(WIP) Pokemon Emerald (Game Boy Advance) - RetroAchievements/guides GitHub Wiki
Guide by Paradise1
| Set Difficulty | |
| Approximate time to master | |
| Minimum numbers of playthroughs needed | |
| Number of missable achievements | |
| Does difficulty affect achievements? | Not Applicable |
| Hardest achievement of the set |
Table of Contents (click to expand)
If you've never played Pokemon before, this short video is an excellent introduction to the basic mechanics.
You'll probably be able to figure out most of the mechanics by playing the game, especially if you talk to all the NPCs you meet. But if you want a primer on some helpful mechanics, feel free to read through this section!
- Keep the Type Chart handy to figure out what moves are super effective against what types. Note that the type chart has changed over the years, so make sure you're using the one specific to Generations 2-5.
- When a Pokemon uses a move that matches its type (or one of its types, if it has two), it gains a Same-Type Attack Bonus (STAB), which multiplies the move's power by 1.5. This is a very significant boost!
- There are two categories of attacking moves: Physical and Special. Physical moves use the Attack stat of the attacking Pokemon and the Defense stat of the defending Pokemon. Special moves use the Special Attack stat of the attacking Pokemon, and the Special Defense stat of the defending Pokemon. In this generation, whether a move is Physical or Special depends entirely on its type.
- Normal, Fighting, Flying, Poison, Ground, Rock, Bug, Ghost, and Steel moves are all Physical.
- Fire, Water, Grass, Electric, Psychic, Ice, Dragon, and Dark moves are all Special.
- Two moves (Weather Ball and Hidden Power) can change types - they will be Physical or Special depending on their current type.
- There are also Status moves, which raise or lower a Pokemon's stats, or inflict a status effect (such as Poison or Burn).
- Many attacking moves also have a secondary effect. For instance, Ember has a 10% chance to Burn the target, and Mud-Slap will always lower the target's accuracy by one stage.
- Stat buffs and debuffs have twelve levels, six in each direction. Most moves in this game will raise or lower a stat by either 1 or 2 stages. If it says a stat "sharply rose / harshly fell", it's 2 stages, if it just says "rose/fell," it's 1 stage. Once a stat gets to +6 or -6, it can't be boosted higher or lower, respectively. The modifications to stats given by each stage are listed in the table below:
| Stage | Multiplier |
|---|---|
| -6 | Stat x .25 |
| -5 | Stat x .28 |
| -4 | Stat x .33 |
| -3 | Stat x .40 |
| -2 | Stat x .5 |
| -1 | Stat x .66 |
| 0 | Stat x 1 |
| 1 | Stat x 1.5 |
| 2 | Stat x 2 |
| 3 | Stat x 2.5 |
| 4 | Stat x 3 |
| 5 | Stat x 3.5 |
| 6 | Stat x 4 |
- Evasion and Accuracy are slightly different. Basically, you need three boosts to double accuracy instead of 2, and 6 boosts to triple accuracy instead of 4. This also applies going the other direction. See this section in Bulbapedia for the full details.
- Pokemon have 6 stats: HP, Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed.
- HP determines a Pokemon's Hit Points, which is how much damage they can take before fainting.
- Attack and Defense determine the damage dealt and taken by Physical moves, while Special Attack and Special Defense determine the damage dealt and taken by Special Moves.
- Whichever Pokemon has the higher Speed stat typically moves first. The only exception are moves that have a different "priority." Moves with a higher priority will happen before moves with a lower priority. For example, a Pokemon using Quick Attack will always move before a Pokemon using Tackle, regardless of which has the higher Speed.
- If two Pokemon use a move in the same priority tier, the Pokemon with the highest Speed will move first, as normal. For example let's say two opposing Pokemon use Quick Attack and ExtremeSpeed. Because both moves have a priority of +1 (in this generation), the one with the higher Speed will move first.
- Each Pokemon species has a set of Base Stats ranging from 1-255 that determine what its stats will be. For instance, Chansey's base HP is 250, meaning it will have a lot of HP, but its base Attack is 5, meaning it will have a very low Attack stat. This makes certain Pokemon species suitable for certain roles.
- A Pokemon's Base Stat Total (the sum of all six stats) is a good approximation of how powerful they are. For instance, Weedle/Caterpie, very weak early-game Pokemon, have BSTs of 195, while Mewtwo, a strong legendary Pokemon, has a BST of 680.
- Typically, when a Pokemon evolves, its Base Stats will go up, making it more powerful.
- If your Pokemon's stats are debuffed, you can restore them by switching out to a different Pokemon and switching back. If your Pokemon's stats are boosted, this will also reset them back to normal. This will also cure temporary status conditions like confusion, but will have no effect on status conditions like paralysis, sleep, freeze, or poison.
- There are five status conditions in the game: Sleep, Paralysis, Burn, Poison, and Freeze.
- Sleep will prevent your Pokemon from moving until it wakes up. After 1-4 turns, the Pokemon will wake up, using the move it was trying to use on the same turn. Thankfully, sleep-inducing moves are somewhat inaccurate (except for Spore.
- Paralysis will cut your Pokemon's Speed to a quarter of its normal value, and the Pokemon will have a 25% chance to not be able to move at all during a turn. Paralysis doesn't go away naturally - you have to cure it using an item or go to a Pokemon Center. This condition is most often caused by Electric-type moves, but a few other moves can cause it too.
- Burn will half the damage done by Physical moves, and your Pokemon will lose 1/8th of its max HP after every turn. Burn can be cured with items or by healing at a Pokemon Center. This status is typically caused by Fire-type moves, and Fire-type Pokemon are immune to being burned.
- Poison simply decreases the affected Pokemon's HP by 1/8th at the end of each turn. Outside of battle, poisoned Pokemon will take 1 HP of damage for every four steps the player takes. Poison can be cured with items, or by healing at a Pokemon Center. Unsurprisingly, Poison is typically inflicted by Poison-type moves. Poison-type and Steel-type Pokemon are immune to poisoning.
- There is also "bad" poison, caused by the move Toxic. Bad poison will increase the damage it does every turn (from 1/16th to 2/16ths to 3/16ths, and so on). In this generation, bad poison is not converted to regular poison by switching out or ending the battle, but the counter starts again at 1/16.
- Freeze prevents Pokemon from moving until they thaw out. In this generation, Pokemon have a 20% chance to thaw out every turn. Pokemon will also thaw out if hit with a damaging Fire-type move. Freeze is relatively rare - each move that causes it typically only has a 10% chance of freezing the opponent.
- Status effects are very helpful in catching Pokemon. A Pokemon who is burned, poisoned, or paralyzed will be 1.5 times as likely to be caught, and a Pokemon who is asleep or frozen will be twice as likely to be caught. Getting a Pokemon that learns a paralysis move like Thunder Wave or a sleep move like Hypnosis will be a great help.
- Generation 3 introduces Abilities, which are basically something special a Pokemon can do. Each species of Pokemon has one or two possible Abilities. For instance, the Pokemon Zangoose has the Ability Immunity, which prevents it from being poisoned. Meanwhile, the Pokemon Rattata can have either the Run Away ability, which guarantees running away from wild battles, or the Guts ability, which increases its Attack by 50% when it has a status condition. If you catch a Rattata, it will have a 50% chance of having either ability.
- Many Abilities also have effects in the overworld. For instance, Pokemon with Pickup will occasionally pick up items after battles, and Pokemon with the Intimidate ability will reduce weaker wild encounters if placed in the front of the party.
- A few Abilities are actually detrimental to the Pokemon. Slaking has the ability Truant, which only allows it to use moves every other turn. This is done to balance out its fantastic stats.
- You can give each Pokemon an item to hold from your Bag. These items can have powerful effects in battle, such as boosting damage of moves of a specific type, healing a little bit every turn, or doubling the amount of money you earn after battles.
- That being said, not all items are effective. Pokemon can't figure out how to use man-made medicine items on themselves (not even Alakazam, with its 5000 IQ). However, Pokemon do know how to use Berries! A Pokemon will eat a berry when a certain condition is met (e.g. when it's at low HP, or when it has a status condition), gaining the same effect as if you had used it on the Pokemon.
- Wild Pokemon will sometimes hold items. You can get them by capturing the Pokemon, or by using the moves Thief or Covet, which will steal the item.
- Generation 3 also introduces Double Battles, in which a team of two Pokemon are active on each side of the field. This alters the mechanics and strategy, as many moves and abilities behave differently in Double Battles! You can be challenged to a Double Battle either by certain Trainer Classes (e.g. Sis & Bro), or if you are challenged by two trainers at the same time by walking in between them. Usually, you will send out the first two Pokemon in your party, so don't get caught off-guard!
- With most attacks, a Pokemon can choose to attack any Pokemon on the field, including its own teammate. Certain moves such as Blizzard and Eruption will target both enemy Pokemon, and other moves such as Earthquake and Explosion will target all other Pokemon, including the user's teammate. Be careful when selecting these moves!
- In Generation 3, Surf only targets both enemies as opposed to every other Pokemon (as is the case in Generation 4 and beyond).
- In this generation, when a Pokemon is KO'd, the next Pokemon is sent out immediately! In later generations, the next Pokemon is sent out after the turn ends.
- With most attacks, a Pokemon can choose to attack any Pokemon on the field, including its own teammate. Certain moves such as Blizzard and Eruption will target both enemy Pokemon, and other moves such as Earthquake and Explosion will target all other Pokemon, including the user's teammate. Be careful when selecting these moves!
In order to master the set, you'll need to conquer the Battle Frontier. This will require a familiarity with several advanced mechanics.
Each Pokemon has a set of six Individual Values (also known as IVs), one for each stat. Individual Values can fall anywhere between 0 and 31, and each point corresponds to an extra point to that stat at level 100. For instance, a Level 100 Mudkip with a 31 IV in Attack will have 31 more points of Attack than a Level 100 Mudkip with a 0 IV in Attack.
Below Level 100, these bonuses are scaled to the Pokemon's level, and rounded down. A level 50 Mudkip with a 30 IV in Attack will have only 15 more points in Attack than a level 50 Mudkip with a 0 IV in Attack. And a level 50 Mudkip with a 31 IV in Attack will also only have 15 more points, as the boost is rounded down.
A Pokemon's IVs are generated when a wild battle starts, when a roamer first spawns, and for Eggs, when it is received from the Day Care man (note that the Nature is set when the egg is first generated). IVs cannot be changed in any way - a Pokemon is stuck with its IVs! IVs are randomly assigned, so if you're trying to find a Pokemon with great IVs, you'll either have to be very lucky, use some tricks while Breeding, or delve into the wild world of RNG Manipulation.
IVs are typically written in the order they appear on the stats screen. Specifically, HP/Attack/Defense/Sp.Attack/Sp.Defense/Speed. For instance, a (29/21/15/31/23/29) Latios has high Special Attack, Speed, and HP, and lower Attack and Defense.
Effort Values
Once you unlock the Battle Frontier in the postgame, you also get access to a very easy cloning glitch that allows you to clone Pokemon and items.
NOTE: Most (if not all) information in this section is only applicable to the ORIGINAL Emerald ROM. If you're using the RTC + Timer Fix patch, RNG Manipulation will not work. Other patches may or may not work.
RNG manipulation is a powerful tool to get Pokemon with high IVs and good Natures, but is by no means required to master the set. Feel free to try it out if you'd like, or feel free to ignore it entirely if it seems too technical or you prefer to do things the old-fashioned way.
If you need an introduction to the general concept of computer RNG, this video by the roadmap is a good primer. In a nutshell, computers can't actually create truly random numbers. What they can do is take an initial value (the "seed"), perform some calculations on it, and spit out a different number, which becomes the "seed" for the next RNG call. In Pokemon Emerald, this process is performed on every frame, meaning that the RNG value changes 60 times every second.
What makes RNG functions close enough to true randomness is the value of the initial seed, which is typically based on something outside of the game itself. For Pokemon games, this is often based on the real-time clock. For Ruby/Sapphire, this is the internal clock in the cartridge, and for the Gen 4 Pokemon games, this is the system time of the DS itself. But what makes RNG manipulation so powerful in Emerald specifically is that for whatever reason, the initial seed upon loading the game is always set to 0. Because the initial seed is always the same and the RNG calculations are always the same, this means that you can reliably predict the RNG value on every single frame after booting up the game. It's like if a casino shuffled their cards into exactly the same order every single time - you would be able to know exactly what card is coming up at any point.
What this means for us is that you can basically choose a Pokemon's IVs, Nature, Ability, Shiny status, and anything else that relies on RNG if you are able to call the RNG function on a specific frame (say, by starting a wild Pokemon battle or receiving a gift Pokemon). This is obviously very powerful, and can let you get Pokemon with great stats. However, it can be tricky to pull off, as you need to hit a frame perfect input twice (once while resetting the game, once while starting the battle).
Basically, the method is to use a program like PokeFinder to find the frame you need to hit to get the Pokemon that you want, and use a timer like Mystic Timer to try and hit that frame exactly.
Note that there are a few caveats. Although it's relatively easy to get a Pokemon with great stats, it can be very hard to get a Pokemon with a very specific set of stats. For instance, the chances of getting 31 IVs in every stat are about one in a billion. In order to get a Latios with perfect IVs, you'd have to wait about 176 million frames, or about 5.5 years. There are other methods that shorten the time required, but I won't go that deep in this guide. If you'd like to know more, check out this site for the full details.
This guide will focus on how to get Pokemon with good IVs and Natures, primarily for use in the Battle Frontier. If you're interested in getting shinies, that is a slightly more involved process that involves your Trainer ID and your Secret ID, a special number that the game never shows you (hence the name).
This RNG manipulation has the potential to be the most tedious, as it can take quite a while to find and catch Latios. Still, I found it much easier than I was expecting, as I was able to get it on my 4th try while having no previous experience with Emerald RNG manipulation.
Immediately after defeating the Pokemon League, the next time you load your save you will have an unavoidable cutscene in your house where a TV report will state that an unknown Pokemon is flying around Hoenn. To get Latios, make sure you answer "BLUE" when your mom asks you what color the Pokemon was. Latios' stats and Nature are set in stone the frame that you choose "BLUE," and cannot be changed afterwards.
I'll use Latios to demonstrate how to use RNG manipulation in general. First of all, you're going to want to download the PokeFinder program, which will tell you which frame to hit if you want to get a specific Latios. You'll also want to open up Mystic Timer in a web browser.
Open up PokeFinder, and you should be greeted by this screen:
Even though it's encountered in the wild, Latios counts as a Static encounter, as its stats are determined during the TV report. Click "Static," and you should see this screen:
For now, we don't need to worry about most of the settings on this screen. Just switch "Category" to Roamers, and Pokemon to "Latios," don't change anything else, and then click Generate. You'll see this screen:
This will show you what Latios you will get on every frame! For instance, if you pressed "BLUE" on frame 19 (it's not actually possible, but just as an example), you would get a Latios with a Docile nature, and IVs of (24/29/19/26/13/29).
If you'd like, you can use the filters to explore the list. However, the Latios I'd recommend (used on Werster and Exarion's teams) is located at frame 4571:
This Latios has an ideal Nature (+SpA-Atk), great SpA, Spe, and HP IVs, and comes up pretty quickly (about 1 minute and 15 seconds after resetting). To catch it, we'll have to press "BLUE" exactly 4571 frames after resetting the game. To do that, open Mystic Timer, and put 4571 in the "Target Frame" slot. Leave all other settings alone, then press "Set Timer:
Now, when you press "Start," a 5 second timer will count down, and will beep 6 times as it approaches 0. This first timer represents when you should reset the game. The best way to reset the game is by pressing A+B+START+SELECT. While the timer is counting down, hold down three of the buttons, and then press the fourth exactly when it hits 0.
Once it hits 0, it will begin the countdown until the target frame. As it approaches the target frame, it will beep 6 times again. This is exactly when you should press A on "BLUE" in the cutscene. If you did it correctly, the Latios with the Frame 4571 stats should spawn and roam around Hoenn!
Before you start the manipulation, run the timer a once or twice to get used to the timing of the beeps. Then, when you're ready, load up your save. Start the timer, press A+B+START+SELECT when it hits 0, and then load your save. Make sure you don't use speedup at all after resetting, as this will make the manipulation fail!
Once you load your save, head downstairs and progress the scene until you get to the choice between "RED" or "BLUE:"
You should have 15-30 seconds to spare. Press A on "BLUE" when the counter hits 0, and Latios will be spawned. At this point, you're safe to use speedup if you'd like. Make sure you DO NOT SAVE until you catch the Latios you want, though!
After all the cutscenes, fly to Slateport City. You may want to drop a Pokemon off in the PC to check Latios easier. Otherwise, grab a bunch of Max Repels, the Master Ball, and a Pokemon between level 13 and 40.
Head north of Slateport to Route 110, near the entrance to Cycling Road:
Put your Pokemon between level 13 and 40 at the front of your party, and then spray a Max Repel. This will prevent encounters with any Pokemon besides Latios. Run through the grass to the left a couple times, and if you don't find Latios, head into and then right back out of Cycling Road. Repeat the process, reapplying Repels as needed. It may take a while, but eventually you'll find it. Catch it with the Master Ball, and then go ahead and check its stats. DO NOT SAVE unless you get the Latios you want! Here's my first Latios:
Unfortunately, it's not the right one. So, let's look in PokeFinder to see what frame I hit. It shouldn't be too far from 4571. If you're having trouble finding your frame, you can click the "Show Stats" checkbox in the filters to convert the IVs into stats, and you can filter by Nature.
I ended up hitting frame 4594. That's quite a bit off, but that's not unusual for the first time. We'll use that value to calibrate Mystic Timer. Put the frame you hit (for me, 4594) into the "Frame Hit" field, and then press "Set Timer." That will add a "Calibration" value to the timer that will help you hit the correct timing:
Once you're ready, repeat the steps above to manipulate and catch Latios. Here's the second Latios I caught:
Looking it up again, this Latios is frame 4573:
A lot closer! Enter the frame you hit as into Mystic Timer to adjust the calibration, and try again. My third attempt was frame 4569, and I got frame 4571 on my fourth attempt:
It's possible I got lucky, but as long as you calibrate after every attempt, you should have a decent chance of hitting the right frame. Once you've found the Latios you want, you can go ahead and save!
If you'd like to see the whole process, this video by im a blisy is good, although it details how to get a shiny specifically instead of how to get good stats, uses older programs, and also does it in Ruby version, which has a few differences. This section of Exarion's speedrun shows how it works in Emerald (although you don't see the timer).
If you're really having trouble hitting a 1-frame window, I found a couple of 2-5 frame windows that produce decent (but not ideal) Latioses. When searching, I looked for Latios with good (20+) SpA and Spe, and a decent Nature (+SpA or +Spe). Here's what I found:
| Frame | Nature | HP | Atk | Def | SpA | SpD | Spe |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4903 | Modest (+SpA -Atk) | 15 | 11 | 9 | 26 | 6 | 22 |
| 4904 | Quiet (+SpA -Spe) | 22 | 26 | 6 | 21 | 3 | 20 |
| 5082 | Quiet (+SpA -Spe) | 23 | 15 | 6 | 24 | 9 | 31 |
| 5083 | Modest (+SpA -Atk) | 31 | 24 | 9 | 25 | 7 | 26 |
| 5852 | Mild (+SpA -Def) | 29 | 31 | 20 | 21 | 14 | 23 |
| 5854 | Quiet (+SpA -Spe) | 21 | 5 | 15 | 27 | 26 | 22 |
| 9724 | Mild (+SpA -Def) | 15 | 15 | 28 | 20 | 14 | 25 |
| 9725 | Modest (+SpA -Atk) | 25 | 20 | 14 | 20 | 18 | 23 |
| 12058 | Quiet (+SpA -Spe) | 18 | 25 | 15 | 22 | 21 | 23 |
| 12059 | Hasty (+Spe -Def) | 23 | 22 | 21 | 17 | 18 | 16 |
| 12060 | Rash (+SpA -SpD) | 16 | 17 | 18 | 28 | 11 | 25 |
| 12061 | Mild (+SpA -Def) | 25 | 28 | 11 | 21 | 29 | 24 |
| 12062 | Calm (+SpD -Atk) | 24 | 21 | 29 | 21 | 24 | 23 |
| 14867 | Quiet (+SpA -Spe) | 14 | 1 | 17 | 27 | 14 | 29 |
| 14868 | Mild (+SpA -Def) | 29 | 27 | 14 | 21 | 15 | 29 |
| 14869 | Naive (+Spe -SpD) | 29 | 21 | 15 | 22 | 29 | 16 |
| 14870 | Mild (+SpA -Def) | 16 | 22 | 29 | 24 | 11 | 21 |
| 17512 | Quiet (+SpA -Spe) | 25 | 12 | 17 | 30 | 20 | 20 |
| 17513 | Modest (+SpA -Atk) | 20 | 30 | 20 | 27 | 29 | 26 |
There might be some other decent ones out there if you loosen the criteria, or go past 18000 frames (5 minutes). These Latioses aren't as ideal for the Battle Frontier, but they may be able to get the job done (especially if you savescum).
Thankfully, Beldum is a lot easier than Latios.
Beldum: frame 2297 (11119/11120/11121?)
Ditto (mudkip) 3430/3431?
- The Gotta Catch 'Em All achievement is set up in such a way that if you obtain a Pokemon you're not supposed to have (e.g. a Pokemon that's unobtainable in Emerald, or two different starters), it will lock you out of the achievement. Trading Pokemon in from another save file is also at the very least a gray area rules-wise, so it might not be advisable anyways.
- Preparing for the Battle Frontier is something you're going to want to keep in mind throughout the run. Getting the Gold Symbols at the Frontier is one of the most challenging tasks in the series, and knowledge of advanced mechanics is essential for success.
- The first challenge is creating your team. Despite what some may say, there are definitely Pokemon that are stronger choices than others.
- Of course, there are tons of potential team combinations for the Battle Frontier.
- Swampert is a great option to have, so you probably want to pick Mudkip as your starter. Latios is also very powerful, so you probably want to choose it over Latias. If you'd like, you can try and get a beneficial Nature and IVs on Mudkip, or you can wait until after the story and just breed a new one.
- Try to avoid using TMS and Move Tutors until you're preparing for the Battle Frontier. This will give you as many options as possible.
- When catching Latios, you're going to want to make sure it has a beneficial Nature, and possibly IVs that are at least decent. You can achieve this either by resetting the old-fashioned way, or by using RNG Manipulation. Note that Latios' stats are generated when you select "BLUE" on the TV and cannot be changed after that point! For this reason, you're probably going to want to keep the Master Ball for Latios, as that will make attempts and resets much easier.
- The Latios event happens right when you load the game after defeating the Pokemon League for the first time, so make sure that you are ready to hunt it!
-
Bulbapedia is the most thorough and accessible source of Pokemon information out there. You can use it for Pokemon locations, learnsets, item locations, and more. Note that by default pages display information and movesets for the latest generation, which might not be accurate for Generation 3. Usually there will be a button to view information for different generations, if applicable.
- Bulbapedia also has an Emerald Walkthrough that is one of the best out there. I'll be linking to it frequently, so check it out if you need more information.
- The Serebii Generation 3 Pokedex has thorough information on all Pokemon specific to Generation 3, and without extra information on things like the anime. If you want a more streamlined and Gen 3-specific experience than Bulbapedia, this is likely your best bet.
- The Generation 2-5 Type Chart is worth keeping handy. There are several notable differences from later generations.
- Bulbapedia and StrategyWiki both have an beat-by-beat walkthrough if you'd like to follow them. Choose whichever you prefer. Bulbapedia has the advantage of being specific to Emerald, whereas StrategyWiki includes Ruby and Sapphire, which may be slightly more confusing.
- The Cave of Dragonflies is a treasure trove of really in-depth information on Gen 3 mechanics, as well as every other generation. Of particular interest for this set is the Gen 3 Catch Rate Calculator.
This section will cover all of the story achievements, as well as any sidequests that become available. I'll also include achievements for catching Pokemon (legendaries and Feebas) as they pop up.
There are no level cap or other arbitrary requirements for Gym battles, so feel free to battle however you see fit. It's very possible to steamroll the entire game using Swampert (or Mudkip) if you want. I'll make suggestions for fights, but if you find something that works for you, feel free to use that instead.
Because the achievements are pretty sparse, I won't go too in-depth on the story. If you want a beat-by-beat walkthrough, I highly recommend the Bulbapedia walkthrough. I'll also be linking to it fairly often.
Things to remember:
- Keep the Dig TM when you get it on Route 114
- Keep the Sea Incense when you find it in Mt. Pyre
Step 4: Catch 'em All/Miscellaneous
Because Swampert is very useful for the Battle Frontier, I would definitely recommend choosing Mudkip as your starter. I wouldn't worry too much about trying to get one with a good Nature/IVs at this point, as it may be easier to just breed one later on. And if you plan on using your first Mudkip in the Frontier, you'll have to be very careful with leveling and EV training throughout the whole game, which may be more trouble than it's worth.
Once you choose your starter, head to Route 103 north of Oldale Town for the first Rival battle.
Humble Beginnings (3) Defeat your Rival on Route 103
This fight should be pretty easy, especially if you've leveled Mudkip once or twice - open with a Mud-Slap or Growl if you'd like, then whale away with Tackle and you should win easily.
There aren't any achievements until you reach Roxanne's gym in Rustboro City, although if you're catching and leveling Pokemon, you'll likely get Friends Made Along the Way and Metamorphosis without too much effort.
You might want to catch 2 Ralts on Route 102 west of Oldale town so you can trade one for a Seedot in Rustboro City. Seedot is only a 1% encounter by default, so trading for one is probably easier.
You may want to catch a Zigzagoon to use as an HM Friend. Zigzagoon also has the ability Pickup, which has a 10% chance of finding several useful items whenever you win a battle.
Hard as a Rock (10) Defeat Roxanne to earn the Stone Badge
Roxanne isn't too hard if you have Mudkip. Her 2 Geodude are 4x weak to Water moves, so a single Water Gun will likely take them out. For Nosepass, you can use Mud-Slap once or twice to lower its accuracy and then hit it with Water Gun.
If you don't have Mudkip, you can also try using a Marill or Wingull, who also learn Water Gun early. Lotad and Shroomish are also an option. Although Absorb is not as powerful as Water Gun, it will still make quick work of the 2 Geodude, who are also 4x weak to Grass-type moves.
After defeating Roxanne, go ahead and continue the story until the Dewford City Gym. The fight with your rival in Rustboro City is optional - there's no achievement tied to it.
In Dewford City, make a note of the trendy phrase, but do not change it, as having it set to default will help you find Feebas much more easily.
Martial Artist (10) Defeat Brawly to earn the Knuckle Badge
Brawly is a little tougher, but if you evolve some of your Pokemon he shouldn't be too hard to beat. Here are some suggestions:
- Mudkip evolves at level 16 into Marshtomp and learns Mud Shot, a STAB physical move that lets it take advantage of its higher Attack stat.
- Beautifly is also a decent option, as it 4x resists Fighting moves and learns Gust at Level 13.
- Taillow is not bad. Although it is neutral to Fighting moves due to its Normal typing, it learns the powerful Wing Attack at level 13.
- Ralts is a decent option, although it won't be able to take hits very well. You could evolve it into Kirlia at level 20 if you wanted. The first floor of Granite Cave north of Dewford Town is a great place to train Ralts.
- Don't bother trying to decrease Makuhita's accuracy (or boost your own evasion with Double Team), as Vital Throw will always hit regardless of accuracy.
- As Brawly's team only knows Fighting-type moves, Sableye (catchable in Granite Cave) will be completely invincible.
After defeating Brawly, deliver the letter to Steven and then head on to Slateport to continue the story (or go back to Rustboro for the EXP Share from Mr. Stone if you want).
In Slateport, you can challenge the Battle Tent if you want, but there's no achievement for it.
Friendly Rivalry (5) Defeat your Rival on Route 110
Our next achievement is defeating the Rival on Route 110 north of Slateport City. This time, they will come with a Slugma, Wingull, and the second form of their starter (Grovyle, if you chose Mudkip). Of these three, Grovyle is the threat. Marshtomp can probably get some damage in with Mud Shot, but might not be able to survive an Absorb, as it is 4x weak to Grass moves. If you have a few level ~20 Pokemon, it probably shouldn't be too hard to combine their efforts and take Grovyle down, especially if they're evolved. Kirlia, Golbat and Hariyama are good options.
If you need to train a bit, you can head west to some Trainers on Route 103, or you can explore the Trick House here on Route 110. You'll need to do all the Trick House puzzles for an achievement, so you might as well do it now while the Exp is still useful!
After defeating your Rival, continue the story until Wattson's gym in Mauville City. While you're in Mauville City, pick up the Mach bike so you have it for Mirage Tower later.
Thunderstruck (10) Defeat Wattson to earn the Dynamo Badge
Wattson is a cinch with Marshtomp. Mud Shot will likely KO the first three Pokemon in 1-2 hits, and won't have much trouble KOing Manectric either. The only thing to watch out for is Supersonic from Magneton.
If you don't have Marshtomp, things will probably be a little harder. Geodude from Granite Cave is an option if you're looking for a Ground type. You can also evolve it into Graveler at level 25. Graveler may also be useful for the next few gyms too, so it might not ba a bad idea to grab one. Bringing a Fighting type like Hariyama or Combusken may also be useful for Magneton. Grovyle resists Electric attacks, so it may also be useful.
Next is a long stretch with no achievements. Once you get to the northern part of Route 111, you can talk to a guy who's looking at a tree, and he'll give you the Secret Power TM, allowing you to create a Secret Base. Feel free to teach it to a Pokemon now - you can always get another copy of the TM in Slateport City!
Home Away From Home (1) Enter your very own Secret Base
This is the only achievement related to Secret Bases in this set, so you can create one, enter it, and then leave it alone for the rest of the game if you'd like.
Our next achievement is for defeating Team Magma and Maxie at Mt Chimney. Along the way, you'll reach Route 114 and Meteor Falls. On Route 114, you can find the TM for Dig by talking to the Fossil Maniac's brother. Make sure you keep the TM for Dig (or keep the Pokemon you teach it to), as it will make it very difficult to catch the Regis later if you don't have access to the TM.
In Meteor Falls, you'll find a Moon Stone. Make sure you don't drop or sell it, as you'll need to evolve a Pokemon with it to complete the Pokedex!
Fiery Crew (5) Interfere with Team Magma on Mt. Chimney
Maxie is the threat here, but he's honestly not too bad. He has a level 24 Mightyena and Zubat (one wonders why he doesn't evolve it) and a level 25 Camerupt. As long as your team is reasonably diverse and properly leveled, you should be able to take him down pretty easily. I myself used Hariyama to take down Mightyena, Kirlia to KO Zubat, and Marshtomp to take down Camerupt (although pretty much any Water type would do, as Camerupt is 4x weak to Water.)
Once you beat him, make sure you interact with the machine to get the Meteorite.
Next up is heading to Lavaridge Town to defeat Flannery.
Who Turned Up the Temperature? (10) Defeat Flannery to earn the Heat Badge
Again, Marshtomp makes the Gym very easy. Use Water Gun for Numel and Camerupt, and Mud Shot for Slugma and Torkoal. If Flannery manages to get a Sunny Day up, Water moves will only do half damage, so switch to Ground moves for the rest of the fight. Torkoal may be the biggest problem, as its Attract will cause Marshtomp to become infatuated if it is male. Still, you should be able to KO it with 2-3 Mud Shots, so it's not too much of a problem.
If you don't have Marshtomp, a strong Water-type and/or Ground-type Pokemon is likely your best bet. Of the options available at this point, Graveler, Tentacruel, or Pelipper may be worth considering. Just remember that Numel has Magnitude (which Graveler is weak to) and that Sunny Day cuts the power of Water type moves in half.
Heading east from Lavaridge Town, you can take a quick detour to the desert on Route 111 to grab a Fossil from Mirage Tower. You will need the Mach Bike and a Pokemon with Rock Smash to get through the obstacles. I'd recommend bringing a few Repels, too.
Amateur Archaeologist (1) Acquire a fossil in the Mirage Tower
If you ride the Mach Bike at max speed over the cracked ground, you won't fall through. I recommend using Repel so that a wild encounter doesn't interrupt you. It may take a few tries to get the timing down, but that one stretch on the second floor is the only one you'll have to navigate to get to the Fossil at the top.
You can choose whichever you like - the Root Fossil will give the Rock/Grass Lileep, while the Claw Fossil will give the Rock/Bug Anorith. You'll be able to get the one you didn't pick after the Pokemon League, so don't worry too much about missing out. Anorith/Armaldo is more of an offensive Pokemon, while Lileep/Cradily is more defensive. Lileep's Suction Cups ability also makes it easier to find Fishing encounters, which may be useful for finding Feebas (especially if you need to check every spot). However, a Gulpin with Sticky Hold will do the same thing.
Our next achievement is the Gym in Petalburg City, so head back there however you like. If you head south through Mauville and onto Route 110, you can visit the Trick House and do a few of the puzzles while the EXP is still useful!
If you stop by Rustboro City, you can also revive your Fossil Pokemon on the second floor of the Devon Corporation building (and grab the EXP. Share from Mr. Stone on the third floor if you haven't already).
Taking Down a Vanilla Team (10) Defeat Norman to earn the Balance Badge
Before you fight Norman, watch out for the Gym Trainer on the top left (in the "Strength Room"), as she has a Zangoose that knows Swords Dance that can wipe out your whole team if you're not careful. Or maybe I'm just bad.
Norman isn't too bad - he has a level 27 Spinda and Vigoroth, a level 29 Linoone, and a level 31 Slaking. A Fighting type like Hariyama or Breloom can do pretty well (just watch out for Spinda's Psybeam). Try to take down Linoone before it can use Belly Drum (or on the same turn), or else it might go on a rampage. Slaking has a high Attack stat, but its ability Truant is easily exploited. Truant means Slaking can only attack every other turn, so a Pokemon with Protect/Detect or Dig can completely shut it down. Otherwise, just use a Special attacker like Marshtomp/Swampert and heal with items as necessary on the off turn.
Be careful about burning/poisoning/paralyzing Norman's Pokemon, as they all know Facade, which doubles in damage if the Pokemon is afflicted by a status condition!
Immediately after defeating Norman, Wally's dad will give you the Surf HM, which is also a powerful move in its own right. I'd recommend teaching it to Marshtomp/Swampert right away!
Surf opens up a lot of places to explore. At this point, you can tackle an optional quest involving New Mauville. Simply head to Mauville City, talk to Wattson, and then find the entrance on Route 110 by Surfing east of the north Cycling Road entrance.
Sidequest for Wattson (5) Disable the generator in New Mauville and obtain your reward. Closing the game before claiming the reward will disable this achievement
MISSABLE
*This achievement is missable if you disable the generator and then close the game before talking to Wattson again.
Follow the Bulbapedia guide and you should be fine. Make sure you pick up the Thunder Stone before you leave!
Once you power down the generator, make sure you talk to Wattson again before you save and quit, or else the achievement will be locked!
Once you're finished exploring with Surf, head to Route 118 east of Mauville City to continue the story.
Route 119 is to the north, but it's probably worth visiting Route 123 to the east, where you can find the Berry Master's house. Not only does he have a large plot perfect for growing Berries, but he will also give out two free berries every day.
Also of interest is his wife. if you tell her the correct 2-word phrase, you can get a rare berry. The only phrase you can access now is "GREAT BATTLE," which will give you a Spelon Berry. You may actually want to tell her a non-special phrase, though, as if you do that you have a 1 in 10 chance of receiving the Lum Berry. The Lum Berry is a very useful Berry that cures any status condition. Make sure you hold onto it (or grow multiple copies), as it will come in handy later on in the Battle Frontier. You can get one berry a day from her, so you can either come back on different days or save in front of her and reload until you get the berry.
For Contests, if you'd like to use my strategy, you're going to need 10-15 Pomeg, Kelpsy, and Grepa berries, so you can get started planting them here if you'd like. There are plenty of plots here, and the location is easy to remember, so it's a pretty ideal spot for growing berries.
Route 119 opens up a few achievements:
Where Do I Even Find This? (25) Catch a wild Feebas
Route 119 is home to the infamous Feebas. Feebas is found as a Fishing encounter on 6 specific tiles in the river on Route 119. The problem is that there are 437 potential tiles, making it very hard to track Feebas down. Thankfully, there are ways to even the odds.
The first is preparing your party. If you have a Pokemon with the ability Suction Cups (Lileep) or Sticky Hold (Gulpin/Swalot) in the first slot of your party, they will increase your chance of fishing successfully from 50% to 92.5%. This can save a lot of time in the long run (especially if you need to check every spot).
Next, you should use the Old Rod instead of the Good or Super Rod. You can find Feebas with any rod, but the Old Rod will only require you to hit A once to land it.
Finally, you should check out this tile calculator shared by Spagg and GoJamBe in the comments. Assuming that you didn't change the trendy phrase in Dewford Town, it should help narrow down the spots to search considerably. Make sure you seleclt "Emerald," then enter your Trainer ID (found on your Trainer Card, accessible by selecting your name in the menu) and the Dewford trendy phrase, and it should label a few spots on the map. Try the red spots first. Fish a couple times in each spot, as Feebas has a 50% chance of appearing. If the red spots don't work, try the yellow spots, and if that doesn't work, try the green spots.
If none of those spots work or you've changed the trendy phrase, you'll have to find Feebas the old-fashioned way by checking tiles one-by-one. I would recommend following this strategy, and fishing only once per tile.
Several users recommend getting a beneficial Nature for evolving Feebas. A Feebas with a Modest, Quiet, Rash, or Mild Nature will prefer Dry Pokeblocks, increasing its Beauty stat more effectively. However, if you use Kelpsy berries to make the Pokeblocks, you'll be able to max out Beauty with any Nature, so it doesn't really matter unless you want a beneficial Nature on Milotic for the Battle Frontier.
The tiles Feebas spawns in will not change unless you change the trendy phrase in Dewford town, so if you do want to catch multiple Feebas, you may want to note down the spot you found (or use the calculator again).
Blue Stripes White Stripes (5) Deal with Team Aqua at the Weather Institute
Continuing up the route, you'll come across the Weather Institute, which has been taken over by Team Aqua. Once you enter, you can rest in the bed in the northwest room (which also has a PC, for whatever reason). After a few fights with Aqua grunts, you'll face off against Aqua Admin Shelly, who shouldn't be too challenging. She brings a level 28 Carvanha and Mightyena, both of which can be dispatched by a Fighting type.
Make sure you heal again before leaving the Weather Institute, as your Rival will challenge you right after you cross the bridge.
How Much Stronger Have You Gotten? (5) Defeat your Rival on Route 119
Assuming you picked Mudkip, your rival will show up with Slugma, Grovyle, and either Pelipper (Brendan) or Lombre (May).
At this point, your team should either be diverse enough or highly-leveled enough to blast through without many problems. If you bring a Flying type, you should be pretty good.
After the fight, your rival will give you HM02 (Fly), although you're unable to use the field move until after the next Gym.
Our next achievement is the Fortree City Gym.
Birds of a Feather (10) Defeat Winona to earn the Feather Badge
Winona has five Pokemon: a level 29 Swablu and Tropius, a level 30 Pelipper, a level 31 Skarmory, and a level 33 Altaria. Here are some notes:
- If you have an Electric type Pokemon like Manectric or Electrode, they'll probably come in handy for this gym and the next one (which is Water-type).
- Swampert can hold its own against many of the Pokemon, and Surf is a pretty good answer for Skarmory in particular.
- Tropius might appear difficult, but it's honestly not too bad. It seems to always go for Solar Beam instead of Sunny Day, which might actually be a problem. So, you can just switch a Pokemon in that resists Grass (Crobat, in my case) for free, and go from there.
- Pelipper seems to like spamming Protect. You can take advantage of this and use stat-boosting moves (or X items) to set up a Pokemon to sweep the rest of the battle. I used Calm Mind with Gardevoir.
- Skarmory has sky-high Defense and a good defensive typing, but its Special Defense is its weakness. Fire or Electric moves will take it down, as will Surf (or a Calm Mind-boosted Psychic).
- Altaria will use Dragon Dance to boost its Attack and Speed. Try to KO it sooner rather than later - if it manages to get enough boosts up it can be very difficult to take down! Setting up on Pelipper can help you avoid this.
Next, continue the story until you get to Mt. Pyre. Inside you will find a Sea Incense - DO NOT sell it or toss it, as you need it to breed an Azurill for the Pokedex!
After that, head to the Magma Hideout.
Visiting Magma's Hideout (5) Defeat Maxie in Team Magma's hideout
While traversing the deeper part of the Hideout, watch out for Graveler - it knows Selfdestruct, which can likely KO one of your Pokemon.
This time, Maxie brings a level 37 Mightyena, a level 38 Crobat, and a level 39 Camerupt. None of them can stand up very well to Swampert's Surf, especially Camerupt. If you don't have Swampert, a fully-evolved Water type will do.
After returning to Slateport City, head to Lilycove City. There you'll find your missable fifth and final Rival fight.
Long Time No See! (5) Defeat your Rival in Lilycove City
MISSABLE
This achievement is apparently missable, as your Rival will disappear at some point. I'm not sure at what point they disappear - you can at least beat the Aqua Hideout and Tate and Liza and they'll still be there. Selecting "No" or losing the fight also doesn't seem to make them disappear, either.
In any case, this is the final fight with May/Brendan. If you chose Mudkip, they will bring a level 31 Tropius, a level 32 Slugma and Pelipper, and a level 34 Grovyle. Again, as long as you have an answer for Grass types, this fight shouldn't be too hard. You can also abuse Pelipper's love for Protect to try and set up.
After your Rival, Surf to the northeast to enter the Aqua Hideout.
Visiting Aqua's Hideout (5) Defeat the Admin in Team Aqua's hideout
While traversing the Aqua Hideout, you'll find the game's Master Ball. I highly recommend you use it for Latios, especially if you're going to reset or RNG manipulate for a better Nature/IVs.
Anyways, Matt at the end is pretty easy - he just brings a level 32 Mightyena and a level 34 Golbat. Swampert (or any Water type) with Surf should do just fine.
Next up is the Mossdeep City Gym.
Brainiacs (10) Defeat Tate and Liza to earn the Mind Badge
Tate and Liza are unique in that their Gym Battle is a Double Battle! They bring a level 41 Claydol and Xatu, and a level 42 Lunatone and Solrock. They can be a little difficult, unless you use items. Here are my notes:
- The two count as one Trainer, and all four Pokemon of theirs are in the same "pool." That is to say, unlike other Double Battles, you can't focus one side of the battlefield and exhaust it of Pokemon to make the rest of the fight a 2-on-1.
- Claydol, Lunatone, and Solrock are all weak to Water-type moves, which is good news for Swampert. The bad news is that Xatu/Solrock like to use Sunny Day and Claydol/Lunatone like to use Light Screen, leading to Surf's power being 1/3 of what it normally is. Still, Surf's high power combined with hitting both enemies (and not your ally, in this generation) makes it a great choice.
- The two have 4 Hyper Potions, meaning you'll likely have to take out multiple health bars on several Pokemon, especially if you're relying on a weakened Surf.
- Watch out for Solrock's SolarBeam, especially if you're running Swampert.
- If you don't have Swampert (or maybe even if you do), Sharpedo is a decent option - it has access to STAB Surf, as well as Crunch, which is a powerful Dark-type move that has a chance of lowering Special Defense. What's more, you can fish one up right here in Mossdeep City using the newly acquired Super Rod!
- Crawdaunt is another option - you can fish up to a level 45 Corphish in Petalburg City using the Super Rod. Unfortunately, it doesn't learn any Dark-type attacks besides Knock Off in this game (It learns Crunch in FR/LG, but not in RSE for whatever reason).
- Because they like to use setup moves, you can take the opportunity to boost your own Pokemon using Calm Mind or X items. They managed to wipe 5 of my Pokemon (mostly because I don't like using items) and I still managed to win with my +4 Calm Mind Gardevoir.
- If you want, you can bring a Pokemon that knows Rain Dance to boost the power of Surf (at least until they use Sunny Day again, that is). Castform knows it by default, and Milotic learns it by level up at level 35.
- Finally, you can try and bring a Grass-type Pokemon (potentially one that can use Solar Beam) to hit Claydol/Solrock/Lunatone without being hampered by the sun.
Next, head to the Mossdeep Space Center to challenge Team Magma.
Space Center (5) Help Steven Stone in the Mossdeep Space Center
A Sailor in the lobby will give you a Sun Stone, so make sure you talk ot him.
When you talk to Steven, you'll select three Pokemon to use. This is a Multi Battle - you'll bring three Pokemon and Steven will bring three to use in a Double Battle against Maxie and Tabitha.
Steven shows up with a few powerful Steel types, so this battle shouldn't be too hard. Surf will do work against the enemy Pokemon (and absolutely wreck the Camerupt that both Tabitha and Maxie bring).
Steven will give you the HM for Dive when you visit him in his house on the northwest part of the island.
Before you continue, you can head north of Mossdeep City to get started on the Shoal Cave achievement.
Crafty Hands (5) Craft a Shell Bell in Shoal Cave
Shoal Cave has two forms: a High Tide form and a Low tide form. To craft the Shell Bell, you'll need to grab 4 Shoal Shells, available at high tide, and 4 Shoal Salts, available at low tide. The cave changes between the 2 forms every 6 hours, at 3:00 and 9:00. The ingredients respawn every day, so you can actually get multiple Shell Bells if you'd like.
You can also fully explore the Abandoned Ship on Route 108 east of Dewford Town now that you have Dive.
Delivery Mission (5) Retrieve the Scanner from the Abandoned Ship and deliver it to Captain Stern
To find the Scanner, follow the instructions in the Bulbapedia guide.
Captain Stern is located in the Slateport Harbor northeast of the Pokemon Center in Slateport City. Hand the Scanner to him, and choose either the tooth or the scale - we can't trade Clamperl to evolve, so it doesn't matter too much.
When you're done exploring with Dive, head to Route 128 south of Mossdeep City. In the underwater trench, you'll find the Seafloor Cavern, where Team Aqua has taken the submarine they stole.
Master Thief (5) Defeat Archie in the Seafloor Cavern
Follow the Bulbapedia guide's instructions to traverse the Seafloor Cavern.
In the final battle, Archie brings a level 41 Mightyena and Golbat, and a level 43 Sharpedo. Swampert should be able to hold its own. If you want, you can switch out to reset the Intimidate boost. Or Sharpedo will just use Swagger and do it for you.
After clearing the Seafloor cave, head to Sootopolis City to continue the story. You'll have to go to Sky Pillar to awaken Rayquaza. While you're there, try and catch a Claydol to use for Contests! After that, you can either head straight back to Sootopolis, or get started on catching the Regi trio and Rayquaza.
In order to unlock the Regi trio, you'll need a Pokemon that knows Dig, a Wailord, and a Relicanth. You'll also need a Pokemon that knows Surf and Dive.
The Dig TM is found on Route 114, and is compatible with many Pokemon. If you didn't hold onto the Dig TM, things get a lot harder. Nincada (not Ninjask!) learns Dig at level 45, and Trapinch (not Vibrava/Flygon!) learns Dig at level 41. If you're in that situation, it might be worth waiting to catch the Regis until after the Pokemon League, where you can grind levels easier (or duplicate Rare Candies). I'd also recommend choosing Trapinch, since you'll have to grind it to level 45 anyways to get Flygon.
You'll also need a Wailord. Wailord evolves from Wailmer at level 40, or is a 1% encounter while Surfing on Route 129. Wailmer can be caught at pretty high levels (up to 45) using the Super Rod in many locations. Getting a level 40+ one seems to be rare, though, so you might want to just catch a level 35 one and level it up. If you fish in Dewford Town, Wailmer has a 100% encounter rate when using the Super Rod, albeit with a higher level spread (25-45). Otherwise, you can try fishing with the Super Rod in other locations. If you want to fill out your Pokedex, Route 128 has Corsola and Luvdisc, and Horsea is found on Routes 132, 133, and 134 west of Pacifidlog Town. When fishing, remember that having a Pokemon with the Suction Cups or Sticky Hold ability at the front of your party will greatly increase the chance of success!
Relicanth is found in patches of seaweed while Diving. Its catch rate is a little low, so you can buy some Dive Balls or Net Balls in Mossdeep City. Dive Balls have a 3.5x catch rate while underwater, and Net balls have a 3x catch rate on Water or Bug type Pokemon. Dive Balls are more useful for catching Relicanth specifically, but Net Balls are probably more useful in the long run.
Once you have all the Pokemon you need, follow these instructions to get to the Sealed Chamber and awake the Regi trio. You'll need to use Dig at the northern wall of the first room, and read the message in the northern wall of the second room while Wailord is first in your party and Relicanth is last.
After that, three doors will open in the Route 111 desert, Route 105, and Route 120.
Before getting ready to capture the trio, you should probably stock up on Revives, healing items, and Timer Balls (found in the Rustboro City Poke Mart). If there aren't any Timer Balls in Rustboro, you need to talk to the Devon researcher outside Rusturf Tunnel. Timer Balls give an increasing bonus depending on how many turns have passed, up to 4x at 30 turns. You can also pick up X Defends at the Rustboro Poke Mart, which you can use to boost up your defenses to tank the Regi's attacks.
Rock Solid Golem (10) Catch Regirock in the Desert Ruins
MISSABLE
This achievement is missable if you KO Regirock, as it won't respawn.
To catch Regirock, you'll need a Pokemon with Rock Smash. Head to the Desert Ruins on Route 111 north of Mauville City. Once inside, read the message, walk two steps west and two steps south, and then use Rock Smash (from the Pokemon menu).
Make sure you save before fighting Regirock, as it won't respawn if you KO it!
To capture Regirock, I used a Lanturn to paralyze it with Thunder Wave, then used a combination of Surf / Normal type moves to whittle its HP down. If you have a Pokemon with False Swipe, that may be helpful. Once Regirock was low enough, I sent Swampert in, used 6 X Defends to tank Regirock's attacks, and chucked Timer Balls, healing as necessary. You may need a lot of Timer Balls (30+), so make sure you come prepared. Thankfully, they're actually cheaper than Ultra Balls!
MISSABLE
This achievement is missable if you KO Regice, as it won't respawn.
Crystal Clear Golem (10) Catch Regice in the Island Cave
Regice is located in the Island Cave on Route 105 north of Dewford Town. You don't need anything special to challenge Regice - simply read the sign, and run around the whole chamber staying right next to the wall.
Again, make sure you save before fighting Regice, as it won't respawn if you KO it!
For Regice, the strategy is similar to Regirock. Paralyze it, then use Surf to bring it down to the red. Switch in Swampert, use 6 X Defends, and chuck Timer Balls.
Advanced Alloy Golem (10) Catch Registeel in the Ancient Tomb
MISSABLE
This achievement is missable if you KO Registeel, as it won't respawn.
Finally, Registeel is in the Ancient Tomb on Route 120 east of Fortree City. You'll need to bring a Pokemon with Flash. After reading the message, head to the center of the cave and use Flash.
Again, make sure you save before fighting Registeel, as it won't respawn if you KO it!
My strategy for Registeel was similar to the other two. Paralyze it, use Surf to bring it down to the red, and then switch in Swampert, use 6 X Defends, and chuck Timer Balls.
At this point, you can either try and catch Rayquaza, or continue with the story.
Emerald Dragon (10) Catch Rayquaza at the top of the Sky Pillar
MISSABLE
This achievement is missable if you KO Rayquaza, as it won't respawn.
If you return to Sky Pillar on Route 131, you'll be able to capture Rayquaza. You'll need to bring the Mach Bike, Repels, Hyper Potions, and a boatload of Timer Balls. You may also want to bring Leppa Berries or Ethers if you have them.
Rayquaza is a difficult encounter if you don't use the Master Ball. I recommend you don't, so you can save it for Latios! It's Level 70, and knows Rest, allowing it to reset any damage and statuses you may give it. To take it on, I used a level 40 Lanturn with Thunder Wave and Flash, and Regice, who I leveled to 41 for Amnesia. Another bulky electric type would probably also do the trick (Magneton, maybe?). I also taught Regice Ice Beam via TM, and gave it the NeverMeltIce (found in Shoal Cave at low tide) to hold. Don't worry too much about using the Ice Beam TM - you can always get another one at the Mauville Game Corner!
As user dumbFKNidiot notes in the comments, getting to Rayquaza is a challenge in and of itself. The tower is damaged from Rayquaza landing on it again, and is full of cracked ground that you will fall through if you walk on. To get across, you need to use the Mach Bike. In order to build up enough speed, you'll have to have at least two tiles of space in between you and the cracked ground. Try to follow this video or dumbFKNidiot's guide in the comments if you're having trouble.
Once you reach the top floor make sure you save, as Rayquaza will not return if you KO it!
Here is my strategy for the battle:
- Open with Lanturn, and use Thunder Wave. If Rayquaza uses Rest or Fly, Lanturn should be able to survive and get the Thunder Wave off. If Rayquaza uses ExtremeSpeed or Outrage, Lanturn will likely go down, at which point you can either reset or move on to Regice.
- If Rayquaza tries to use Rest at full health, it will fail, allowing you to keep it paralyzed.
- Now that Rayquaza is paralyzed, start spamming Flash until you either hit 6 accuracy drops, or Lanturn goes down.
- Switch in Regice. Use Amnesia once or twice, then start using X Defends until you get to +6 Defense. Then, use Amnesia until you hit +6 Special Defense. Heal as necessary.
- If all went well, Regice should be pretty invincible. Now, use Ice Beam to bring Rayquaza's health down. If you're holding the NeverMeltIce, it should land somewhere in the yellow, which is good enough. You don't want to go too low, as Rayquaza could KO itself with confusion damage from Outrage if you're not careful. Once Rayquaza's health is down, start chucking Timer Balls like there's no tomorrow.
- If Rayquaza uses Rest, it will remove the paralysis. The good news is that Sleep is even better for catching! Use another Ice Beam to bring its health down again, and then resume throwing Timer Balls.
- Remember to heal as necessary, and use Ethers or Leppa Berries if you need to restore Ice Beam's PP.
- If Regice goes down (due to a critical hit, most likely), you can switch to other Pokemon and keep throwing Timer Balls until you catch Rayquaza or white out. This will probably be more effective if you managed to get several Flashes off.
The next story event is the Sootopolis City Gym, led by Juan. If you want to battle the Gym Trainers, you'll have to fail the ice puzzles. Some of them give great prize money, so it's not a bad idea, especially if you're hurting from buying too many Timer Balls!
Lord of the Sea (10) Defeat Juan to earn the Rain Badge
Juan has a level 41 Luvdisc and Whiscash, a level 43 Sealeo and Crawdaunt, and a level 46 Kingdra.
If you caught Rayquaza, congratulations, you've won! If you haven't, then bringing Swampert and an electric type is probably your best bet. Swampert learns Earthquake at level 52, which will be pretty devastating to anything that doesn't resist it (so, everything on Juan's team). Luvdisc's moveset is a little annoying, but it's weak enough that you can set up with X Attacks if you so choose. Just watch out for confusion - if your Pokemon hurts itself, it uses the Attack stat to determine the damage! You can use a Persim berry to heal confusion if you have one.
If you don't have Swampert, then an Electric type might be your best bet. At this point, you have access to quite a few, like Lanturn or Magneton. Just watch out for Whiscash.
After defeating Juan, continue the story until you get to Victory Road. While traversing the dungeon, Wally will challenge you to the final Rival battle of the game. He brings a level 44 Altaria, a level 43 Delcatty, a level 44 Roselia, a level 41 Magneton, and a level 45 Gardevoir.
Moss Head (5) Defeat Wally on Victory Road
Swampert handles most of these pretty well. Altaria uses Dragon Dance, but its only physical move is Aerial Ace, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem. All in all, if you have a balanced team, this fight shouldn't be too bad.
After traversing Victory Road, you'll find yourself at the Pokemon League. Before you challenge the League, note that the Latios event will happen immediately upon loading your save after defeating the League. Therefore, if you want to reset for a good Nature on Latios (or use RNG Manipulation), make sure you're prepared. You should bring the Master Ball, loads of Max Repels, a few Rare Candies (if you want to test for IVs), and a Pokemon below level 40 to put in the front of your party. You can visit a PC before catching Latios to switch out items/Pokemon, but it will make resets slightly more tedious. If you've already used the Master Ball, you'll probably want to prepare a Pokemon that can trap Latios, like a fast Pokemon with Mean Look (such as Crobat).
Before that, though, we'll have to take down the Pokemon League itself. If you caught Rayquaza, it can sweep through the League without too much effort, especially if you're willing to use X items. Otherwise, you may need to strategize a litttle.
In Emerald, the Pokemon League consists of the Dark-type trainer Sidney, the Ghost-type trainer Phoebe, the Ice-type trainer Glacia, the Dragon-type trainer Drake, and the Water-type Champion, Wallace. My recommendation would be to bring an Ice type (useful against Sidney and Drake), an Electric type (useful against Glacia and Wallace), and perhaps a Fighting-type (useful against Sidney and Glacia). Swampert is also not bad, although it may struggle a bit against Drake and Wallace. I would recommend bringing along some PP restoring items like Ethers or Leppa berries, especially if you're planning on primarily using 1 Pokemon.
The Bulbapedia walkthrough has good tips for every battle. Here's some of my own tips:
- Most of Sidney's Pokemon have pretty pitiful Special Defense (55-70), so a special attacker could make pretty short work of them. Their Defense isn't that much better, either.
- Sidney leads with a level 46 Mightyena, whose intimidate will lower the power of physical attacks. You may want to start with a special attacker, or just switch out to reset the debuff.
- Shiftry doesn't know any Grass moves, so Swampert can pretty safely stay in against him. Cacturne, on the other hand, does know Needle Arm, so watch out.
- Crawdaunt and Absol both know Swords Dance, so try and take them down quickly.
- Phoebe's first Dusclops knows Curse, so don't try to set up against it.
- The second Dusclops and Sableye aren't too much of a threat, as their attacking stats are pretty pitiful. They might be good to set up on, if you'd like. Just watch out for the type coverage the second Dusclops has.
- Banette has a respectable 115 Attack, so watch out for its Shadow Ball (which is physical in this gen).
- Her first Sealeo is not a huge threat, so feel free to set up. Just watch out if it starts to use Ice Ball back-to-back, as it doubles in power every turn like Rollout.
- The level 52 Glalie knows Explosion, so try and take it out quickly if you can.
- Ice attacks are very good here, as 3 Pokemon take 4x damage from them.
- Shelgon is pretty okay to set up on. Just watch out for Rock Tomb if you have an Ice type.
- Altaria and Kingdra both know Dragon Dance, so make sure you take them down quickly if possible.
- Wallace sends out Wailord first. Its STAB Water Spout can be very dangerous, especially if it uses Rain Dance. However, Water Spout's power will proportionally decrease with its health, so attack quickly to reduce its damage output.
- Ludicolo and Whiscash are resistant to Electric attacks, and Tentacruel is resistant to Grass attacks, so you'll probably need to bring multiple types to be effective.
Milotic
Tackle Surf Dive Waterfall
10-12 Kelpsy Pokeblocks
Beauty: Surf-Dive-Surf-Dive-Surf?
Tough: be last, then Waterfall-Tackle-Dive-Surf-Tackle?
Pomeg (Spicy + Bitter)
Grepa (Sour + Sweet)
Qualot (Sweet + Spicy)
Hondew (Dry + Bitter)