Part 1: Welcome to the World of Advancements!

Part 1: Welcome to the World of Advancements!

Opening and Intro



Middle-aged Man Lecture probably wasn't the best travel entertainment, but at least it gave me light to see. I need some sunlight.

Littleroot Town



Well, this is LITTLEROOT TOWN. How do you like it? This is our new home? It has a quaint feel, but it seems to be an easy place to live, don't you think? And you get your own room, YUKI! Let's go inside.



Going from no bedrooms to one, that's quite the upgrade.



This is so convenient! YUKI, your room is upstairs. Go check it out, dear! DAD bought you a new clock to mark our move here. Don't forget to set it!



Evenin'.



So it's a bit of a different start than we're used to, but welcome to Pokemon Emerald! This game is great, I'm super excited to LP this, so let's get time rolling and start our adventure.



Late night recordings are best recordings.



Good! Everything's put away neatly! They finished moving everything in downstairs, too. POKEMON movers are so convenient! Oh, you should make sure that everything's all there on your desk.



Definitely can't forget this. Where were you in Crystal?



Man, someone's rich.




Oh... it's over. I think DAD was on, but we missed him. Too bad. Oh, yes. One of DAD's friends lives in town. PROF.BIRCH is his name. He lives right next door, so you should go over and introduce yourself.


Littleroot Town/Mishiro Town: A town that can't be shaded any hue.
From little and root, where the beginnings of plants grow, and mi (not yet) or mi (three) and shiro (white). Since the town's slogans are more similar this gen, I'll be rolling it into one line unless there's a big difference.



Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. Been here five minutes and I already have property. Right, what've we got?



Got a Bag with lots of pockets and a nice empty Trainer Card that needs filling. Should be a good time.




Oh, you're YUKI, our new next-door neighbor! Hi! We have a daughter about the same age as you. Our daughter was excited about making a new friend. Our daughter is upstairs, I think.



Gonna break into your room and read your email. It better be saucy.



Aww. Well, at least there's an item on the floor to cheer me up.

May Encounter Brendan Encounter



Oh, you're YUKI. So your move was today. Um... I'm MAY. Glad to meet you! I... I have this dream of becoming friends with POKEMON all over the world. I... I heard about you, YUKI, from my dad, PROF.BIRCH. I was hoping that you would be nice, YUKI, and that we could be friends.



Oh, no! I forgot! I was supposed to go help Dad catch some wild POKEMON! YUKI, I'll catch you later!

Littleroot Town



Well she seemed nice. There's a few differences between Brendan and May, I just wanted to do something different and choose the guy, no real preference otherwise. Though May's encounter theme is better than Brendan's, so I'll just be linking hers in future.



Sup, Max.



Yet again we're playing hunt the professor.



Still good, circa 2004.



The PROF's away on fieldwork. Ergo, he isn't here. Oh, let me explain what fieldwork is. It is to study things in the natural environment, like fields and mountains, instead of a laboratory. The PROF isn't one for doing desk work. He's the type of person who would rather go outside and experience thing than read about them here.



Alright, I guess I'll go walk around the grass, I guess. So you might have noticed I'm using overworld sprites for some characters and battle sprites for others. I wanted to do something different and I'll only use the overworld sprites when there's no corresponding battle sprite, or it's an important character with no artwork. Saves me having to crop a sprite and make it larger. There will be times I'll need the battle sprite though, later down the line.



I want to go see what's going on, but I don't have any POKEMON... Can you go see what's happening for me?

Help!







Hmmmmmmmmmmm. Nah.



I was kidding! Take a joke!





So instead of linking to the analysis and halting the update in its tracks while I write about 251 Pokemon in misery, I'm just gonna cover the new Hoenn Pokemon and only give a small summary just below the big info graphic, since they're easy enough to figure out. Also any Side Notes I'll be doing will only be about mechanics, since I don't feel like I have too much to talk about regarding the anime and whatever.

Right, so, Treecko. It's really good for this game and Sapphire, where there's a lot of Water types around. But it doesn't get too many moves to work with. Still, Grass STAB is pretty nice for most of the game, only struggling in the middle somewhat. It's a cool gecko friend and there's never a wrong choice for starters, especially in this gen.





Torchic has a bit of a rough start due to the Rock Gym start, but when it evolves, hoo boy it starts to wreck pretty easily. Fire and Fighting, while the start of a horrible trend, are pretty great and it works especially well in Ruby, where you can smash those Fire and, uh, Steel types, at the end. Shame no one really chose it in the remake cause they used it in their first playthrough of XY.

No matter which you choose, the starters' Ability of Overgrow, Blaze or Torrent do the same thing. At 33% health, all Grass/Fire/Water moves will be boosted by 50%, meaning they hit super hard combined with STAB. It's a risky idea to stay at that amount, but it's a super good way of getting out of a jam.





So we've gone with Venusaur and Typhlosion. Guess who's turn it is? Not that it's a real arm twister, Mudkip is bloody lovely and I liek very much. Right, let's never reference that meme again. Useful in whatever game you're playing, Water and Ground and a beautiful combo and it'll become a great HM slave, if nothing else. But still, I would've happily taken anyone, all good choices, but my heart belongs to this mud fish.

Wild Pokemon Battle



God the colours, the advances from the last gen, THE MUSIC. I love these games. I'll go over new Pokemon when we can actually catch them. For now, let's just beat it up.



I'll also only be covering new moves introduces in Gen 3, since I've gone over previous moves twice already in previous LPs. What can I say, if I'm gonna keep these main game LPs up, I gotta streamline, while keeping it fresh.



First battle goes like you'd expect. Though I do hope I'm not going too fast for some people. I am assuming you've read my and Yellow and Crystal LPs. So don't get left behind! (It's not a huge deal if you haven't, I just think they're cool)



You saved me. Thanks a lot! Oh? Hi, you're YUKI! This is not the place to chat, so come by my POKEMON LAB later, okay?

Professor Birch's Lab



I've heard that you don't have your own POKEMON yet. But the way you battled earlier, you pulled it off with aplomb! I guess you have your father's blood in your veins after all! Oh, yes. As thanks for rescuing me, I'd like you to have the POKEMON you used earlier.



Oh we have the perfect nickname for you, chosen by the people at the end of the Conquest thread (oh yeah, you should definitely read my Conquest LP, I'm super happy with it), though originally suggested by asymmetrical.



A new region to conquer? Hehehehe... mwahahahahahaha!

...?

"an extremely good TRAINER."

My kid, MAY, is also studying POKEMON while helping me out. YUKI, don't you think it might be a good idea to go see MAY?

Oh go on then, she is my only friend in this region right now.



MAY? Gone home, I think. Or maybe that kid's scrabbling around in tall grass again somewhere... If you or your POKEMON get tired, you should get some rest at home.

Littleroot Town



Let us see how Nobunaga fares.




Modest nature??? Also wow that Speed There's a fair amount to unpack here, but I'll properly go into it over the next few updates. The two biggest things are Natures, which usually raise one stat by 10% and lower another by 10%. In this instance, my Special Attack is higher, while my Attack is lower. Bit annoying, but hey, I'll happily take it. Abilties, meanwhile, is a power every Pokemon has depending on its species. There's a lot of them and I'll go over them as we see them.



Half of the family just doesn't stay still.

Route 101



Time for adventure! And wild encounters!



Just walking through the grass...



...and then not encounter anything? I feel cheated.



I need some experience for my babby warlord!



Alright, let's move on to the next town.


Oldale Town/Kotoki Town: Where things start off scarce.
A combination of old and dale, and a combination of ko (old) and toki time. Or literally means koto ki (unusual tree).

Pokemon Center



First stop should always be the Pokemon Center.




Surprise, surprise, they haven't changed.

Oldale Town



Sure, I'm incredibly trusting.



We sell a variety of goods including POKE BALLS for catching POKEMON. Here, I'd like you to have this as a promotional item.

"in certain situations."

Ah, gimme that free shit. I could definitely use some Pokeballs.



That guy outside is lyyyyyyyiiiiiinnnnnnnggggg



I just discovered the footprints of a rare POKEMON! Wait until I finish sketching them, okay?

Route 103



Ah here's where we need to go.



Ugh, water.



Ooh, it's a cute doggy.




The doggo didn't do much, but hey, first level. It's nice to have all it there in one image in the end like that. Makes my life easier.



It's gonna be a bit until we get some STAB, but this is an alright move for the moment.

May Encounter



Oh, hi, YUKI! ...oh, I see, my dad gave you a Pokemon as a gift. Since we're here, let's have a quick battle! I'll give you a taste of what being a TRAINER is like.

Rival Battle



Peep that tune, hot damn. Oh yeah, this game also has animated sprites, though not as complex as the ones in Crystal. I ain't giffing them, so enjoy that brief glance. As per usual, our rival has the starter that's strong against ours. This is totally not a problem later. *shudder*



Early battles really aren't that entertaining to cover in an LP. Save me. Well I might as well talk about their names, or something. Anything, really. Brendan's name is from brave, as that's what yūki means. Shame I couldn't use ū in my name, but oh well. May is a spring month, as haruka means spring flower.



Nice nice nice, we'll need Nobunaga nice and strong for the future.



You might be able to befriend any kind of POKEMON easily. Well, it's time to head back to the LAB.



Nice straight shot, uh, straight down.




Phew, that was a journey, but we made it back.

Professor Birch's Lab



MAY's been helping with my research for a long time. MAY has an extensive history as a TRAINER already. Here, YUKI, I ordered this for my research, but I think you should have this POKEDEX.

"of any POKEMON you meet or catch."

My kid, MAY, goes everywhere with it. Whenever my kid catches a rare POKEMON and records its data in the POKEDEX, why, MAY looks for me while I'm out doing fieldwork, and show me.

Oh, wow, YUKI! You got a POKEDEX, too! That's great! Just like me! I've got something for you, too!



I'm going to look all over the place because I want different POKEMON. If I find any cute POKEMON, I'll catch them with POKE BALLS! I wonder where I should look for POKEMON next?

Countless POKEMON await you! Argh, I'm getting the itch to get out and do fieldwork again!

Littleroot Town



Oh hi MOM



You're your father's child, all right. You look good together with POKEMON! Here, honey! If you're going out on an adventure, wear these RUNNING SHOES. They'll put a zip in your step!



"Press the B Button while wearing these RUNNING SHOES to run extra-fast! Slip on these RUNNING SHOES and race in the great outdoors!" ...to think that you have your very own POKEMON now... your father will be overjoyed. But please be careful. If anything happens, you can come home. Go on, go get them, honey!

I think Gen 3 MOM has more lines than Gen 1 and 2 MOMS combined. Anyway...



The Pokedex is pretty neat, everything's on one image, which is much easier for me. It also has a few more features.




The area tab can be helpful, as well as being able to jump to the top and bottom as the game goes on.



There's even searching! Yeah I never use it either.




Since we haven't healed since the May fight, might as well while we're here. Who knows when we'll be back home again?



WOWZA, look at this running speed. I have missed this so much.

Route 101



OKAY, with Pokeballs and a healed Nobunaga, let's catch some Pokemon!





Huh, didn't expect to find the rarest thing so quickly. Well it's good cause Zigzagoon is a great utility mon, able to learn all kinds of field moves and has a cool ability in Pickup. I'll talk about abilities after the Pokemon, since quite a few of them have something cool to them. Anyway, Zigzagoon is trash, just use it for items and we'll be keeping it in the party for a while. I advise you do the same.

Now a lot of abilities were actually changed in Emerald, either given little tweaks, or having a field effect. After every battle, a Pokemon with Pickup has a 10% chance of getting an item from a pool that's determined by its level, even if it didn't participate or if it's fainted. Here is a more detailed look into Pickup and how good it is for the various Gen 3 games. Don't worry, I won't have so much to talk about in regards to other abilities.







Oh good, the crits are starting. Catching stuff is easy enough, get their health low and throw some balls.





The good ol' 1, 2, 3. Wurmple, surprise surprise, is good to begin with (well, Beautifly anyway) and then falls behind as the game goes on. It'll teach you the wonders of evolution, but one of its final forms that you've got your heart set on might not happen, since its evolution is basically random, but something I'll go over later.

Shield Dust prevents additional effects from attacks from occurring, like Sheer Force for the enemy, but no power boost. It has no effect on status moves, but it makes a Pokemon basically immune to Freeze, since that's only an additional effect.



Nice going there guy. We can head out onto Route 102, but let's go back to Route 103 and catch a couple more Pokemon.





The last of the first Pokemon you can encounter. It's bad. Pure Dark is pretty neat, but that's still a special type, so the Poochy line doesn't really gain anything from it. Also its moveset is rubbish, but it wouldn't really help it anyway. Oh well, still cute as hell!

Run Away lets the Pokemon escape from wild battles no matter what. It doesn't do anything in trainer battles, or with switching to another Pokemon. So, uh, it's pretty bad. I guess it's good to have when you've ran out of Repels.



One last Pokemon to find.





This one ain't too bad, even if it's everywhere. If you need a Water type, a Flying type, or both, then it'll do that just fine. Though you will be relying on its Water attacks more. Still, it has some good matchups coming up and it'll be just fine, if not amazing.

Keen Eye prevents accuracy drops, but abilties that reduce accuracy ignore Keen Eye. While at the front of the party, it has a 50% chance of stopping wild Pokemon that are 5 or more levels below the user from appearing. It's not too amazing, but it'll come up a few times, so I guess it can't be that bad. Accuracy drops fuckin suck.

Oldale Town



Not a bad haul for the very start. If you're wondering if I'm going to complete the Hoenn Pokedex... what do you think? I won't be doing the National Pokedex legit though, fuck that.



Oh hey, what's this feature?



Ahhhhhhhh, I've missed this so so much. The storage system overhaul was desperately needed and it's pretty great.



Quick stop by the Mart to restock on Balls. Gonna need plenty for the next few areas.



With the Apricorn Balls being practically non-existent in these games, we've got some more Pokeballs that don't really replace them.



When you buy basic Pokeballs ten at a time, you'll get a Premier Ball. What does it do? Nothing. It's a Pokeball, but it looks pretty. I'll need it for next update.



Speaking of which, next time, we'll be going on a little catching spree as we head to Route 102 and beyond.