Just curious, is there a real benefit to having Ruby/Sapphire over Emerald? I’m wondering if my son would prefer having the meta version of the series.

Anyway, the Emerald game was definitely a fake. No printing on the board, Rayquaza (sp) on the label, it was opaque dark green instead of translicent emerald green, the seams of the cart halves had a sharp edge and didn’t git together tightly.

I wasn’t too woried about D/P migration being an issue. I was allready pretty sure trading from GBA game to GBA game wouldn’t be affected so I could always migrate using Red/Green.

I called the guy on his fake game and was issued a refund. He didn’t say he wanted the cart back. I suppose I could use it for the Poketoberfest but I’m still going to look into a legit copy from a store this weekend.

As for Bug types, you can forget it. In FR/LG, there is only one Bug type that you can get before beating the E4 that is viable for usage, and that’s Scyther. I’ve heard some make an argument for Venomoth, but that has to require a very specific build (and that build only became truly viable in D/P). As is, after the E4, there are only a couple more viable Bug Pokemon – Heracross and Scizor (and that’s only if you want to tank). Well, there’s also Ninjask if you trade from R/S/E (and Shedinja if you feel lucky – but I wouldn’t want to use one at competition).

It’s worth noting that one of the reasons I do like D/P so much is that they finally made Bug types worthwhile. I’ve actually debated the merits of building competition-ready Pinsirs and Venomoths.

Anyhow, I assume you bring those up because you want to deal with Sabrina, and you obviously don’t have Dark types available. That’s not a good move, considering your lack of Bug moves plus the fact that they don’t resist Psychic types. Here’s your options against her.

1) Bring in a Psychic type with non-Psychic moves. Seriously, a single Kadabra/Alakazam with Shadow Ball (which it can learn by TM, which are sold at Celadon) can do wonders in that gym. Starmie is perfect for this – I typically just Surf through this gym.

2) Bring in a decent Pokemon with a Dark move. I am always fond of a Jolteon with Bite in the GBA games, but other good options include Arcanine (Bite), Dodrio (Pursuit), or Gyarados (Bite).

3) Bring a speedy physical sweeper. Sabrina has a team that’s light on normal defense. If you can get in a good physical shot, she won’t be able to attack. Dugtrio works for this, as do nearly all the Normal/Flying types.

Oh, one other possibility – bring a Magneton. Not the most effective attacker, but it is the only non-Psychic you have access to before the E4 that resists the type.

Anyway, I’m supremely irritated.

When I was going through LeafGreen, I think there was a lack of strong Bug-types and Bug moves in the mid game (at least, it seemed that way; I beat Sabrina through brute force, not a type advantage). It may be different in the GBA generation, so we’ll see. I’m a big fan of Gardevoir myself, and for my water type I’m probably just going to stick with whatever Mudkip evolves into (but will hang onto appropriate critters for Surf/Dive/etc.). Just a reminder that if you use any critters as HM slaves, make sure you catch an extra one to transfer over.

Oh, and I’d be glad to extend a time handicap to you, RJ– whenever you get the game, just let us know. One last thing– I don’t know if Europe-regioned GBA games work with the US-based Diamond/Pearl games. If your Emerald is coming from England, it MAY be unusable to you even if it’s a legit copy. Rick would know for certain.

Let’s see… Linoone is good because it can hold lots of HMs and has Pickup (it’s the original Pickup Pokemon for me), I used Pelipper for Surf and Fly, and I had a Gyarados that I kept around specifically for Dive and Waterfall (but didn’t travel with me ordinarily).

Among Hoenn Pokemon that are fairly usable… You actually have a chance at Ralts almost immediately, and its final evolution Gardevoir is exceptionally useful. Both Shiftry and Ludicolo are good, but they require specific builds and evolution at *just* the right times. Beyond that, just pick what you like (one warning – if you want a Fire type, be prepared to deal with extreme slowness).

On the other hand, I’m starting to realize that with proper training, almost everything is useful. My current Leaf Green game has me using Diglet, Polywag, and Beedrill along side my Ivysaur. I don’t care for plant or bug types and the other two strike me as weak and useless initially. Yet, they are doing pretty well (Diglet and Polywag have evolved by now actually).

Intriguing… I pondered picking up a used copy of Sapphire. Maybe I will give this a shot. I’ve never actually attempted a speed run through Pokemon before. In fact, I’m noticably lax when it comes to that (but my obsessive play usually results in a fairly early clear, at least in terms of aggregate days).