Rainbow Chara X
Impossible to gauge!
- 129
- Posts
- 8
- Years
- Age 27
- Shiny Hunting in Sinnoh
- Seen Apr 11, 2024
Oh boy, you know I'm going to have fun with this one.
Unlike the other Pokemon games I've covered, this is not a rom-hack. This is the real deal, the original Pokemon Emerald. You dabble in fan-made stuff for so long that you want the real thing after a while, so why not right? It helps that Emerald is one of my favorite nostalgic Pokemon games and there's quite a lot I want to tackle here.
I'm not a guy that does special challenges or anything like that because just playing the game normally is fine for me.
That said, I will try to spice up this let's play by making it less of a traditional walkthrough and more the story of the player character I control (and their pokemon). I'll still cover stuff like normal but I'll take some small liberties to make it more fun to read.
Between this, Sailor Moon: Another Story and Maui Mallard (Genesis), I'm going to have a hell of a time keeping all of these LPs together... but you know, whatever. I welcome the challenge.
Let's slam jam.
[font=verdana, geneva, lucida, lucida grande, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Chapter #1 - Back to the Roots[/font][font=verdana, geneva, lucida, lucida grande, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]
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Spoiler:
I'm pretty sure there's a fix for this, but there's not much this actually affects that I care about. If anything not having clock-based events work would be beneficial for me due to how it fixes Feebas to a certain spot.
I should mention that since this is the real Emerald and not a rom hack, I'd normally be hosed when it comes to getting trade evolutions... if it weren't for this wonderful universal Pokemon randomizer that gives you the option to only change impossible evolutions and nothing else.
Cheers for that, by the way.
[Current OST: Opening Selection]
I love Hoenn's trumpets as much as Sinnoh's jazz, so hell yeah.
There's a lot of Pokemon Professors, let's be real. You can't all be "the". The professor of a region, maybe, but not the definitive.
[He releases a Grimer from a Pokeball]
"This world is widely inhabited by creatures known as Pokemon. We humans live alongside Pokemon, at times as friendly playmates, and at times as cooperative workmates. And sometimes we band together and battle others like us. But despite our closeness, we don't know everything about Pokemon. In fact, there are many, many secrets surrounding Pokemon."
(
I do like opening intros like this, because they perfectly explain what Pokemon... well, is. This would make as much sense to a newcomer as it would to an expert, which is good because not everyone follows the different generations of Pokemon games.
(I started with Red and went straight to Sapphire, so.)
Alright... I tend to cycle through male and female depending on which games I've played (unless it's a direct continuation, but that's rare). The last Pokemon game I played was as a dude, so today we're going with the female choice.
Her name will be Aurora because it's a pretty name.
(It's also a name I gave to my Alolan Ninetales, but there's absolutely no chance of me playing anything past Gen 5, let alone Gen 6, so I might as well not worry about it.)
"You're Aurora who's moving to my hometown of Littleroot. I get it now! All right, are you ready?"
Wouldn't be ready if I didn't start this LP, prof. Hit me with your best shot.
"- where dreams, adventure and friendships await! Well, I'll be expecting you later. Come see me in my Pokemon Lab."
Friendships indeed, because I have a hell of a plan regarding what I'll be doing and who I'll get.
It's not super strict, mind, because I do have some wiggle room for what my team is going to wind up being.
Let's just say I have some shenanigans up my sleeve.
Something something about the shrinking animation, but nothing's coming to me. I guess I just came up short.
... A bit of my soul broke off just from saying that.
[SFX: The sound of a moving truck]
[Boxes shuffle as the truck moves, followed by it coming to a halt. The young girl stops clinging onto them and lets out a sigh of relief]
Side note, I do like how we start off riding in the back of a moving truck. When the door opens up, you know you're in for the long haul.
[Aurora jumps off the truck and lands on grass]
[Current OST: Littleroot Town]
Mom: "It must be tiring riding with our things in the moving truck."
Mom: "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, Aurora! Let's go inside."
The Littleroot Town theme is pretty soothing and a good song for the beginning town - it's one of the more memorable ones to me, just sayin'.
... Not much of a town if there's only three buildings though, huh?
"The mover's Pokemon do all the work of moving us in and cleaning up after. This is so convenient!"
Mom: "Aurora, your room is upstairs. Go check it out, dear! Dad brought you a new clock to mark our move here. Don't forget to set it!"
... Wait. Where does mom sleep? Does she not have her own room or something? Pokemon house designs have never made sense to me, but oh well.
I like seeing Pokemon used for different utilities than just beating the crap out of each other, so this is real neat. That said, is the practice of using Pokemon as mover-men a common thing? Were they trained for this kind of thing?
It was 11:47 PM by the time I took this screenshot, so at least we have the time of when I first played out this chapter.
... Yeah, I'm kind of a night owl. What is this thing people call a "healthy sleep schedule?"
"Good! Everything's put away neatly! They finished moving everything downstairs too. Pokemon movers are so convenient! Oh, you should make sure that everything's all there on your desk."
Something about that new house smell always gets me in a hopeful mood.
... I have to be real though, covering Emerald after the likes of Snakewood gives me some serious deja-vu vibes because they both take place in Hoenn. Not only that, it was LP#1 while this one is like... #8 or something.
I've advanced so much in terms of my LPing and commentary style since 2015 that just thinking about it is surreal to me. I didn't even have portraits or a team set-up when I started out, for corn's sake!
I've decided to go in a different path with Aurora by having her start out shy and unsure of herself, as opposed to just making her a primo badass right from the start.
You know, now that I'm not distracted by game design that threatens to consume my soul.
Something I appreciate is that every(?) Pokemon game gives you a free Potion if you're willing to check your PC at the start, just so you can have an advantage against the first few battles you get yourself into.
[Aurora walks over to the TV]
[Current OST: Encounter! Reporter]
Mom: "Look! It's Petalburg Gym! Maybe Dad will be on!"
Interviewer: "... We brought you this report from in front of Petalburg Gym."
[The TV stops flashing]
I always found it interesting whenever the TV started flashing in some random house, cause that at least meant a new line of dialogue or something. Clock events not working kind of puts a hamper on that, but oh well.
"I think Dad was on, but we missed him. Too bad."
I find it interesting that this is one of the only Pokemon games that not only hints that you even have a dad, but that they're also an actual character and a gym leader to boot.
It's something you don't see very often.
Mom: "Oh, yes. One of your dad's friends lives in town. Prof. Birch is his name. He lives right next door, so you should go and introduce yourself."
Birch's Wife: "Oh, you're Aurora, our new next-door neighbor! Hi! We have a son about the same age as you. Our son was excited about making a new friend. Our son is upstairs, I think."
... You know, in hindsight, Birch has an unfortunate name just for how easy it is to replace that one letter.
Damn, his namesake is cool-looking though.
... A Pokeball? Aww snap, here we go boys.
Aw crap, we got found out!
[Current OST: Brendan's Theme]
"Who are you?"
[Aurora squints her eyes at him]
Brendan is... pretty crude at the beginning of the game. I don't think he does it on purpose, he's just oblivious.
[Brendan walks over to his PC]
"Better leave it right where it is."
It is his, after all. It's not like the scenario in Snakewood where the Pokeballs didn't belong to anybody (alive anyway) and you were in the middle of a zombie apocalypse.
... That should be the last Snakewood comparison I make because even just talking about it is giving my tongue a rash.
"There are scary Pokemon outside! I can hear their cries! I want to see what's going on, but I don't have any Pokemon... Can you see what's going on for me?"
What an absolute unit Aurora is for going into the grass without any Pokemon.
[Current OST: Help!]
[Aurora springs forward and sees Professor Birch chased around by a Zigzagoon]
"In my bag! There's a Pokeball!"
[Aurora runs over and scrambles through the bag, with three Pokeballs falling out]
I love how the good professor gets threatened by a Zigzagoon of all things and we have to save him... like wow, dude, you've been doing this for how long?
This is our time to shine, though.
Awww snap.
The Hoenn starters are a hard sell for me because I like all three of them - I can't just choose one! But, if I had to, I'd pick...
#258 - 260: Swampert Family
Type:
Ability: Torrent
Appearances:
Stats of final evolution: 530 (100, 110, 90, 85, 90, 60)
Additional forms?: N/A
You bet your ass I like Mudkips! Too bad he can't turn into a Swole Boy with Anchor Arms due to the lack of Mega Evolution, but I think I'll live.
(My other choice was Torchic because of course, but I held off because I've always played Torchic before and wanted something new.)
[Current OST: Wild Battle Theme]
One of my favorite variations of the normal battle theme. I can't quite pin down why I like it so much other than it being really energetic.
#263 - 264: Linoone Family
Type:
Ability: Pickup
Appearances:
Stats of final evolution: 420 (78, 70, 61, 50, 61, 100)
Additional forms?: N/A
(Man it's good to have a retrospective series that you can shamelessly copy from for stuff like this. You can read up on what I think of each Pokemon, if you like. The entries for the Let's Play are edited to only include Gen 3 stuff, so nothing from the prior games will be counted, like Mega Evolutions.)
... That's right, Gen 3 was the first one to introduce Abilities, a game-changing element that added a whole new layer of personality and utility to each Pokemon.
A level 2 Zigzagoon should not give you any trouble, though... unless we go by the horror stories of people encountering this same Zigzagoon as a shiny.
That really is like, my nightmare scenario; running into a shiny Pokemon without any Pokeballs.
Sure, they'll growl at you, but that does emotional damage at best (And lowers your attack by one stage).
Us on the other hand?
[Current OST: Victory! Wild Pokemon]
We can smack 'em down.
[Current OST: Route 101]
"I was in the tall grass studying wild Pokemon when I was jumped. You saved me. Thanks a lot! Oh? Hi, you're Aurora! This is not the place to chat, so come by my Pokemon Lab later, okay?"
I still find it pretty silly that the professor couldn't handle a level 2 raccoon despite this being, well, his job. Like cut me some slack.
Nice first route theme, though. It's pretty chill.
[Current OST: Professor Birch's Lab]
"I've heard so much about you from your father. I've heard you don't have your own Pokemon yet. But the way you battled earlier, you pulled it off with aplomb! I guess you have some of your father's blood in your veins after all!"
Birch is the only person I've ever heard say aplomb, so that's a new one for me.
Sick. Birch gives you the option to nickname the Mon, so...
Alexander it is! I'm pretty sure I had a long, detailed reason for why that name in particular, but I kind of forgot what it was.
"I think you'll make an extremely good trainer. My kid, Brendan, is also studying Pokemon while helping me out. Aurora, don't you think it's a good time to see Brendan?"
Standard opening, but that's fine. Forgive me if I don't have much to say as a commentator, but it'll take a bit for the good stuff to happen anyway.
"There's a Pokemon Center in Oldale Town right close by."
Aurora has never actually used their services, so she just knows that they exist. We as players know what they do, so I figured "why not make the tutorial stuff in-character for her."
[Current OST: Oldale Town]
Oldale is another good one because just listening to it is relaxing. I'll save my thoughts for the songs that really impress me, so for now I'll just say it matches the town it's attached to. (Aka. small and cozy)
[Current OST: Come Along]
"Can I get you to come with me?"
[The shop clerk drags her along]
"We sell a variety of goods including Poke Balls for catching Pokemon. Here, I'd like you to have this as a promotional item."
Not a fan of the sequence because everyone knows what a Pokemart does, but thanks for the free potion anyway. Let's just hope we don't have to actually use it.
[Aurora awkwardly slides away from the Mart owner and avoids eye contact]
#261 - 262: Mightyena Family
Type:
Ability: Intimidate
Appearances:
Stats of final evolution: 420 (70, 90, 70, 60, 60, 70)
Additional forms?: N/A
Poochyena and its evolution may look cool with a neat ability (Intimidate halving the attack of every Pokemon it switches into), but aren't too good as a long-term investment due to other better Dark types out there.
Also, I didn't understand it was meant to be a hyena and not a wolf until just recently, so you got me. Now, if they were shiny then maybe I'd be singing a different tune, but as it is? Nah.
... I think what's meant to be happening is the Poochyena fainting and Alexander leveling up, but I just wound up screen-capping dead air. Oops.
[Brendan notices us and turns around]
[Current OST: Rival Battle]
The rival battle them is... alright. I don't find it particularly impressive, just that it does its job.
Also, I didn't know the hat Brendan's wearing is supposed to be... well, a hat and not white hair. I've always thought it was cool until I realized he had normal brown hair underneath, so boo.
#252 - 254: Sceptile Family
Type:
Ability: Overgrow
Appearances:
Stats of final evolution: 530 (70, 85, 65, 105, 85, 120)
Additional forms?: N/A
While the last choice I would have picked, the Sceptile family is definitely no slouch with that nice speed and special attack stat. Leaf Blade from this guy hurts, especially since this was before the Physical-Special split. Grass counts as special, so things were pretty good for Sceptile... until Gen 4 came along and made Leaf Blade a physical move. (Ouch.)
I meant what I said when I liked all members of the Hoenn trio.
Battle-wise, Brendan shouldn't be too tough as long as you have potions and don't get your defense lowered too much.
... It helps that there's wild Pokemon in the grass around him so you could practice to your heart's content before actually fighting him, making the rival battle thing even easier.
Don't underestimate Treecko's speed though, cause with enough leers you will be very squishy. I always liked how the rival picks the perfect counter to your starter just to make it extra challenging.
However, by the time they become really dangerous you could find a good counter yourself, so...
This was after the potion, so whoof.
Alexander even learns Mud-Slap! Sure, it's not that impressive, but at least we get a different attack than friggin' Tackle... that also lowers accuracy.
[Current OST: Victory! Trainer]
That was a pretty good fight to start off the game... now let's just hope we can keep that up.
"I think I know why my dad has his eye out for you now. Look, your Pokemon already likes you, even though you just got it."
[Brendan jumps off the ledge and heads back down]
Man, I'm curious as to how many chapters I can do now that I'm starting college.
It's something that got me back in the groove either way, cause I was feeling pretty uninspired for the past few months. (I might even update the Retrospective to include the Gen 2 beta pokemon)
[She hands Alexander's Pokeball to the nurse]
"We hope to see you again!"
NPC in the back "It's free!"
I didn't really think much of the "We hope to see you again" line until I got older, then it just became unnecessarily sinister. You would never really want to see the doctor again, so it's just odd to me.
"Naturally, that means you're free to use it!"
... Yeah, you'd think the computer would be reserved for medical use, but apparently trainers can use it however they want. That's why she asks.
"Aurora, you should hustle too."
[Brendan goes further south]
Not quite sure why we needed this intermission. A fade to black would be nice, but Littleroot isn't that far anyway.
"I heard you beat Brendan on your first try. That's excellent! Brendan's been helping with my research for a long time. Brendan has an extensive history as a trainer already."
... Yeah, where are the rest of his Pokemon if he's been a trainer for a long time? It's weird.
(It is also infamous for giving people heart-breaking, nightmarish tidbits about their favorite Pokemon! You know, for the kiddies!)
So... he likes to be a showoff.
Two can play at that game, son.
"Well then, here. I'll give you these."
Oh?
Sweet, now we can finally catch some Mons. I should mention that I will try to go as far as getting all the Hoenn mons legitimately (the most you can get on Emerald anyway) without having to rely on gameshark.
"Oh! What an adorable Pokemon. You got it from Prof. Birch. How nice!"
Mom: "You're your father's child, alright. 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!"
This was also the game that introduced the Running Shoes!
No more Bicycle for fast travel, at least right now.
Mom tells you about instructions to use the shoes. "pressing B to run" respectively, but even that's a little too video-gamey for me. What is this mystical B button?
Mom: "... To think 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 will be coming back to Littleroot on occasion because Aurora gets home-sick. (Yeah, I think we'll be going in a slice of life direction for some parts of this LP.)
Look at us go nyoom. I love the running shoes, alright?
#265 - 269: Dustox and Beautifly Family
Type:
Ability (Dustox): Shield Dust
Ability (Beautifly): Swarm
Appearances:
- Wurmple
- Cascoon (Level 7 depending on personality value)
- Dustox (Level 10)
- Silcoon (Level 7 depending on personality value)
- Beautifly (Level 10)
Stats of final evolution (Beautifly): 385 (60, 70, 50, 90, 50, 65)
Additional forms?: N/A
Oh snap, we ran into our first catchable wild Pokemon! Bring it on.
Wurmple is an interesting first bug Pokemon just on the principle that it evolves into two different branches depending on "personality value" (which I still don't understand, but oh well) - one leading into Dustox and the other leading into Beautifly.
They're equally not that great, but not every Pokemon I plan on using will be super-competitive all-stars. You know, to further the slice of life aspects I'm gunning for.
Stats don't define a character, their personality does. A "weak" character can be just as compelling as a "strong" one, so there's that.
[Alexander shakes off the string]
I've heard String Shot got a buff lately - it lowering the speed of every enemy by two stages instead of one. Why would you ever need it aside from the novelty, though? Beats me.
Oh yes, while we're at it... a funny story about Wurmple.
You see, I have a counterfeit Emerald cartridge that works just as well as the real thing but lacks the ability to trade to Gen 4 and loses some audio channels when you save.
I was walking around with my mom at the local mall. I was bored out of my mind so I went Ralts hunting because hey, I like Gardevoir. That is, until I wound up encountering... I shit you not, a shiny Wurmple.
It was simultaneously a beautiful and terrible thing because that's the first non Gen 6-7 shiny I've gotten in YEARS, yet it just had to appear on the fake Emerald cartridge of all things.
[The Wurmple starts tackling into Alexander]
[Aurora chucks a Pokeball at it]
Yeah, doesn't Wurmple have a catch rate of 255? There's no way you're not going to get it, although it raises the question of why you would to begin with aside from 100% completion. Maybe you like moths or butterflies or something, I don't know!
Huh. Neat. I'm not sure if I'm going to show off the Pokedex entries via screenshot or just displaying them via text, cause I can imagine it being pretty cluttered if I have to catch a lot of Pokemon at a time.
Eh, I'll decide later.
I should mention that not every Pokemon I catch will be main party members due to the sheer volume of mons that will be involved, if only just to make it a bit easier on myself.
They will be there to fill out the "Owned" quota and not much else - Aurora might even release some of them back into the wild when she's done!
Rad. Next time on Pokemon Emerald, we're going to explore the countryside a bit more before we meet up with some new friends. (I'm pretty excited, if you can't tell.)
See you guys then.
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