Pokemon Emerald: The Sceptile Solo Run

I'll tell you what, my dear fellow Pokefans: at that point, I thought I'd never live to see a dope Grass Starter with one-shooting potential. I had basically renounced the whole Type entirely and accepted the idea that Grass 'Mons in general, and Grass Starters in particular, were simply not good solo run material — not strong enough to wipe the battlefield clean in one turn, and too fragile to wipe it clean in two turns. But that was before my little Rainforest came, and showed me the potential of his Type in the most brilliant and satisfying way. The little gecko decidedly breaks the Grass Starter mold by boasting high Speed and Sp.Attack along with really decent Attack, which in turns makes him a genuine one-shooter. I've long waited for the day I'd be able to wreak havoc on a region's fauna with Grass Moves, and Treecko was the one who humoured me at long last. He deserves every ounce of the praise that's been lavished on him since he appeared, and even more.

Treecko's learnset is pleasantly varied, especially for a Grass Starter: he has access to Fighting and Ground Moves despite being pure Grass Type, and I definitely made the most of that versatility. I operated with two Move pools over the course of my run: Secret Power, Pursuit, Leaf Blade and Absorb during the early stages, and Leaf Blade, Return, Brick Break and Earthquake during the late stages. I find pretty interesting that all three Gen III Starters can learn Earthquake and Brick Break; needless to say, those two Moves came in really handy in all things Pokemon League — and before that, for that matter. As a Grass 'Mon, Treecko had the added benefit of wielding draining Moves and being able to heal himself while taking down the opposition, and I took full advantage of this. And Leaf Blade! With hindsight, that is the name I should have given my Treecko; because that Move was awesome indeed, and it stayed in my pool during my whole run, wreaking havoc on the battlefield with its high critical hit ratio. Oh, and the game was kind enough to offer me the Champion crown on a silver platter by pitting me against Wallace. Like, Wallace, the former Water Gym Leader. Easiest. Champion. Fight. EVAH.

Long story short, Treecko is dope, and I loved him to pieces. Alas, I cannot say that much about Emerald itself: that darn game aggravated me in ways I didn't think possible. I know it's supposed to be the ultimate Gen III entry; but honestly, I find Ruby and Sapphire ten times better. For once, they boast a much better pacing; Emerald, on the other hand, makes everything slower by sneaking in useless diversions and fluff. Having to invade Team Magma's brand-new hideout was totally superfluous and uncalled for, just like having to climb the Sky Pillar just to wake up Rayquaza — especially when the game doesn't even have the decency to tell you exactly where said new hideout and Sky Pillar lie, preferring instead to feed you vague directions and let you fumble around like a fool.

Even worse is Emerald's compulsion to interrupt my swift progress by any means necessary. Not only did every Trainer and their brother force their Pokenav number on me after battle like total creeps, but there was also that Scott guy following me through Hoenn. (Never even found out what that guy's purpose was, beyond looking like a stalking pedo.) Wait, is that game actually trying to make me socialize? Anathema! Over my dead body! And then, you have those cursed Double Battles, which I despise with every fibre of my being. It's bad enough that Emerald forces you to tackle those battles upon eye contact, unlike Ruby and Sapphire where you had to talk to Trainer duos to engage them; but Emerald also literally tries to trick you into Double Battles by hiding Trainers behind scenery elements. How foul can you be, game? This is despicable! I really shouldn't have to watch my every step to avoid bumping into a Trainer viciously hidden behind a rock or a tree. Do you know how many times I had to reload my save just to spare myself the hassle of fighting yet another endless Double Battle and having precious XP diverted from my little Rainforest? I'll tell you: way too many times.

Sure. Prepare to DIE.

My run ended up clocking at a bloated 11 hours because of those constant nuisances and obstructions; that totally stank, especially after my super-swift Torchic and Mudkip runs. And thus I do declare that henceforth, Emerald is persona non grata as far as Gen III dealings are concerned. I'd much rather stick with the original Gen III entries and their perfectly efficient pacing, all the more so as Emerald adds literally nothing of value to those games as far as I'm concerned. But still; I did what I set out to do, i.e. polish off three Starters runs in all three Gen III instalments. And with that, I'm now sailing towards other, newer Pokemon Gens! Stay tuned for more solo Pokemon goodness, dear fellow gamers — the 2019 Pokemon Summer Season is nowhere near done indeed! Thanks for reading as always, and drop by anytime!