Pokémon Selection Strategy for Emerald

[BACK]
Pokémon Selection Strategy for Emerald
Posted On: May 29, 2023

I've gotten about midway into Pokémon Emerald -- completed the third badge (electric badge), and starting to get quite an assortment of Pokémon.


The problem is, I can't figure out which ones to keep and raise experience for, and which ones to leave rotting in the PC. My old strategy used to be "pick the most interesting-looking ones and always power up the weakest" -- this lead to some surprising strengths (like the mushroom one with Mega Drain).


What strategy should I use? How do I know which Pokémon to select and train, and when I capture new ones, how do I decide to add them to my party (and drop a different one) or leave them in the box?


Also, I have the "Exp Share" item, so I can easily power up weak Pokémon in a low-risk fashion. w00t!.


Question from user ashes999 at gaming.stackexchange.com.


Answer:

Well, it comes down to personal preference, really. Aside from the very high level legendaries you can catch, there's no magic group of pokemon that will get you through the game with minimal effort. There are two good guidelines though.


1) A good balance of types.


2) Leveling, leveling, leveling.


Getting a balance of types is pretty easy. You just want to get 6 pokemon, such that you won't end up in a situation where one poke type counters half your team. For example, my old gold team was.


Kadabra (Psychic).


Typhlosion (Fire).


Suicune (Water).


Graveler (Rock/Ground).


Weepinbell (Grass).


and one more I can't remember right now. (Oh well, you get the point.).


The other thing you need to do is level. Not just what you'd get from fighting every trainer, and leveling a team of 6 pokemon from that, I mean running around in the grass for hours to level. A good baseline would be lvl 10 for the first gym, and another 5 levels for every gym leader after that. If you do that, your party should be about on par with most of the trainers you come across.


Sadly, that won't be enough for the elite 4. IIRC, some of the champion's pokemon are in the 60's level wise, and although you can abuse type advantage, that won't make up for a 15 level difference. You have two choices at this point.


1) Spend more hours leveling up until you can beat them.


2) Catch Rayquaza, and curb stomp them with a level 70 legendary.


I picked the latter. MUCH faster. 


Answer from user Nicholas1024 at gaming.stackexchange.com.



[BACK]
Pokémon Selection Strategy for Emerald
Posted On: May 29, 2023

I've gotten about midway into Pokémon Emerald -- completed the third badge (electric badge), and starting to get quite an assortment of Pokémon.


The problem is, I can't figure out which ones to keep and raise experience for, and which ones to leave rotting in the PC. My old strategy used to be "pick the most interesting-looking ones and always power up the weakest" -- this lead to some surprising strengths (like the mushroom one with Mega Drain).


What strategy should I use? How do I know which Pokémon to select and train, and when I capture new ones, how do I decide to add them to my party (and drop a different one) or leave them in the box?


Also, I have the "Exp Share" item, so I can easily power up weak Pokémon in a low-risk fashion. w00t!.


Question from user ashes999 at gaming.stackexchange.com.


Answer:

Well, it comes down to personal preference, really. Aside from the very high level legendaries you can catch, there's no magic group of pokemon that will get you through the game with minimal effort. There are two good guidelines though.


1) A good balance of types.


2) Leveling, leveling, leveling.


Getting a balance of types is pretty easy. You just want to get 6 pokemon, such that you won't end up in a situation where one poke type counters half your team. For example, my old gold team was.


Kadabra (Psychic).


Typhlosion (Fire).


Suicune (Water).


Graveler (Rock/Ground).


Weepinbell (Grass).


and one more I can't remember right now. (Oh well, you get the point.).


The other thing you need to do is level. Not just what you'd get from fighting every trainer, and leveling a team of 6 pokemon from that, I mean running around in the grass for hours to level. A good baseline would be lvl 10 for the first gym, and another 5 levels for every gym leader after that. If you do that, your party should be about on par with most of the trainers you come across.


Sadly, that won't be enough for the elite 4. IIRC, some of the champion's pokemon are in the 60's level wise, and although you can abuse type advantage, that won't make up for a 15 level difference. You have two choices at this point.


1) Spend more hours leveling up until you can beat them.


2) Catch Rayquaza, and curb stomp them with a level 70 legendary.


I picked the latter. MUCH faster. 


Answer from user Nicholas1024 at gaming.stackexchange.com.



[BACK]

What defines a JRPG, and how is it different from an RPG? What defines a JRPG, and how is it different from an RPG?

Posted On: July 5, 2023
I've always wondered if JRPG, or Japanese Role-Playing Game, has any concrete definition for it. I'm only curious now because lately I've seen a lot of people referencing Genshin Impact...[More]


What’s you favorite spell in Hogwarts Legacy? What’s you favorite spell in Hogwarts Legacy?

Posted On: March 23, 2023
I really like depulso it’s really cool that you can slam enemies into each other with it. Also revelio used to be my favorite spell but after hearing it over 10,000 times in one hour it’s ...[More]


Is mephiles the dark shadows long lost brother? Is mephiles the dark shadows long lost brother?

Posted On: January 22, 2023
Mephiles the dark’s regular form looks like shadow.Question from user JOEL SANTIAGO at gaming.stackexchange.com.Answer:I saw a video last time and it showed me mephiles the dark looks like shad...[More]


Why dont I have permission to use WorldEdit? Why dont I have permission to use WorldEdit?

Posted On: February 13, 2023
I'm trying to install WorldEdit, and I've done the following:. Gotten the craftbukkit JAR, run it, stopped it, replaced world with my save from single, run again, stopped again, ...[More]


Whats this game with a cyberspace aesthetic featured in a youtube clip? Whats this game with a cyberspace aesthetic featured in a youtube clip?

Posted On: February 7, 2023
This video starts with a montage of game clips and I'm trying to figure out what the game is that appears at 10 seconds in. It features a cyberspace aesthetic and it has a first-person perspective...[More]


Attention to detail is awesome! Attention to detail is awesome!

Posted On: September 6, 2023
I’ve spent a lot of time in the Middle East/Africa. There is a non spin-able globe in the headmasters office. Given that the game takes place in 1890, while it’s not 100% perfect, the glob...[More]


How the Hit Point color bar is calculated? How the Hit Point color bar is calculated?

Posted On: January 31, 2023
I have Silver and Gold (the 2nd gen) in mind, but I guess the logic is the same for the whole serie. I would like to know how the Hit Point color bar is calculated. I guess it would be something li...[More]


How exactly does Dammon fix Karlach's engine? How exactly does Dammon fix Karlach's engine?

Posted On: September 24, 2025
I'm sure it's one of those things that are simply left up to the imagination, but still. How exactly does Dammon just fix Karlach's engine? Which is, presumably, in her chest?? Like, does he take it ...[More]


Is there anything I can do about thieves in A Dark Room? Is there anything I can do about thieves in A Dark Room?

Posted On: May 12, 2023
Some thieves seem to have moved into my village, and are stealing much of what I can gather each turn. I'm currently assuming that eventually I'll encounter an event that will allow me to d...[More]


How do I keep my animals from eating my people food in Rimworld? How do I keep my animals from eating my people food in Rimworld?

Posted On: May 22, 2023
I've got a reasonably flourishing village with decent population and all the amenities. However, lately I've been having severe issues because my tame animals keep breaking into the food wareh...[More]