Welcome to Pokémon Emerald, the definitive adventure in the vibrant Hoenn region! As a budding Pokémon Trainer, you’ll explore diverse towns, challenge powerful Gym Leaders, and thwart the schemes of Team Aqua and Team Magma. Master the intricacies of Pokémon types and build a team capable of overcoming any obstacle on your path to becoming the Pokémon League Champion.
This guide is your essential companion for conquering Hoenn. We’ll help you navigate the main story, from facing off against the Elite Four to dealing with the legendary Pokémon Groudon and Kyogre. Plus, we cover post-game challenges and essential tips to ensure you don’t miss out on any key items or powerful allies.
1. Version History
Pokemon Emerald guide version history from Sept 2006 to Oct 2016, detailing walkthrough progress and added sections.
Version History:
- Version .62 (September 3, 2006): The first version of the guide, with 5 badges completed and other sections finished.
- Version .75 (September 7, 2006): Walkthrough updated to include progress up to the 6th badge at Fortree City.
- Version .87 (September 18, 2006): Walkthrough updated to include progress up to the 7th badge at Mossdeep City and the completion of the Space Center.
- Version .95 (October 10, 2006): All 8 badges are now covered in the guide. The next update will cover (press the cover button to crouch behind walls or objects) the Elite Four and post-game content.
- Version .97 (December 11, 2006): The Elite Four have been completed, but the walkthrough is not yet finished, with side quests and post-Elite Four content remaining.
- Version .99 (January 31, 2007): Most available side quests after the Elite Four have been completed. The Battle Frontier and any other remaining content are the next major focus.
- Version .99a (February 1, 2007): The Battle Frontier area and its general rules were added, but the seven battle sites were not yet covered.
- Version 1.00 (February 4, 2007): The walkthrough is officially finished after approximately 8 months of work.
- Version 1.25 (July 11, 2007): A section on legendary Pokemon, found within the side quests after defeating the Elite Four, has been added. A TM/HM list has also been included in the item section.
- Version 1.30 (October 10, 2016): The Types chart at the end of the guide has been cleaned up.
2. Controls
Learn the controls for Pokemon Emerald, including D-Pad, A, B, Start, Select, R, and L buttons.
Controls:
- D-Pad: Use to move your character around the game world or to select options when using a cursor (like in menus).
- A Button: Confirms selections or chooses an attack during battles.
- B Button: Cancels actions or goes back to the previous screen.
- Start Button: Pauses the game and opens the main menu.
- Select Button: This button has no use in the game.
- R Button / L Button: If enabled, these buttons are used to scroll back and forth between your Pokemon boxes.
3. Emerald Changes
Discover the significant changes in Pokemon Emerald, including new legendary Pokemon, altered characters, and expanded post-game content.
Walkthrough:
- Both main characters now wear green outfits.
- You can catch both Groudon and Kyogre.
- After defeating the Elite Four, you can choose to catch either Latias or Latios. The other will appear on Southern Island, accessible only with the Eon Ticket.
- Completing the Hoenn Pokedex earns you a starter Pokemon of your choice from Gold, Silver, or Crystal versions, given by Professor Birch.
- Some Pokemon from Ruby and Sapphire are not found in Emerald: Meditite/Medicham, Surskit/Masquerain (obtainable via Record Mixing with R/S players or by hearing a TV report about a Surskit swarm), Roselia, Zangoose, and Lunatone.
- Wallace, the former 8th Gym Leader in Ruby and Sapphire, is now the Champion. The old champion, Steve, can be battled in Meteor Falls. Juan is the new Gym Leader for Sootopolis City.
- Certain Gym Leaders have modified their Pokemon rosters.
- The Battle Frontier, a larger and improved version of the Battle Tower, becomes available after beating the Elite Four. Here you can earn Symbols, Battle Points, purchase dolls, and teach your Pokemon moves.
- You will battle both Team Aqua and Team Magma.
- Navel Rock and Birth Island can be accessed with the Mystic Ticket and Aurora Ticket, respectively, which were distributed at Nintendo Events. Without these, a Gameshark would be required.
- Faraway Island has been added, accessible by obtaining the Old Sea Chart from Nintendo Events. You can encounter and capture a wild Mew there.
- The Match Call feature allows for rematches with specific trainers and all Gym Leaders. Their Pokemon will become stronger or change with each battle; for instance, your father Norman will eventually have a Blissey and another Slaking.
- A new Deoxys form, the Speed Form, has been introduced with high speed and balanced stats.
- Double battles can now occur. If two trainers spot you simultaneously, they will both engage you, resulting in a double battle where you send out two Pokemon and each opponent sends out one at a time.
- Some Natures have added effects in Pokemon Emerald. For example, the
Capturing Pokemon and Forming a Team
Learn how to capture Pokemon in Pokemon Emerald, increase your odds with status conditions and better Poke Balls, and build a balanced team.
Walkthrough
- 1You can hold up to 6 Pokemon at a time.
- 2Captured wild Pokemon are sent to Lanette's PC.
- 3Pokemon can be caught in wild grass, by fishing, surfing, walking in caves, or using Rock Smash.
- 4Some Pokemon can only be caught once; if knocked out, you must load a previous save game to capture them again.
- 5To increase your chances of capturing a wild Pokemon, battle it with your own Pokemon until its health bar is in the low orange or red, but do not knock it out.
- 6Inflicting status conditions like sleep or paralysis greatly increases capture chances.
- 7Be cautious with Poison and Burn status conditions as they reduce health each turn, so capture the Pokemon before it faints.
- 8As you progress, buy better balls like Great Balls and Ultra Balls, which have a much better capture chance than regular Poke Balls.
- 9Always aim to have at least 15 or 20 Great/Ultra Balls.
- 10Special balls like Timer and Nest Balls can help capture Pokemon easier if used correctly.
- 11No single Pokemon is the best; each has strengths and weaknesses against other types.
- 12A balanced team with advantages over many types is more effective than a team of the same type, like an all-Dragon team which is weak to Ice Pokemon.
- 13An example of an effective team includes Sceptile (Grass), Magneton (Electric/Steel), Gardevoir (Psychic), Kingdra (Dragon/Water), Swellow (Normal/Flying), and Hariyama (Fighting).
- 14A good moveset for Kingdra could be Surf/Ice Beam/Rain Dance/Toxic, as having multiple moves of the same type (e.g., all Water) limits advantages.
- 15Ice Beam on Kingdra provides advantages against Grass, Dragon, and Flying types.
- 16Toxic on Kingdra poisons the opponent and increases poison damage each turn.
- 17You may need to replace Pokemon on your team as their usefulness decreases throughout the game.
- 18Many Pokemon found can become useful HM slaves, carrying HM moves like Cut, Rock Smash, and Flash, to avoid having useless moves on your main team.
- 19Some Pokemon can be obtained early, but others you'll really want require progressing late into the game.
Tips
- The higher a wild Pokemon's level, the more difficult it is to capture.
- Status conditions like Sleep and Paralysis significantly boost capture rates.
- Carry at least 15-20 Great or Ultra Balls for better capture success.
- A diverse team composition offers a stronger advantage against various trainers.
- Consider movesets that provide type coverage rather than relying solely on one type.
- Be prepared to swap out Pokemon as the game progresses and new, more useful ones become available.
- Utilize HM slaves to keep your main team's movesets focused on battle effectiveness.
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