Pokemon RSE & FRLG: Pimping my ride — a.k.a. the craziest epopee of them all

 

 

Back in august 2018, I performed a Skitty solo run that turned out to be one of my most pleasant and memorable Pokemon solo runs of all time. The run itself was great, because it was smooth and fulfilling as heck; but the environment also played a part. I was holidaying in a dream spot, with no shortage of sun, vistas and lovely quiet afternoons spent playing some Pokemon with home-brewed ice tea by my side.

 

My lovely memories of that Skitty run resurfaced that summer, making me feel all warm and mushy; and hot on the heels of that feeling came the desire to indulge in Ruby & Sapphire again. I didn’t have the same dream setting, sure; but I still had home-brewed ice tea, and quiet late afternoons to play some Pokemon. Before I knew it, I was playing Ruby with abandon, blazing through Hoenn with a Delcatty at the helm — run report to come soon!

 

Sounds rad, doesn’t it? Well, my initial plan was even radder than that. I’ve slowly but surely learnt to appreciate Gen III’s merits over time: I dig the swift pacing of RSE, the sheer grindiness of FRLG, and the refreshing simplicity of both. Gen III’s entries are just perfect for short’n’sweet solo endeavours; and I wanted to refine that perfection by bringing the Lucky Egg into the fold. More like two Lucky Eggs, actually: one for my dedicated Emerald breeding cartridge, and another for my dedicated LeafGreen breeding cartridge. Little did I know that this simple idea would turn into the most convoluted Pokemon epopee of them all; an epopee so impossibly long that it nearly qualifies as a full-blown run.

 

 

I was a bit miffed to learn that the Lucky Egg cannot be found anywhere in Hoenn; not only that, but the sole way to get it in Gen III Kanto is through wild Chanseys, which have a 5% chance of holding one. That sounds like a crappy rate; but do you know what’s even crappier? Chansey’s location in FRLG, and its popping-up rate there. Super-elusive Chansey only roams the Safari Zone, with a 1% rate in the Centre Area and a 4% rate in Area 2. Gee, whiz, these are teeny-tiny numbers; I wonder what are the probabilities involved! Well, I’ll tell ya: the probability of encountering a Chansey holding a Lucky Egg is 0,05% in the Centre Area, and 0,2% in Area 2. And then, you have to actually capture the thing; I decided from the get-go to avoid baiting, which left me a 10% chance of catching Chansey. I don’t know how to calculate the probability of catching a Chansey holding a Lucky Egg; but suffice it to say that the chances are very, very slim indeed.

 

Do you think that made me falter? Heck no! I eagerly took up the gauntlet; I daresay I was even a bit thrilled, because I’m a sucker for ludicrous challenges like that — blame it on a uncanny blend of masochism and arrogance. A no less uncanny amount of time later, I was the proud Trainer of not just one, but two Chanseys holding Lucky Eggs. 

 

 

I thought the deed was done; imagine then my dismay when I innocently tried to send one Chansey to my Emerald cartridge, only to be slapped in the face with a cryptic message claiming that trading with faraway regions was not yet possible — period. The absence of any in-game hint in a 2004 Pokemon entry supposed to enable trade with older games from the same Gen is a pretty nasty move — but never mind that, it’s 2023 and internet wisdom can get us out of such binds! No amount of internet wisdom could save me from the hassle of actually taking the crap ton of required steps to enable Trade between RSE and FRLG — namely:

 

—      Rack up a tally of 60 caught ‘Mons so that I could get the National dex from Professor Oak in Pallet Town. As far as my cartridge was concerned, that involved fishing and running around in various locations to get my paws on 20-or-so creatures.

—      Sail to One Island, talk to Celio at the Pokemon Network Centre, and retrieve the Ruby from Mt. Ember.

—      Give the Ruby to Celio, get a Rainbow Pass from him and sail to Four Island.

—      Get into the Icefall Cave at Four Island, retrieve HM07 Waterfall, reach the bottom of the cave and fight a bunch of Team Rocket grunts with Lorelei.

—      Sail to Six Island and enter the Dotted Hole by using Cut on the door. Retrieve the Sapphire from the depth of the cave — only to have it taken from you by Team Rocket scientist Gideon.

—      Sail to Five Island, scour the Team Rocket hideout and whoop Gideon’s arse.

—      Give the retrieved Sapphire to Celio in One Island.

 

I’m exhausted just writing this, seriously! But the deed is done now, and I can send my Chansey and her uber-precious Lucky Egg to Emerald. Not only that, but I also unlocked the Day Care in the process; and you can bet your sweet life I’m gonna take up residence on Four Island and breed lone rangers like it’s going out of fashion. Stay tuned for Gen III run reports, dear fellow gamers — and take care!