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Emerald hack: Pokémon Tourmaline (v0.2.1 Released 04/22/2025)

I know I've already spoken quite a lot. But a couple more questions have come up and I wanted to ask before I forget, while it's fresh on the mind. No rush in answering of course! I'm very very patient and have all the time in the world haha. I'm still very very much enjoying playing this game (: I'm close to being ready to take on the 2nd gym! I just have some more training to do, and I smell a rival battle coming.

The move deleter is quite far away, and since Surf is not available in either 0.2 or 0.2.1, there's no way to reach Scarlet Town is there?

[PokeCommunity.com] Pokémon Tourmaline (v0.2.1 Released 04/22/2025)

The latest version of the demo currently goes up to the 6th gym right? So that should mean progress mostly comes to a halt after obtaining that 6th gym's gym badge. However, in northern Issho, at least just from looking over the map, there aren't enough major cities and towns for 6 gyms.
Scarlet Town's in the Southern half of the Issho region, divided by water on all routes that connect the two halves. But there is that ferry, so can we take it to Turquoise City perhaps? And maybe get to Scarlet Town at some point?
Currently, the 1st gym is in Reseda Town, 2nd is in Amber City. There were no gyms in Xanthos City or Cinerous Town. Which that leaves Haewen Town, Umber Town and Cobalt City... That's only 3 remaining cities that are explorable without traversing water, I would assume. So only 5 gyms and badges in the northern half of Issho. And if there's less, then does that mean we do indeed get to ride the ferry in Xanthos City? And proceed to Scarlet Town? Maybe just different things block the paths to the other areas and cities/towns. Idk...


I'm definitely not asking because I want to get rid of Cut in exchange for Foul Play on Stunky so I can keep my goated, tried and true combo of Screech, Focus Energy, Fury Swipes or anything.. 😅😅🤣 But yeah seriously that move is awesome and would be nice bc STAB with Dark, a useful type to counter Psychic types that are strong against my Echo type (and I do love switching into Stunky and Nuzleaf so their supereffective hits are rendered completely ineffective. Lol XD) I just can't decide on which of the two to drop bc for good damage output, it requires both. And getting potentially 5 crits, or at least 2 or more, which also penetrate thru all defense boosts, and can also take out a rock or steel type in a single usage of fury swipes from full HP, or an otherwise high Defense Pokémon.. Is not something I know that I'm ready to sacrifice. Though I did get a certain Normal and Steel type, so maybe I might just ditch Fury Swipes since I have a good Pokémon with STAB Normal type moves now, aka Last Resort. But idk. It's still a top tier combo. Potentially better than slash even, with the damage output ceiling. Just less accurate, but worth it all the same. Cut has been useful, but it's run its course and I've farmed plenty with it at this point. I do have it on Paras who also gets STAB, their 4× weaknesses to flying Nd fire notwithstanding hah.

Uhhh I guess the main question in short is: 'Can I get to Scarlet Town, and by extension the HM Deleter in v0.2? and if not, then v0.2.1?
I was kinda just putting my thoughts and logic into writing.

Aaaaaand...I think I forgot my other questions 🤣

Well one question is... since there is a super short supply of Pokémon with Headbutt, but you start seeing the Headbuttable trees fairly early on, is there a TM for Headbutt, or at least another tutor somewhere that teaches it in exchange for shards?

If Headbutt encounters can potentially be even higher leveled than Cut encounters (Highest I've seen so far is Lv20), or are rare/powerful, then I understand it not being available yet. Otherwise, having it be a TM you can grab early on or taught by the Green Tutor could be cool yk 😉 If it is already somewhere then maybe nvm

(Even in the official games of Gold and Silver where it was introduced, there were barely any reasonably obtainable Pokémon who could naturally learn the move by leveling up, with like 3 whole evolution lines or so introduced in gen 2 itself lmao. Albeit, you do get the one TM in Ilex forest for free, and you can buy an unlimited amount/clone in Gen II. So if that's what you're going for then 10/10 lol. No, really 😂)


Oh yeah my other question was can you add trading?
JKJK... 👀 I'm sorry looool😂
No, it was uhh.. Hm. I swear I had 3 bigger questions. But now I don't remember the 3rd 😅 Maybe it was contained in one of the other 2, like relating to it so I naturally added it in. Welp. That's all I guess, for now hha
I guess I do wanna ask, is Surf going to be available, as well as reaching Scarlet Town, in the near future, if you can answer or want to? My mind tells me it'd naturally be next up for the next big update. But I don't want to assume ofc, ofc.

Wait it was about this

[PokeCommunity.com] Pokémon Tourmaline (v0.2.1 Released 04/22/2025)

It caps at 30k steps for me. Not sure if glitch, but I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess this is on purpose.
Anyway, my guess was that it's a Macho Brace, bc it's a training item, multiplies EV gain, in exchange for in-combat speed reduction, to make the grinding more fruitful. Or it could also be... something feet-related, idk cx Like that one Terrain boots held item or something.
Focus Band/Sash? A tm that has to do with kicking? Exp share?
You have to walk to get the steps that count. So... maybe something about taking things at a slow and steady pace... A charge up tm move like Sky Attack for instance? Just an example. I don't expect that by any means (but it would be a legit tm to have in late-game now that I think about it...) Calm Mind also comes to mind. There's Bide I guess but that seems a bit underwhelming for a quest that requires 50,000 walked steps to complete, with running not adding to the total at all. Calm Mind raises two stats, which is great and why I say it isn't underwhelming in the same sense. (Not that Bide isn't a good move at all.) There's also Curse, I suppose. Lowers Speed, but strengthens the body, raising Atk and Def, for non-ghost-types. Also makes sense. Hmm... Yeah all I can think of. Just more of my thoughts.

Keep up the great work! 😄
My love for this game will never die ❤️ To me, it is THE Emerald Sequel. Sittin right next to ORAS. (those are "remakes" and "alternate timelines" but I think they're like a sequel in a way too.) Ofc if Gamefreak makes an actual sequel like a Legends game that's another story. anyway.. (:
 
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INFO

Pokémon Tourmaline is a ROMhack of and loose sequel to Pokémon Emerald. This game is intended to take place in an alternate timeline where the setting and events have diverged a bit from the official games. Most notably, some mechanics from later gens are absent while others have been reworked, and a number of new mechanics have been introduced (see below for more information).


STORY

It's been several years since the battle of Groudon and Kyogre wrought havoc on the Hoenn region. Humanity's understanding of Pokémon has deepened as more discoveries are made about the origins of Pokémon. A recent surge of discoveries in the nearby Issho region has drawn researchers from all over the world, including May, now an assistant Pokémon professor. After receiving a Pokémon from her, the player sets out to investigate the reports coming from all over the Issho region of new species of Pokémon, new types of Pokémon, and even more strange phenomena. Meanwhile, a new threat is on the rise in Issho, a mysterious crime syndicate who use exceptionally powerful Pokémon.


FEATURES
  • Original story, characters, and region
  • Return of many old characters
  • A custom regional Pokédex with 386 Pokémon
  • New regional forms of Pokémon from gens 5-8
  • There is no Mega Evolution, but some Megas have returned as natural evolutions
  • A small number of additional fakemon, including some SpaceWorld designs
  • Updated type chart including Fairy type and a new type, Echo, designed to counter Fairies and Ghosts
  • 4 new status conditions
  • 2 new weather types
  • Over 60 new moves and over 20 new abilities
  • Buffs to some old Pokémon, moves, and abilities
  • Other aspects of the battle system have been updated to gen 8 standards unless otherwise noted
  • A custom set of over 100 TMs and HMs
  • A large number of other moves available through move tutors
  • Return of old features like the day/night cycle, headbutt trees, and daily events
  • Various changes to the UI to create a unique experience
  • Minor QoL features including faster text, Repel prompts, increased bag size, and menu looping


RELEASES

v0.2.1 Patch: https://www.mediafire.com/file/u0tq9kemwkp8h3l/tourmaline_v0.2.1.zip/file

DISCORD

Join the Discord.

CREDITS
Message me if you don't see your name here and would like to be credited for something.

Spoiler:



HELP WANTED

I'm looking for volunteers to help with certain aspects of the game, mainly sprites and music. PM me if you're interested.


SCREENSHOTS

View attachment 170386

KNOWN ISSUES:

Spoiler:


FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
(1) What are the differences between difficulty options?
Spoiler:

(2) Can the difficulty be changed?
Spoiler:

(3) Do enemy trainers use different teams/levels/movesets/EV spreads on different difficulties?
Spoiler:

(4) How do the level caps work?
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(5) What are the level caps?

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(6) Is there a guide to new Pokemon/moves/abilities?
Spoiler:
There some review of the game
 
I know stat spreadsheets arent available yet but what are the starters capable of in this? Since the evolution guide states they are regional forms I presume they have different typings and stats than whats seen normally. Especially since both Chesnaught and Emboar are fighting types officially, so at least one of them has to be something different.
I don't wanna spoil anything in case you or anyone else hasn't seen them yet, but I have one Pokémon besides the starter which is the same exact design as the official one, in sprite form ofc, just recolored, as both the 1st form, and evolution, with a new type.
When my Chespin evolved into the regional Quilladin, I thought it became shiny actually 😅 Because the party menu sprite is Quilladin's normal color. But the colors were completely different outside of there, including in the dex. I spaced that the game introduced regional forms.
Chesnaught is most likely a recolor too. I'm 99% sure the final evolutions of the 3 starters will have different types, or at least different abilities, statlines and movepools. I wanna say Chesnaught might be... Steel type? Because it's armored, the whole chestnut thing, and it literally has the Bulletproof hidden ability (in the official games. No idea about here). Could also be dark type because DREADnaught. Rock is a possibility as it has Rollout. If it learns more rock moves, I think that's a safe bet. Grass & steel would be cool, but then oof the fire matchup... Grass & dark makes you vulnerable to bug... yikes. It's official typing already makes it weak to flying by ×4, so I wouldn't be surprised if they decide to keep it that way, in this game, or heck even in a Pokémon Legends game where Chesnaught gets a regional evolution.

Grass and rock wouldn't have any 4× weaknesses actually so would be pretty amazing. Also the main rock weaknesses become neutral now, like ground, water and grass. It also loses its fire and flying weaknesses it had as a grass type. Not to mention bug. Normal would then be weak against it. Poison too, a big one. Actually, the only weaknesses that would carry over from rock would be fighting and steel. That's pretty huge imo. Still weak to ice, tho. Several resistances and only 3 weaknesses? I think that's the best defensive typing for Chesnaught. It'd make sense as well, as it's supposed to be a tanky Pokémon.

I'm gonna bank on rock/grass. Plz no spoils tho anyone 😂 Rather be blind. Just speculation here.

Primarina could be Psychic type which would be cool. Ice perhaps? Dark if it's given a darker color palette. A special attacking water/dark type would be interesting.

Emboar, maybe dark as well. So any of the 3 could be dark lol. Fire/Dragon would be super interesting, as it its design is Chinese-inspired ofc. Electric tho? As it learns Wild Charge and could have access to moves like Thunder Punch, maybe somethin like "Thunderous Kick", Thunder Fang, Thunder, Discharge?
Would become ×4 weak to Ground though 😅 Not living against any Earthquakes lol. Steel or Rock are possibilities too, but also share that weakness, and Rock would make it ×4 weak to water as well...

It also most definitely wouldn't be grass/dark, fire/fighting, and water/fairy, or grass/fighting, fire/dark, and water/fairy. Because that would give Primarina advantages against both with one or both of its types, and resistances against them both as well. Changing Emboar or Chesnaught to Dark, with Primarina as Psychic is a small change, but fits all criteria of dual-type-advantage triangles. if Chesnaught were dark, that'd make it double advantages across the board, but make Emboar dark instead, and it reverses the secondary type triangle direction. Chesnaught could be steel with the other 2 keeping their original typings, and it'd achieve the double advantage as well. Just steel is neutral against fighting, not at half damage normally. (But against a fire/fighting type like Emboar, it is weak. (Neutral against Primarina tho due to the water type)

But I do want to express that I'm confident they've all received different "forms". I'm guessing alternate colors is all, but if it's more than that, like brand new designs with just a couple changes (nothing crazy. Similar to the hisuian starter evos and most regional forms tbh) I'd be pleasantly surprised. Imo there's nothing wrong with their designs already, so I don't care either way. And most likely new secondary types.
And I picked Chespin thinkin it'd become fighting type, without a second thought. It wouldn't change my mind on pickin it as my starter if it has a different typing, but it's funny as I never thought about it til reading your comment.. even after reading the starters have regional forms in the txt guide xD
 
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There some review of the game
This vid is already shared by safr in this exact thread just 2 months ago, near the top of page 5 fyi. Lol.
 
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I don't wanna spoil anything in case you or anyone else hasn't seen them yet, but I have one Pokémon besides the starter which is the same exact design as the official one, in sprite form ofc, just recolored, as both the 1st form, and evolution, with a new type.
When my Chespin evolved into the regional Quilladin, I thought it became shiny actually 😅 Because the party menu sprite is Quilladin's normal color. But the colors were completely different outside of there, including in the dex. I spaced that the game introduced regional forms.
Chesnaught is most likely a recolor too. I'm 99% sure the final evolutions of the 3 starters will have different types, or at least different abilities, statlines and movepools. I wanna say Chesnaught might be... Steel type? Because it's armored, the whole chestnut thing, and it literally has the Bulletproof hidden ability (in the official games. No idea about here). Could also be dark type because DREADnaught. Rock is a possibility as it has Rollout. If it learns more rock moves, I think that's a safe bet. Grass & steel would be cool, but then oof the fire matchup... Grass & dark makes you vulnerable to bug... yikes. It's official typing already makes it weak to flying by ×4, so I wouldn't be surprised if they decide to keep it that way, in this game, or heck even in a Pokémon Legends game where Chesnaught gets a regional evolution.

Grass and rock wouldn't have any 4× weaknesses actually so would be pretty amazing. Also the main rock weaknesses become neutral now, like ground, water and grass. It also loses its fire and flying weaknesses it had as a grass type. Not to mention bug. Normal would then be weak against it. Poison too, a big one. Actually, the only weaknesses that would carry over from rock would be fighting and steel. That's pretty huge imo. Still weak to ice, tho. Several resistances and only 3 weaknesses? I think that's the best defensive typing for Chesnaught. It'd make sense as well, as it's supposed to be a tanky Pokémon.

I'm gonna bank on rock/grass. Plz no spoils tho anyone 😂 Rather be blind. Just speculation here.

Primarina could be Psychic type which would be cool. Ice perhaps? Dark if it's given a darker color palette. A special attacking water/dark type would be interesting.

Emboar, maybe dark as well. So any of the 3 could be dark lol. Fire/Dragon would be super interesting, as it its design is Chinese-inspired ofc. Electric tho? As it learns Wild Charge and could have access to moves like Thunder Punch, maybe somethin like "Thunderous Kick", Thunder Fang, Thunder, Discharge?
Would become ×4 weak to Ground though 😅 Not living against any Earthquakes lol. Steel or Rock are possibilities too, but also share that weakness, and Rock would make it ×4 weak to water as well...

It also most definitely wouldn't be grass/dark, fire/fighting, and water/fairy, or grass/fighting, fire/dark, and water/fairy. Because that would give Primarina advantages against both with one or both of its types, and resistances against them both as well. Changing Emboar or Chesnaught to Dark, with Primarina as Psychic is a small change, but fits all criteria of dual-type-advantage triangles. if Chesnaught were dark, that'd make it double advantages across the board, but make Emboar dark instead, and it reverses the secondary type triangle direction. Chesnaught could be steel with the other 2 keeping their original typings, and it'd achieve the double advantage as well. Just steel is neutral against fighting, not at half damage normally. (But against a fire/fighting type like Emboar, it is weak. (Neutral against Primarina tho due to the water type)

But I do want to express that I'm confident they've all received different "forms". I'm guessing alternate colors is all, but if it's more than that, like brand new designs with just a couple changes (nothing crazy. Similar to the hisuian starter evos and most regional forms tbh) I'd be pleasantly surprised. Imo there's nothing wrong with their designs already, so I don't care either way. And most likely new secondary types.
And I picked Chespin thinkin it'd become fighting type, without a second thought. It wouldn't change my mind on pickin it as my starter if it has a different typing, but it's funny as I never thought about it til reading your comment.. even after reading the starters have regional forms in the txt guide xD
Grass and Rock would definitely combo well with Bulletproof, and with Sandstorm support even Giga Drain would be less of an issue despite Chesnaught's weaker special defense, so good points overall.
 
I was hoping the next patch could just be placed over the 0.2 version, but alas. So to get to the point, I noticed the trading center is still blocked off even after getting the 1st gym badge. It's a real bummer for me.. I thought it would have opened by now as most Pokémon games, as well as some romhacks, have access to trading after beating the 1st gym at the latest, if not earlier. I'd really love it if I were able to trade my Pokémon to my new save file. Preferably as early as possible though, before having to beat the first 2 mini bosses and 1st gym.. I mean I've already beat all of them twice, right? New game+ privilege? 🤣
I will look into adding trading in the future. Right now I'm prioritizing the main content of the game. I plan to focus on polishing the game after v1.0.0 is out.

In the meantime, you might consider starting a new run with a different team. I was hoping this would be a game that people would want to play through multiple times to try different things.

Broken save files suck though, I understand. I'm hoping that v0.2.1 saves will be compatible with everything going forward. But every time I think I'm done messing with the save blocks, something new comes up that I didn't think of before. That's why I don't promise anything about old save files.

From 10 and onwards to the cancel line of the Green Shard tutor, here is a list of what each move teaches, primarily to include the bugs/inconsistencies:
10. Fling teaches Gravity for 10 shards.
10. Gravity asks for 12 shards, then teaches Last Resort.
10. Tailwind teaches Tailwind for 10.
12. Last Resort asks for 10 shards, and teaches Fling.
12. Sleep Talk teaches Sleep Talk.
Cancel asms for 14 shards, and teaches Foul Play.
This is still in v0.2.1 but will be fixed in the next update. I moved the tutor moves around a bit, but I forgot to fix the menus ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
View attachment 174635

And then finally... This. So I have encountered Missingno from a couple of trees, but I reset every time. I utilize save states before cutting every tree, or at least before doing an area, just in case. Because I saw people dealing with that issue. So for all intents and purposes, I haven't actually encountered it in battle in my save file at all.

So going into the details inside the Pokédex for this odd number, and clicking on "Cry" made the game go silent and then have this sort of muted but not completely soundless audio. But the music was gone. Sfx and everything. I walked out of the building and got a black screen. I am able to scroll all the way down to it and just exit the pokedex and have zero issues as long as I don't interact with it. I'm sure it's fixed by now, or will be eventually. And as long as people avoid it and don't play with fire, they'll be fine.
View attachment 174636
Side note: the Seedot line is NOT supposed to be in the regional dex. I took it out a long time ago, but I just realized that I forgot to change some encounter tables.

Good news is that you should be fine to play through the game with it. The only issue is that it will make the Pokédex glitch out (since it doesn't actually have a regional dex number). So just be careful when using it.
 
also are their nature mints and ability capsules/patches?
You can buy the ability items at the plaza in Pitchblak City. There will also be a nature changer here eventually, but I'm still working on that.

I know stat spreadsheets arent available yet but what are the starters capable of in this? Since the evolution guide states they are regional forms I presume they have different typings and stats than whats seen normally. Especially since both Chesnaught and Emboar are fighting types officially, so at least one of them has to be something different.
Their stats are the same, but all the starters evolve into new regional forms with new signature moves!

Spoilers for people who want to do a blind playthrough.
Spoiler: New forms


Spoiler: Signature moves
 
Wait it was about this

[PokeCommunity.com] Pokémon Tourmaline (v0.2.1 Released 04/22/2025)


It caps at 30k steps for me. Not sure if glitch, but I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess this is on purpose.
That's a glitch. I'll look into fixing it in the next update.

Uhhh I guess the main question in short is: 'Can I get to Scarlet Town, and by extension the HM Deleter in v0.2? and if not, then v0.2.1?
HMs should be forgettable like ordinary moves in the v0.2 versions.

Spoilering the answers to your other questions:

Spoiler: Is there a TM for Headbutt?


Spoiler: Can I get to Scarlet Town?
 
There's an NPC in the demo that gives the player an Eevee. There will be an area to catch more Eevees, but it's not in the demo.

The new Eeveelutions are tied to contest stats and evolve like Feebas in gen 3. You get Sylveon this way too. There's a contest hall in the demo where you can blend pokeblocks.

Spoiler: Eevee evo methods
I presume Atroceon will be a physical sweeper correct? Given its most possibly the dragon evolution mentioned in the post you replied to. I havent seen one yet but I assume it to be physical due to the evolution method in addition to how it would make an excellent dragon dance sweeper if thats how its set up.
 
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