Pokémon Emerald Version
Pokémon Emerald Version (Japanese: ポケットモンスターエメラルド Pocket Monsters Emerald) is an upper version to Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, and is the fifth and final Generation III core series game. Like the previous upper version, Pokémon Crystal, it added many features not present in the earlier paired versions. It was released in Japan on September 16, 2004, in North America on May 1, 2005, in Australia on June 9, 2005, and in Europe on October 21, 2005.
| Pokémon Emerald Version ポケットモンスターエメラルド | |
|---|---|
 Pokémon Emerald Version's boxart, featuring Rayquaza. | |
Basic info
| |
| Platform: | Game Boy Advance |
| Category: | RPG |
| Players: | up to 5 |
| Connectivity: | Game Link Cable, Wireless Adapter, e-Reader |
| Developer: | Game Freak |
| Publisher: | Nintendo |
| Part of: | Generation III core series |
Ratings
| |
| CERO: | 全年齢 (all ages) |
| ESRB: | E |
| ACB: | G8+ |
| OFLC: | G8+ |
| PEGI: | 3 |
| GRAC: | Not applicable |
| GSRR: | N/A |
Release dates
| |
| Japan: | September 16, 2004[1] |
| North America: | May 1, 2005[2] |
| Australia: | June 9, 2005 |
| Europe: | October 21, 2005[3] |
| South Korea: | N/A |
| Hong Kong: | N/A |
| Taiwan: | N/A |
Websites
| |
| Japanese: | Pokémon.co.jp Nintendo.co.jp |
| English: | Pokémon.com Nintendo.com Nintendo.co.uk |
|
Japanese boxart
 Boxart of Pocket Monsters Emerald. | |
It was the second highest-selling video game of 2005 in North America. It was also the third best-selling game for the Game Boy Advance, losing to the other Generation III games, Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire and Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen.
Plot
The player starts their journey in Littleroot Town, where the family has just moved from the Johto region after the player's father, Norman, became the leader of the Petalburg Gym. The story starts off with the player riding in the moving truck, which arrives in Littleroot. After exiting the truck, the player's mother explains that they have just arrived at their new home; they then enter the house together, and there are Vigoroth movers carrying boxes. The player's mother suggests that the player introduce themselves to Professor Birch, a friend of Norman's.
Upon arriving at Birch's house, his wife greets the player, and upstairs the player meets Brendan/May (whichever is the opposite gender as the player), the child of Professor Birch who will become one of the player's rivals. After the introduction, Brendan/May soon leaves to join Birch, who is out in the field. The player then finds Birch on Route 101, where he is being chased by a Zigzagoon. Birch asks the player to take a Poké Ball out of his bag lying on the ground; the player then chooses between Treecko, Mudkip, and Torchic as their first partner Pokémon. After choosing, a battle immediately begins with the wild Zigzagoon. After rescuing Birch, he lets the player keep the chosen Pokémon as thanks for saving him. He then tells the player to meet up with Brendan/May on Route 103 for pointers on how to be a Trainer.
Once the player finds Brendan/May on Route 103, they have their first battle, after which they return to Birch's lab, where the player receives a Pokédex and some Poké Balls. Outside of the lab, the player's mother gives them the Running Shoes. Once the player arrives in Petalburg City, they meet with their father at the Gym, where he tells them that he is happy to learn that they have become a Trainer like him. During the conversation, a local boy named Wally enters the Gym and asks Norman to help him catch a Pokémon. Norman loans Wally a Zigzagoon and a Poké Ball. He then asks the player to go along and help Wally with his task. On Route 102, Wally catches a Ralts, and the Trainers then return to the Gym, where Wally gives his thanks before being called home by his mother. Norman then encourages the player to travel Hoenn and challenge the region's Gym Leaders: Roxanne, Brawly, Wattson, Flannery, Norman, Winona, Tate and Liza, and Juan.
The player then travels through Route 104 and Petalburg Woods; just before the exit from the woods, the player encounters the nefarious Team Aqua. After battling, the Team Aqua Grunt reveals that their team is after something in Rustboro City.
At the Rustboro Gym, the player battles Roxanne and earns the Stone Badge; afterwards, the player runs into the Devon Researcher from Petalburg Woods. He tells the player that he has been robbed by Team Aqua and that the player must get the Devon Goods back from the evil team. The player then heads out onto Route 116 and discovers an old man named Mr. Briney who tells them that the villainous team has also taken his Wingull Peeko hostage and gone into the Rusturf Tunnel. The player confronts the Team Aqua Grunt inside the tunnel and retrieves the Devon Goods, as well as rescuing Peeko.
Once the Devon Goods are returned, the researcher asks the player to deliver them to the shipyard in Slateport City. The player then meets Mr. Stone, the president of the Devon Corporation, who asks that the player stop by Dewford Town and deliver a letter to his son Steven; as thanks for the player's earlier work, Mr. Stone gives the player a PokéNav. Outside, the player meets Brendan or May, who explains that Mr. Briney had formerly been a sailor. The player then heads back through the Petalburg Woods to Mr. Briney's house, where he gives the player a ride down Route 105 to Dewford Town. Just north of Dewford on Route 106 is the Granite Cave where Steven is exploring. The player obtains HM05 (Flash) at the entrance, but it will not work without the Dewford Gym's Badge. After earning the Knuckle Badge from Brawly, the player can now use Flash to find Steven in the Granite Cave and deliver the letter. Steven rewards the player with TM47 (Steel Wing) and tells the player that they could potentially become the Pokémon League Champion.
After leaving Dewford Town, Mr. Briney takes the player across Route 107 and Route 108 to Route 109, just south of Slateport City. When the player arrives in Slateport, there is a noticeable crowd of Team Aqua Grunts blocking the entrance to the Oceanic Museum. When the player tries to drop off the Devon Goods at Stern's Shipyard, they learn that Captain Stern is in the Oceanic Museum. Once the player finds Captain Stern, they are confronted by two Team Aqua Grunts, and after defeating them, Team Aqua's leader Archie appears and tells the player of their plans before warning not to get in the way again.
After giving the Devon Goods to Captain Stern, the player leaves Slateport City and travels Route 110; after encountering and battling Brendan or May, the player arrives in Mauville City. Outside of the Mauville Gym, the player finds Wally and his uncle; Wally challenges the player to a battle to prove to his uncle that he is ready for the Gym. After the battle, Wally's uncle invites the player to visit Verdanturf Town sometime. Once the Dynamo Badge has been earned from Wattson, the player heads to Verdanturf Town and uses Rock Smash to clear the previously blocked Rusturf Tunnel, earning HM04 (Strength) as a reward. Next, the player returns to Mauville and travels through Route 111 and Route 112 to the Fiery Path, on the other side of which the player continues through Route 113 to Fallarbor Town.
Inside the Fallarbor Pokémon Center, the player meets Lanette, who invites them to her house on Route 114. At the end of Route 114 is Meteor Falls, where the player finds Team Magma, who have stolen a valuable Meteorite from Professor Cozmo. Suddenly, the scene is interrupted by the appearance of Team Aqua and Archie, which causes the Team Magma Grunts to retreat to Mt. Chimney with the stolen meteorite. At the top of Mt. Chimney, Team Magma and Team Aqua can be found fighting. After defeating Magma Admin Tabitha, the player finds Magma Leader Maxie using the Meteorite in a strange machine. Maxie then battles the player and retreats once defeated, leaving behind the Meteorite.
Taking the southern path that was blocked by the battling teams, the player exits Mt. Chimney and reaches Lavaridge Town, home of the Lavaridge Gym. After receiving the Heat Badge from Flannery, the player then meets Brendan or May, who gives them the Go-Goggles and suggests that they challenge their father at the Petalburg Gym. After getting the Balance Badge from Norman, the player visits Wally's father, who gives the player HM03 (Surf).
As the player then travels through Route 118 (just east of Mauville City), they encounter Steven once again. Afterwards, the player continues through Route 119, reaching the Weather Institute, which is being attacked by Team Aqua in search of the weather Pokémon that the institute has created. After battling the Grunts and facing off with Aqua Admin Shelly, the player saves the institute and is given the Pokémon Castform as a reward. Shortly after leaving the Weather Institute, Brendan/May appears, battles the player, and gives away HM02 (Fly) upon defeat.
The player arrives in Fortree City but cannot challenge the Gym because something invisible is blocking the entrance. On Route 120, the player once again meets Steven, and he gives the player the Devon Scope, which allows them to enter the Gym by revealing the invisible thing to be the Pokémon Kecleon. After the player defeats Winona and receives the Feather Badge, the quest continues through Route 120 and Route 121 to Lilycove City. On Route 121, there are some grunts from the evil team discussing their plan to go to Mt. Pyre, and upon arriving in Lilycove, the player finds it crawling with more grunts. Outside of the Lilycove Department Store, the player battles Brendan/May for the last time, who upon defeat announces his/her intention to return to Littleroot Town.
After the battle, the player heads to Mt. Pyre to drive off Team Aqua. At the summit of Mt. Pyre, the player finds the leader of the team, who has taken the Red Orb and proclaims that the young Trainer has arrived too late to stop him; the team then heads for Slateport City. Team Aqua also mentions that Team Magma had been at Mt. Pyre earlier, during which they also stole the Blue Orb. The old couple that watch over the orbs beseech the player to stop the evil teams, and they give the player the Magma Emblem.
When the player arrives back to the Jagged Pass, the Magma Emblem reveals the secret opening to the Magma Hideout. Inside the hideout, the player battles against several Team Magma Grunts and Magma Admin Tabitha. After defeating Tabitha, the player continues into the hideout and finds that Maxie trying to awaken Groudon using the Blue Orb. However, upon being awaken, Groudon abruptly flees the cave. Maxie spots the player and battle them, then after being defeated, leave the hideout to pursue Groudon.
Upon returning to Slateport, the player finds that Capt. Stern has discovered an undersea cavern on Route 128. Team Aqua then suddenly appears and takes over the captain's research submarine. Aqua Leader Archie once again taunts the player, and he mentions that the team's hideout is in Lilycove City. Once the player fights their way through to the center of the hideout, they encounter Matt, who battles the player to stall until Archie takes off in the submarine.
The player must then travel Route 124 to Mossdeep City, where the player challenges Tate and Liza of the Mossdeep Gym to earn the Mind Badge. Meanwhile, Team Magma has invaded the Mossdeep Space Center, where they plan to steal rocket fuel to jettison into Mt. Chimney, causing it to erupt. After defeating the Team Magma Grunts, the player teams up with Steven to battle Maxie and Tabitha. After defeating Team Magma, they retreat. As thanks, Steven invites the player to his home and gives them HM08 (Dive).
Heading to Route 128 and using Dive, the player finds the Seafloor Cavern, where Team Aqua has gone. In the deepest reaches of the cavern, the player has a showdown with Archie, who then uses the Red Orb to awaken the sleeping Kyogre. After being awakened, the ancient Pokémon vanishes. Just then, Maxie appears, and Archie finds that he is unable to control the Pokémon. Everyone heads back to the surface, where it's revealed that the weather all over Hoenn is out of control. Maxie and Archie agree to work together, and they head to Sootopolis City.
Back at Sootopolis City, Groudon and Kyogre are fighting. Steven leads the player into the Cave of Origin, introducing them to Wallace, the city's former Gym Leader. Wallace tells the player that Rayquaza, which can be found at Sky Pillar, can put a stop to Groudon and Kyogre's fighting. And in haste, Wallace leaves for Sky Pillar.
At Sky Pillar, Wallace meets the player and unlocks the entrance. Wallace instructs the player to meet Rayquaza at the top of tower while he heads back to check on Sootopolis City. Upon reaching the top, the player interacts with Rayquaza, who awakens and flies off to Sootopolis City. Back at Sootopolis City, Rayquaza descends from the sky and lets out a cry to Groudon and Kyogre, causing the two to retreat. Rayquaza then flies back to Sky Pillar, and the weather in Hoenn returns to normal. Maxie and Archie, acknowledging their mistakes, return to Mt. Pyre to return the stolen orbs. In gratitude, Wallace gives the player HM07 (Waterfall) and allows them entry into the Sootopolis Gym to challenge Juan, who rewards the Rain Badge upon defeat. After this point, the player may return to Sky Pillar at a chance of battling and capturing Rayquaza.
After collecting all eight badges, the player can challenge the Elite Four at Ever Grande City. After defeating them, it is revealed that Wallace has become the region's Champion. After being defeated, Wallace will induct the player into the Hall of Fame.
After entering the Hall of Fame, various post-game features are unlocked. Latias or Latios (depending on which color the player recalls from the TV report) will begin roaming across Hoenn. Groudon and Kyogre can also be found in Terra Cave and Marine Cave, respectively. The location of these caves are frequently changing and can be determined at the Weather Institute. Steven can also be found deep within Meteor Falls, where he will challenge the player to a battle. Lastly, the player will gain access to the Battle Frontier via the S.S. Tidal.
Blurb
The Hoenn region is unstable — Rayquaza has awakened! Your skills as a Trainer will be challenged like they've never been challenged before as you try to maintain balance between Kyogre & Groudon. Prove your skill by earning Badges & gaining access to the Battle Frontier — the front line of Pokémon battling that offers a whole new level of competition. Never-before-experienced battles await you!
- The third adventure with new episodes in the Hoenn region!
- Tons of new features, including surprising plot twists and changes to where and how often you can catch certain Pokémon!
- Use the Game Boy Advance Wireless Adapter to trade & battle between Pokémon Emerald and Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen versions.
- Expand your collection when you trade with a friend. Using a Game Boy Advance Game Link™, link up with Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire, Pokémon FireRed & LeafGreen, or connect with Pokémon Colosseum using a Nintendo GameCube® Game Boy Advance cable. See instruction booklet for more details.
Changes from Ruby and Sapphire
Gameplay
- e-Reader support is removed from the international releases, requiring players to mix records with a Ruby, Sapphire, FireRed, or LeafGreen cartridge containing e-Reader-exclusive items in order to obtain them.
- Groudon and Kyogre are now respectively captured at the new locations Terra Cave and Marine Cave and at higher levels.
- The entrances to the Team Magma and Team Aqua Hideouts are not sealed after defeating Tate and Liza.
- The Pokémon roaming across Hoenn, Latias or Latios, can be selected right after entering the Hall of Fame. The one that is not selected is available on Southern Island, requiring the promotional Eon Ticket.
- The legendary giants' puzzles are slightly different, though the same in principle.
- Multi Battles are available outside link-cable battling, being featured in the Battle Tower with a computer player (or, using the Wireless Adapter, a human player), as well as through an in-game plot event at the Mossdeep Space Center, battling alongside Steven.
- Double Battles are more common as different Trainers can team up if the player is able to be spotted by two Trainers at once.
- Gym Leaders may be rebattled in Double Battles, with new Pokémon on their teams that are not normally found in Hoenn.
- The Trainer's Eyes in the PokéNav is replaced by Match Call, which integrated a calling system similar to the Pokégear cellphone.
- Chikorita, Cyndaquil, or Totodile may be acquired from Professor Birch after obtaining every Pokémon in the Hoenn Pokédex (excluding Deoxys and Jirachi).
- Deoxys is in its Speed Forme.
- Abilities have new field effects. For example, Abilities also have a role in breeding as Magma Armor and Flame Body speed up the hatching process if a Pokémon which has either Ability is in the party.
- Pickup has a new item list; Pokémon pick up items based on their level.
- Having a female Pokémon or Ditto of the breeding pair hold an Everstone grants a 50% chance of passing down their nature to the hatched Pokémon when breeding.
- Raising friendship and lowering effort values can be done with certain Berries.
- Battle Tents replace Contest Halls in Verdanturf Town, Fallarbor Town, and Slateport City. Instead, Pokémon Contests of all four ranks take place in Lilycove City.
- Unlike Ruby and Sapphire, trade restrictions between games are in place. Trading with Ruby and Sapphire as well as with another Emerald only allows trading of Pokémon indigenous to Hoenn while the player possesses only the country's regional Pokédex, while the National Pokédex is required to trade with FireRed and LeafGreen and XD: Gale of Darkness. This restriction also includes Pokémon Eggs from Ruby or Sapphire regardless if it contains a regional Pokémon. However, trading with Colosseum only requires the Hoenn Pokédex regardless of the Pokémon being traded.
- All the Gym Leaders from Ruby and Sapphire, including former Gym Leader Wallace, have upgraded Pokémon teams. Changes include the addition of Pokémon they did not have in Ruby and Sapphire, or in rare cases the removal of some of their previous Pokémon.
- When encountering either of the villainous team leaders, the game will now play the encounter theme and battle animation of their respective team, unlike in Ruby and Sapphire in which they had no encounter theme and used the standard battle animation.
- Brendan and May now use different Pokémon in their battles compared to Ruby and Sapphire
Areas
- The passage between Verdanturf Town and Route 117 was widened. Route 118 was also modified slightly.
- The layouts of the puzzles in the Trick House were changed.
- The Fossils (Root Fossil, Claw Fossil) in the desert are now found in a short-lived tower called Mirage Tower that sinks into the ground once a Fossil is chosen. However, the other Fossil can now be acquired after entering the Hall of Fame.
- The Battle Tower has been replaced by the Battle Frontier, which includes seven battle facilities, one of which is the Battle Tower.
- The Battle Frontier is the only place to find wild Smeargle (inside Artisan Cave) and Sudowoodo (only one) in the Generation III handheld games.
- The Desert Underpass was added, which allows the player to obtain the Fossil they did not choose, and allows the player to encounter wild Ditto.
- New areas are added to the Safari Zone, introducing 16 evolutionary lines first discovered in Johto. For many of these Pokémon this is the only handheld game in which they are available, although several of them are also available in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen.
- Terra Cave and Marine Cave, accessible only after entering the Hall of Fame, are home to Groudon and Kyogre, respectively. The caves are not fixed to one location, and in order to track them, it is necessary to investigate the unusual patterns concluded by the Weather Institute.
- Mew appears on Faraway Island, an island that is located remote from Hoenn. Reaching the island requires a special promotional item, the Old Sea Map, which was only distributed to Japanese players for a limited time.
- While Team Aqua's hideout is still in Lilycove City just like in Sapphire, Team Magma's hideout has been moved to a hidden cave at Jagged Pass and has been given a completely new design. Also, Magma Hideout is now where Groudon is first encountered.
- The cave of Origin has two floors instead of five.
- When visited for the first time, the Sky Pillar appears intact with almost no cracked floors to speak of. It returns to its incarnation from Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire complete with cracked floors and debris once Rayquaza becomes catchable.
Storyline
- Both Team Magma and Team Aqua are featured as the villainous teams, each stirring trouble at different stages in the game. The objective of each team, to awaken Groudon and Kyogre, respectively, is eventually fulfilled.
- All encounters from Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire except for the one at Mt. Chimney feature Team Aqua as the villains, the hideout next to Lilycove City is also theirs. In addition to appearing at Mt. Chimney, Team Magma are also featured in two new events: the one at their new hideout and the one at the Mossdeep Space Center. Both teams also steal the respective Orbs at Mt. Pyre, leaving none to the player.
- Instead of a drought or a downpour, the weather crisis in this game is a phenomenon where the two alternate. The background music played during the crisis is a slowed down version of the downpour theme from Pokémon Sapphire.
- Rayquaza is prominent plot-wise, awakened in order to stop the destructive battle between Groudon and Kyogre. It is now the one out of the three ancient Pokémon that can be caught prior to entering the Hall of Fame, while still at the same place and at the same high level as in Ruby and Sapphire.
Characters
- Brendan and May have slight changes to the design of their outfits, primarily from the change in color scheme from red to green (tying into the game being named "Emerald").
- Vigoroth move boxes into Brendan's or May's house instead of Machoke (though the cries are not changed in the Japanese version due to an oversight, but this was corrected in the localizations).
- A Zigzagoon chases Professor Birch instead of a Poochyena. In contrast, the first Pokémon Trainer fought after the rival has a Poochyena instead of a Zigzagoon.
- Pokémon Center ladies now wear hats with a cross on them.
- Contest Lady, Quiz Lady, or Favor Lady in Lilycove Pokémon Center.
- New Move Tutors added, including most of the ones in FireRed and LeafGreen (all but Frenzy Plant, Blast Burn and Hydro Cannon), along with 15 others that teach moves previously acquired through Generation II TMs.
- A new Gym Leader in the Sootopolis Gym, Juan, while its former Gym Leader Wallace is now the Pokémon Champion.
- The former Champion Steven can be fought in Meteor Falls after entering the Hall of Fame, with all of his Pokémon at exactly 20 levels higher than in Ruby and Sapphire.
- Scott, a new character introduced in Emerald, will meet the player numerous times throughout the game, ultimately inviting the player to the Battle Frontier after they enter the Hall of Fame.
Graphics
- Animated Pokémon front sprites return for the first time since Pokémon Crystal. This feature was defined as standard for the core series Pokémon games ever since. Emerald is also the first game to have animated back sprites.
- The dialogue box border changes from blue to green. The background in the introduction, where the player chooses their gender and name, is also filled with green instead of yellow. These were made primarily to match the game's theme color.
- The cave floor design has slightly changed.
- Brendan's house has blue rugs, while May's has pink rugs. In Ruby and Sapphire, both houses had red rugs.
- Every Gym has received at least a slight renovation due to the addition of Trainers for the option of Double Battles. Some of these Gyms received complete overhauls in their designs, such as the Mossdeep Gym, which was given a new, rearranged puzzle that the player must navigate through. All Gyms now have the Badge mounted on the wall behind the Leader.
- The color of the Champion's room at the Pokémon League was recolored from its original shade of purple to blue.
- The text and required actions in Sealed Chamber have changed slightly.
- The Legendary Pokémon battle intros include a different animation before moving into the battle scene. This animation involves the body patterns of the super-ancient Pokémon and the legendary giants's braille eye patterns.
- A young girl now blocks Route 101 instead of a young boy.
Incorporated from FireRed and LeafGreen
Although Emerald is a modified version of Ruby and Sapphire, a number of changes occurred to make it more similar to FireRed and LeafGreen.
- Wireless linking with Union Room, as in FireRed and LeafGreen.
- The Mystery Gift system from FireRed and LeafGreen is added, and relies on both e-Reader and Game Boy Advance Wireless Adapter in Japan (e-Reader support was removed from overseas releases), being available alongside Mystery Events in the Japanese version.
- A new battle area, Trainer Hill, which is similar to Trainer Tower found in FireRed and LeafGreen. Has support for the e-Reader in the Japanese version.
- The wireless minigames Pokémon Jump and Dodrio Berry Picking were added and are found on the Game Corner in Mossdeep City, which replaces the e-Reader Trainer house from Ruby and Sapphire.
- The Pokémon List interface was updated to match the one in FireRed and LeafGreen. The background color was changed but other elements like the larger HP bar and colon-less level indicator are unaltered. Field move entries also appear in the Pokémon List's menu after the entry for the Pokémon's status screen, as in FireRed and LeafGreen.
- The text font has been changed to one very similar to that of FireRed and LeafGreen.
- The PP counter for a move now changes color depending on how many points are left.
- The two event locations from FireRed and LeafGreen, Navel Rock and Birth Island, make a return.
- Altering Cave, from FireRed and LeafGreen, appears in Emerald.
- Stars pop out of a Poké Ball after a successful capture, rather than no animation happening.
- All of the music tracks from FireRed and LeafGreen were inserted into Emerald, but only a handful are actually used:
- The caught Pokémon fanfare was changed to the one from FireRed and LeafGreen.
- Navel Rock plays Sevii Islands.
- Altering Cave plays Caves of Mt. Moon.
- Battles with the non-Hoenn Legendary Pokémon Ho-Oh and Lugia in Navel Rock play Battle! (Legendary Pokémon) from FireRed and LeafGreen. Encountering and battling Deoxys in Birth Island also plays Deoxys Appears and Battle! (Deoxys), respectively, like in FireRed and LeafGreen. The battle with Mew in Faraway Island plays a new theme exclusive to Emerald, Battle! (Mew), which is a more intense version of the aforementioned Battle! (Legendary Pokémon).
Missing Pokémon
These Hoenn Pokédex Pokémon are missing from Emerald and must be traded to the game from another Generation III game to be obtained. While wild Surskit can appear in Emerald, the player needs to mix records with a copy of Ruby or Sapphire in order for Surskit to appear by way of swarming; otherwise, Surskit cannot be legitimately caught without the aid of another game.
These Pokémon can all be obtained in Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness alone.
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Connectivity
Emerald maintained similar levels of compatibility as its companion games Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire and Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen. This utilizes the traditional Game Link Cable, or alternatively, the GBA Wireless Adapter if connecting with FireRed and LeafGreen. The game is also able to trade with Colosseum and XD: Gale of Darkness using the Nintendo GameCube Game Boy Advance Game Link cable. Emerald cannot trade for Pokémon outside the Hoenn Pokédex (unless Colosseum is trading these Pokémon to Emerald) and cannot trade Pokémon with FireRed, LeafGreen, or XD Gale of Darkness until the player reaches the Hall of Fame and the National Pokédex is unlocked, while Colosseum/XD Gale of Darkness must beat the main storyline and FireRed/LeafGreen must fix the Network Machine in order to trade with Emerald.
Trading between each of these games is possible, but not with games from Generations I and II.
While Emerald cannot trade directly with the Generation IV games Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold, and SoulSilver, a player's Pokémon may be permanently transferred via Pal Park, and some of the Generation II Pokémon introduced into the Hoenn Safari Zone extension can be found using the dual-slot mode.
Localization changes
- In Emerald, a portion of the fourth room in Trick House has been altered in international versions, to make it harder for player to trap themselves and be forced to start the puzzle from the beginning.
- In the language versions other than Japanese, there is a non-player character on Route 111 who claims that the HM06 (Rock Smash) is obtained from his uncle. In the Japanese version, that character simply refers to the Rock Smash Guy which includes the word 「オヤジ」 meaning either "old man" or "uncle", not specifically his uncle.
- In Trainer Hill, the international releases had e-Reader battle card compatibilities removed as those cards were never released outside of Japan due to the poor sales of the e-Reader in the US. The player is instead offered a number of predefined layouts to choose from, making a number of rewards only obtainable in the Japanese version.
- The Old Sea Map was only distributed in Japan and Taiwan, both for the Japanese version of Pokémon Emerald. This item grants access to Faraway Island, where a level 30 wild Mew can be found.
- In languages other than Japanese, Mew was distributed directly in several other events for the Generation III games. Since the Old Sea Map was never distributed for those language versions, the Faraway Island is not legitimately accessible. This event is still able to work as intended if the player obtains the Old Sea Map by using cheating methods.
- Main article: Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire Versions → Localization changes shared by Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald
Reception
Many reviews criticized Emerald for being too similar to Ruby and Sapphire, with Game Informer stating that "there simply aren't enough changes to make this a must-buy."[4] However, IGN gave the game a "Great" rating of 8.0/10, stating that there are "special, newly-created treats sprinkled throughout the experience to make experiencing this repeat worthwhile."[5] Gaming magazine Famitsu gave Pokémon Emerald a score of 34 out of 40. It holds a rating of 76.65% on GameRankings, based on 29 reviews.[6]
Sales
As of March 31, 2007, Pokémon Emerald has sold 6.32 million copies worldwide, making it the lowest selling core series Pokémon game on the Game Boy Advance.[7]
Japanese sales
Pokémon Emerald sold 790,527 units on its first week on the Japanese market,[8] with a sell-through of 91.37%. By January 2, 2011, the end of its 329th week, it had sold 1,916,505 copies.
| Week | Week ending | Ranking | Units sold | Total units sold |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 19, 2004 | 1st | 790,527 | 790,527 |
| 2 | September 26, 2004 | 2nd | 150,964 | 941,491 |
| 3 | October 3, 2004 | 2nd | 74,642 | 1,016,843 |
| 4 | October 10, 2004 | 5th | 38,883 | 1,055,726 |
| 5 | October 17, 2004 | 3rd | 31,764 | 1,087,490 |
| 6 | October 24, 2004 | 3rd | 21,676 | 1,109,166 |
| 7 | October 31, 2004 | 9th | 21,970 | 1,131,136 |
| 8 | November 7, 2004 | 9th | 17,788 | 1,148,924 |
| 9 | November 14, 2004 | 9th | 14,093 | 1,163,017 |
| 16 | January 2, 2005 | 16th | - | 1,397,615 |
| 68 | January 1, 2006 | - | - | 1,645,364 |
| 120 | December 31, 2006 | - | - | 1,773,390 |
| 172 | December 30, 2007 | - | - | 1,848,568 |
| 224 | December 28, 2008 | - | - | 1,883,975 |
| 277 | January 3, 2010 | - | - | 1,908,780 |
| 329 | January 2, 2011 | - | - | 1,916,505 |
Staff
- Main article: Staff of Pokémon Emerald
Music
- Main article: Pokémon Ruby & Pokémon Sapphire: Super Music Collection
The soundtrack contains all of the background music used in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire (the basis for a majority of the music in Pokémon Emerald), composed by Junichi Masuda, Gō Ichinose, and Morikazu Aoki. However, the soundtrack does not include the remastered music from Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal or the other unused music, all of which are present in the internal data of Ruby and Sapphire, as well as Emerald.
The entire soundtrack is present in the internal data of Emerald; however, only select pieces of music are used during gameplay.
Several music tracks exclusive to Emerald went officially unreleased until 2012, when they were included with the official soundtrack of Pokémon Black 2 and White 2. These Emerald-exclusive tracks comprise tracks 1-17 of Disc 4 of the soundtrack.
Development cycle
- Main article: Pokémon Emerald beta
Internal battery life
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Clock-based events in this game as well as Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire are controlled by a CR1616 lithium battery in the game cartridge. When starting up a file, players may receive a notification that the internal battery has run dry, and that clock-based events will no longer occur. This does not affect the save file or progress in the game, only events that happen in real-time, such as berry growth or the Shoal Cave tides.
Even after replacing the battery, symptoms may persist in existing save files. This is because as soon as the battery runs dry, the timestamp associated with real-time events (that had been increasing steadily since the file was created) reverts to its initial value. This means that if the game was played for 5 years before the battery ran dry, it would take 5 years with a new battery for the new timestamp to catch up to the old value and for time to "progress" once more. Furlock's Forest details this issue and possible solutions.
Starting a new save file after the battery is replaced will fix the problem because all events will be triggered relative to a new timestamp.
Gallery
Logos
English logo
Japanese logo
Title screens
English title screen
Japanese title screen
Boxart
UK cover
Promotions
2005 promotional poster for Pokémon Emerald.
Trivia
- Groudon and Kyogre appear in Fiore after Pokémon Ranger's ending. The two seem to have been injured in a battle, which took place in Hoenn, according to Emerald.
- Along with Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, this was the only Pokémon game to feature a clock that does not have a day/night system.
- The game uses a faulty implementation of the pseudorandom number generator used in Generation III and IV games, which allows literally identical personality values for a Pokémon even after multiple resets. The game neglects to reseed the PRNG on startup (only doing so when the adventure is begun), which means that the personality values of an encountered Pokémon follow a predictable sequence once the seed is found and/or forced.
- Pokémon Emerald has many similarities with Pokémon Platinum:
- Both are the third versions of their respective storylines.
- Both add a Battle Frontier in the place of the regional Battle Tower.
- Both are represented by the final member of a Legendary trio which was not confirmed to be part of it beforehand.
- Both share features with the remakes of their generation that are not present in the original paired games.
- Both added the ability to rematch Gym Leaders after obtaining the National Pokédex.
- Both allow the player to capture both of the game mascots from the original paired games.
- Emerald was the last Nintendo game with a specially colored cartridge.
- However, since Nintendo DSi-enhanced cartridges are black, Pokémon Black 2 is technically the last Pokémon game to have the color of its cartridge match its name.
- Of note is that, in Japan, the cartridges of the Generation I games and Pokémon Gold and Silver used the generic cartridge color.
- Pokémon Emerald was the final core series game released on the Game Boy line of Nintendo handheld video game consoles.
- Once this game was released, it became possible to complete the National Pokédex in all the Generation III core series games entirely with Pokémon obtained in those games. Before the release of Pokémon Emerald, completing the National Pokédex in this generation would require some trades with Pokémon Colosseum.
- Various retailers had a special tin with a Frontier Pass as a pre-order bonus with Pokémon Emerald.[9]
- During rematches with Roxanne, Flannery and Winona, their Pokémon are male instead of female. This is due to an oversight or limitation in the code where double battles can't match the gender of the Pokémon to the Trainer.
- No Generation I Legendary Pokémon can be encountered in this game, although, the only Generation I Mythical Pokémon that can be encountered is Mew.
In other languages
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See also
References
- ↑ Pokémon.co.jp
- ↑ Pokémon.com (US)
- ↑ Pokémon.com (UK)
- ↑ Pokémon Emerald Version Critic Reviews for Game Boy Advance - Metacritic
- ↑ Pokemon Emerald - IGN
- ↑ Pokémon Emerald Version for Game Boy Advance - GameRankings
- ↑ Nintendo Co., Ltd. - Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2007
- ↑ Media Create Sales: Archive Thread 2 | NeoGAF
- ↑ Pokemon Emerald | EBgames.com (archive)
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This game-related article is part of Project Games, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon games. |