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Capturing Pokemon and Forming a Team
Pokemon Emerald

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.

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Learn how to capture Pokemon in Pokemon Emerald, increase your odds with status conditions and better Poke Balls, and build a balanced team.

Walkthrough
  1. 1
    You can hold up to 6 Pokemon at a time.
  2. 2
    Captured wild Pokemon are sent to Lanette's PC.
  3. 3
    Pokemon can be caught in wild grass, by fishing, surfing, walking in caves, or using Rock Smash.
  4. 4
    Some Pokemon can only be caught once; if knocked out, you must load a previous save game to capture them again.
  5. 5
    To 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.
  6. 6
    Inflicting status conditions like sleep or paralysis greatly increases capture chances.
  7. 7
    Be cautious with Poison and Burn status conditions as they reduce health each turn, so capture the Pokemon before it faints.
  8. 8
    As you progress, buy better balls like Great Balls and Ultra Balls, which have a much better capture chance than regular Poke Balls.
  9. 9
    Always aim to have at least 15 or 20 Great/Ultra Balls.
  10. 10
    Special balls like Timer and Nest Balls can help capture Pokemon easier if used correctly.
  11. 11
    No single Pokemon is the best; each has strengths and weaknesses against other types.
  12. 12
    A 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.
  13. 13
    An example of an effective team includes Sceptile (Grass), Magneton (Electric/Steel), Gardevoir (Psychic), Kingdra (Dragon/Water), Swellow (Normal/Flying), and Hariyama (Fighting).
  14. 14
    A 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.
  15. 15
    Ice Beam on Kingdra provides advantages against Grass, Dragon, and Flying types.
  16. 16
    Toxic on Kingdra poisons the opponent and increases poison damage each turn.
  17. 17
    You may need to replace Pokemon on your team as their usefulness decreases throughout the game.
  18. 18
    Many 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.
  19. 19
    Some 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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