-of-life skips, and NG+ as the content layer that sits on top.
NG+ is not documented on the official wiki, so everything above is drawn from V14 gameplay recordings published July–September 2026 by several independent creators rather than from an official source. The contract roster and route names are as those recordings present them; the exact unlock conditions beyond the prologue stages are not fully documented anywhere yet, so treat specifics as a map of what exists rather than a complete unlock guide. If you are chasing a particular piece of NG+ content, back up your finished save before experimenting.
Story Mode vs Classic
"Pokemon rejuvenation story mode or classic" is a common V14-era search. As of V14, the official wiki doesn't document the two modes in detail; based on developer announcements, Story Mode is a lighter, narrative-focused experience while Classic preserves the traditional challenge. Treat specific differences as unconfirmed — and keep that backup ready, because mode options are exactly the kind of thing that changes save compatibility.
Karma Sources Quick Reference
Karma is the currency of your moral direction, and knowing where it comes from helps you plan a Paragon run, a Renegade run, or anything between. The official wiki confirms the Help Plaza rewards; other quest Karma values are consistent across community data but should be double-checked per quest:
| Source | When | Karma | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Save Starly! | Chapter 1 | +1 | Help Plaza, East Gearen; missable after leaving for GDC. |
| Missing Mother! | Chapter 1 | +1 | Help Plaza batch. |
| The Hidden Library | Chapter 1 | +1 | Help Plaza batch; chain continues in Ch. 2, 9 and 14. |
| Love Letter! | Chapter 1 | +1 | Help Plaza batch. |
| Dangerous Pokémon | Chapter 1 | +1 | Help Plaza batch. |
| Battle Me! | Chapter 1 | +1 | Help Plaza batch; named "Battle Me!" in the wiki quest list. |
| Wretched Music | Chapter 1 | +1 | Help Plaza batch. |
| Save Maria or officer | Mid-game | Karma shift | Binary choice; direction depends on your pick. |
| Other sidequests (Ch. 2–.Karma Files) | Throughout | Mostly +1 | Verify per quest on the official Sidequests page. |
Help Plaza rewards are documented on the official wiki; the binary-choice impact is marked as of V14 where details are thin.
Update & Mod Safety
Two of the most common "save corrupted" stories come from updating mid-playthrough and from mods. Before installing a new version (V14 especially) or any mod, close the game, back up the Save folder, and note your chapter. If a mod breaks your file, uninstall the mod first and test the backup before assuming the save itself is lost. The official Discord keeps a support channel for exactly these cases — link it from our Resources hub.
How the Game Scores Your Ending — the System Behind the Choices
Quest lists tell you which choices matter but never how much each one weighs, which is the actual question behind "how do I get the bad ending". To answer it I went to a creator who opened the game's own debug console and read the scoring variable directly rather than guessing: Leo, How to unlock the Renegade Route in Pokemon Rejuvenation (August 2021, V13). What he found is a single weighted total — variable 700 — measured against a threshold of 100 points, tallied immediately before you enter the nightmare realm.
Three separate things feed that total: major story events, your Karma bracket, and specific relationships sitting below zero. Here is the structure he read off the game's own list:
| Component | Points | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Major event — not saving Rift Garbodor | +10 | Missable rescue scene. |
| Major event — not saving Amber on Valor Mountain | +10 | — |
| Major event — not saving the character in the Rift Hippowdon | +10 | Same pattern: an ignored rescue. |
| Major event — "hand it over" during Melia's future arc | +10 | Compliance with the antagonist's demand. |
| Major event — trying to escape that scene instead | +5 | Half the cost of complying — you cannot come out ahead. |
| Major event — exposing Flora to Cassandra immediately | +20 | The single heaviest individual event. |
| Major event — killing Karrina during her sidequest | +10 | — |
| Major event — the follow-up Karrina act | +20 | Stacks with the row above: 30 points from one sidequest chain. |
| Karma bracket — 55 or more | 0 | Being a decent person is worth nothing here; it just costs you nothing. |
| Karma bracket — 45 to 55 | +5 | Each ~10 Karma step below the line adds 5. |
| Karma bracket — 35 to 45 | +10 | — |
| Karma bracket — negative 10 | +45 | — |
| Karma bracket — negative 20 | +75 | Effectively skipping every sidequest in the game. |
| Relationship — any tracked companion below zero | +5 each | Melia, Ren, Venam and Amber are among the names. |
| Relationship — neglectful toward Tesla | +20 | Four times the standard companion penalty. |
Sourced from a debug-console reading on V13, not from the official wiki, and the creator is explicit about its limits: he could not locate the bad-ending content in the game files, and believes the ending "can be avoided even then". Names and exact values should be treated as a map of how the system is structured rather than a current V14 checklist. Two names in his narration are ambiguous in the source recording; where a name could not be corroborated against this site's own character pages, the row is described by its role instead. Verify against your in-game Badge Card and current-version data before planning a run around a specific number.
Every Surrender Ending Variant (V14)
Once you reach the endgame, the endings fork per companion — not into two or three outcomes, but into a separate variant for each character you have travelled with. The written sources list the route split without enumerating these, so I worked through a complete V14 recording of them: Partyhardy, All Surrender Ending Variations (July 2026), which chapters every variant.
| Variant | In the recording | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Buildup | 00:00 | The shared lead-in before the endings diverge — roughly the first 23 minutes. |
| Crescent | 23:27 | First character-specific variant. |
| Eren & Venam | 26:34 | Shared variant for this pair. |
| Aelita | 34:00 | Has a softer sub-variation (see below). |
| Ren | 38:16 | Also has a softer sub-variation. |
| Alexandra | 44:54 | — |
| Nancy | 49:26 | — |
Three details from that run are worth knowing before you plan a save around it:
- Some variants have sub-variants. The creator deliberately took "the slightly romantic sub-variation" for both Aelita and Ren, and was surprised by it — so the ending you get depends on more than which character you were closest to. He recommends seeing the Renegade route first if you want Erin's variant to make sense, since it references things established there.
- One gate is absolute: you cannot reject the Obsidian Garden invitation. Do not save-scum for a branch that does not exist.
- Budget real time. The buildup alone runs about 23 minutes and the full set of variants is just over an hour of cutscene, which is why watching them is a reasonable alternative to seven playthroughs.
Variant names and timings come from the creator's own chapter list for a V14 run (July 2026); his spelling is kept where it differs from other sources. This is one player's sequence, so treat the order as representative rather than fixed. If you are chasing a specific variant, back up your save before the endgame — see the backup steps at the top of this page.
Pokemon Rejuvenation Save & Choices FAQ
Should I save Maria or the officer in Pokemon Rejuvenation?
There's no wiki-documented "best" answer as of V14 — the choice feeds Karma and your Paragon/Renegade direction. Pick the outcome you'd rather live with narratively, or keep a backup and experience both branches. Community opinions differ, so don't trust a single forum post.
Does Pokemon Rejuvenation have New Game Plus?
Yes — NG+ is one of V14's additions, even though the official wiki does not document it. Recordings from several creators in 2026 show NG+ content including exclusive contract battles (Shiftry, Gardevoir, Karrina, Archeservant, Deoxys, Kieran, Vivian, Regirock, Ace, Shayda), an exclusive route (the Twingold Code Route), skip-with-reward points such as Blacksteeple, and a deeper NG++ tier. The full V14 prologue is also gated behind your save: its sections need 3 badges, then 9 badges, then a completed V14 story. Keep your finished save — it is the key. See does New Game Plus exist.
What is the difference between Story Mode and Classic in Pokemon Rejuvenation?
Both are V14 mode options: Story Mode leans toward a smoother, narrative-first experience and Classic keeps the standard difficulty. Official details are not documented on the wiki as of V14, so check the wiki before planning a run around them.
What happens if my Pokemon Rejuvenation save is corrupted?
First, restore from a backup of the Save folder. Without one, try re-extracting the game or getting help on the official Discord. If the file itself is damaged and unreadable, it may simply be lost — which is why backing up before every update is the real fix.
Is the save Starly quest worth doing?
Yes. Save Starly! is a Chapter 1 Help Plaza quest worth +1 Karma, and the whole Help Plaza batch is missable forever once you leave for Grand Dream City. For Paragon-leaning runs it's a no-brainer; for everyone else it's still free Karma toward the relationship and route systems.
What is Paragon vs Renegade in Pokemon Rejuvenation?
Paragon and Renegade are the two moral alignments. Dialogue choices and quest decisions accumulate Karma, and the Renegade Route can be initiated during Chapter 15's origin-reveal sequence when prerequisites are met. Renegade runs change dialogue and character reactions (see our character guide for who notices).
How does Pokemon Rejuvenation decide which ending you get?
The endgame adds up a weighted score and compares it to a threshold of 100 points, tallied right before you enter the nightmare realm. Three things feed it: major story events (up to 95 points across eight of them), your Karma bracket (up to 75 points if Karma is deeply negative), and companions sitting below zero relationship (5 each, or 20 for neglecting Tesla). The practical lever is sidequest volume — completing sidequests grants Karma whichever way you chose inside them. See how the game scores your ending for the full breakdown and its version caveats.
What are the Surrender endings in Pokemon Rejuvenation?
They fork per companion rather than into a couple of fixed outcomes. A V14 recording chapters a shared buildup of roughly 23 minutes followed by separate Crescent, Eren & Venam, Aelita, Ren, Alexandra and Nancy variants. Aelita and Ren each also have a softer sub-variation, and one gate is absolute — you cannot reject the Obsidian Garden invitation. See every Surrender ending variant for timings.