#game-review/rom-hack #anbernic #finishedgame2025 # Pokemon Emerald Seaglass `="![]("+this.imgURL+")"` ## Data: - Console: `=this.Console` - Play Status: `=this.Status` - Start Date: `=this.start-date` - Finish Date: `=this.finish-date` - Clear Time: `=this.clear-time` - Total Play Time: `=this.total-play-time` ## Tiering: `=this.Tiering` # Playthrough Notes - A romhack of [[Pokemon Emerald]] that changes the graphics to look more like [[Pokemon Crystal]] (or at least what you remember Pokemon Crystal looking like). - Includes all 386 pokemon plus future generation evolutions, physical/special split, and the Fairy type. Also has the USUM movesets for levelling up. - loaded onto the anbernic. - Used some of the in-game cheat codes to make this a breezy experience - Started with the Spheal because that seemed like a fun opportunity. - Though I also picked torchic at the starter selection so that I could have a fire type like Blaziken. Mudkip is cute, but I think it's Torchic's turn given how much I use Swampert and also I used Treecko in my [[Pokemon Sapphire]] replay. - Got myself a bunch of rare candies and nuggets, so, again, IO could have a very breezy experience. This is not a challenge run. - Applying Level Caps to provide some restrictions. restrictions breeds creativity, after all. I am not a god, jsut really fucking rich. - Named myself "Flouis" - Like "Louis" with an "F". "Flou" (pronounced Flew) for short. Such a stupid name, I love it. ## The Squad - Sealeo (Teshie) - used the Spheal cheat code to try the alternative starter, and I gotta say, that sure is a starter alright. - Just stupid good with its Ability Fur Coat. It just sits there and takes hits. No doubt this is creator favoritism lol - Thick Fat and Ice Scales as its other two abilities lol. Walrein gets *fat*. - I'll be honest, I don't use Teshie unless there is a crunchy use here. - I just use CM + Bouncy Bubble + Slack Off + Freeze Dry as a kind of VinCune-like style mon that has stupid high defenses - This character has only been below half HP once this entire playthrough. This has made me feel a little grimy actually using it, I didn't have to build this wall, and it would be overkill to use it most of the time. - Defensive party members are hard to justify without any offensive pressure. Walrein here gets the CM +Recovery + Perfect Unresisted Coverage + perfect stats to just sit there. - Named after the creator of Roundball Rock because I can't get that SNL sketch out of m. - Blaziken (Moonshine) - because naming it "Hooch" would be inappropriate. - Exceptionally solid starter. - Reminds me of how much (or little ) I used Borto the Charizard in [[Pokemon Fire Red]] back in 2024, i.e. using only when I need it since there's a lot of new stuff to use. - Chimecho (Coffee Cake) - caught a chingling in Rustboro and it seemed like fun. - has a twin sister named "Coffee Jake".' - Steel / Psychic + Levitate + Steel moves in the movepool has made Chimecho a decidely above average contrinbution to the team in the early-mid game - Have given it choice specs to just make it stronger. - Have yet to be let down here. - Aggron (Agatha Rex) - named after a play some girls worte and performed in my 7th grade year of middle school. They were obsessed with it and I had a crush on one of those girls and then I realized I wanted to do theater. - I managed to keep this as an Aron to get salt cure before evolving it. I suppose this might have been excessive, but also, Salt Cure is a ridiculously good move - Altaria (Nimbus Jane) - I wanted to use a Fairy / Flying into Fairy / Dragon Altaria, that's really cool. I just like Altaria as a mon , and when else do you get to use a Fairy / Dragon? - Yes, this means I am raising three different dragon mons - It's strange that Altaria's stats were shifted to appeal more towards special attacking and sound based moves. Honestly, it's a real shame because I really prefer Pixilate Dragon Dance + Return Altaria (I am building a physical Altaria) - Compare against my use of Altaria from my [[Pokemon Sapphire]] playthrough. This is an entirely different beast tbh - Leafeon (Boot) - Found an eevee, had 31 IVs in Attack and Speed, so I made it into a Leafeon because 1. I needed a grass type (or a way to handle more water types), 2. I didn't want to use Flareon 3. When else do you get to use a Leafeon in a general case? - Has adaptability, and I EV'd it to have max attack and max speed, and to have an adamant nature and to gave it a miracle seed and then I click bullet seed and things die. Especially if I've clicked Swords Dance - We have fun living out our stupid little dreams of having a Leafeon that's good and accessible in the main campaign - Now I need to use a Glaceon - Boot is a good lead mon for general traversal. Fast, hits like a truck against most opponents, moves have a lot of PP. ### the bench rotation - Growlithe (Redbert), for doubles - yeah - Octillery (Panzey) - Wanted to use it because Octillery is a Water/Fire type. Of course, I have a Sealeo and a combusken, so that typing is made entirely redundant... - If I had chosen Treecko as my starter, this would be a mainstay for sure. For now though it's more of novelty. - Will keep as a B-Team member because I like the typing and it's a good mon tbh - Yanmega (Lingenberry) - Wanted to use Yanmega since it's Bug/Dragon in this one and it has a really fascinating movepool - It's alright, I'll keep it as the B-Team member - Arbok (Toke Me On) - Stupid name, but I'm going to roll with it. - Arbok is Poison/Dark in this game, making it a really effective tanky mon. Like a weaker version of Zygarde 50% since it gets access to Glare and Swagger - Rocky Helmet is just really good on this thing. - Shame the animations take forever. - Fun in general, good but a defensive mon in a mainline game isn't somethingn Ilike to just have on hand for anything not in the elite four - Weavile (Blinder) - Pronounced "Blin-der", not like the visual condition but like the name Linda. - Was doing some Snealsel DexNav Chaining and got one with good stats and I decided, yeah, sure, when else do you get to use a Weavile in Hoenn? - Sits on the B-Team - Gardevoir (The Floozy) - lol Gardevoir in Hoenn, be original ## In-Games Cheat Codes copied verbatim from the documentation. - 9RARECANDY : Gives 99 Rare Candies every time it is entered - MASTERBALL : Gives 99 Master Balls every time it is entered - ILOVSPHEAL : Gives a Level 5 Spheal with optimized defensive stats. Has the moves Bouncy Bubble, Super Fang, Slack Off, and Freeze Dry. Fun alternative starter! - ILOVEAIPOM : Gives a Level 5 Aipom with an Eviolite. Has the moves Dizzy Punch, Karate Chop, Victory Dance, and Bullet Punch. Probably very overpowered alternative starter, but hey, I’m the developer I get to play favorites - ILOVEKANTO : Gives the Kanto starters, all at level 5 - ILOVEJOHTO : Gives Johto starters, all level 5 - ILOVEHOENN : Gives Hoenn starters, all level 5 - ILOVEAPPLE : Gives Level 5 Applin holding Syrupy Apple evolution item - ILOVETINKA : Gives Level 5 Tinkatink holding a Nugget - JUSTSHOWME: Automatically shows all Pokémon on the DexNav menu, whether or not the player has seen them. Also allows all Pokémon to be hunted before being encountered! - WISHINGSTR: Gives 99 Wishing Stars to be used in the Rustboro Wishing Well - GIMMENUGS!: Gives 99 Nuggets, effectively acting as infinite money BELOW CODES ARE FOR MONOTYPE RUNS (or for those who want to use unique types from the start): - “MONO BUG” - gives one random, first stage Bug-type Pokémon - “MONO DARK” - gives one random, first stage Dark-type Pokémon - “MONO DRAGN” - gives one random, first stage Dragon-type Pokémon - “MONO ELECT” - gives one random, first stage Electric-type Pokémon - “MONO FAIRY” - gives one random, first stage Fairy-type Pokémon - “MONO FIGHT” - gives one random, first stage Fighting-type Pokémon - “MONO FIRE” - gives one random, first stage Fire-type Pokémon - “MONO FLYIN” - gives one random, first stage Flying-type Pokémon - “MONO GHOST” - gives one random, first stage Ghost-type Pokémon - “MONO GRASS” - gives one random, first stage Grass-type Pokémon - “MONO GROUN” - gives one random, first stage Ground-type Pokémon - “MONO ICE” - gives one random, first stage Ice-type Pokémon - “MONO NORML” - gives one random, first stage Normal-type Pokémon - “MONO POISN” - gives one random, first stage Poison-type Pokémon - “MONO PSYCH” - gives one random, first stage Psychic-type Pokémon - “MONO ROCK” - gives one random, first stage Rock-type Pokémon - “MONO STEEL” - gives one random, first stage Steel-type Pokémon - “MONO WATER” - gives one random, first stage Water-type Pokémon # My Thoughts - The spheal I started with (Teshie) comes with perfect IVs and is EV trained to have max defense and special defense. A tankyier, more defensive mon to make catching pokemon easier, no doubt. - Super Fang on here stands out as a really effective method to tank hits and whittle down the wild pokemon to HP levels that make them more easily caught. - been very impressed with chimecho, tbh - steel/psychic with levitate is good, and they added mirror shot and flash cannon to chimecho's movepool. - tbh I think it is a mainstay of the team along with Teshie and Moonshine. - Very surprised to see how they changed Fallarbor town into a berry town. That was a nice surprise. - I can see how you might try to do a Wishing Star Run, especially one that's Nuzlocke-like - "You can only get a new mon from a Wishing Star, and you have to contend with permadeath." - I am playing someone else's desired experience - "if I were making Pokemon Emerald, here's what I would do." - Fallarbor Town - Do I even like the older graphics in spaces outside of towns and battles? - I guess I mean in the overworld. - For as nice as the new architectural styles are, the overworld loses its charm as a tropical locale in some places. I hate to sound like a purist, but I think that this one is almost an overcorrection. - Have to give some grace here since it's a romhack and it's one guy doing this. - Some of the water in the Seafloor Cavern and Victory Road looks sparkling as if the sun is shining down on them. - Some of the corner beach tiles are missing. - Some things aren't even really different, where specific tiles are changed, but others aren't. - Fortree City Gym - It's like a dream sequence - Maybe that's because I've been playing this right before bed and right after I wake up. - perversion and self-indulgence. - a game so thoroughly obsessed with nostalgia that it feels perverse at times - "to enjoy Pokemon Emerald Seaglass is like indulging in a kind of perversion. It is fantastic and fascinating and fun in the moment but then wehen you're done you look at yourself and think "did I really just spend 30 hours doing that?", and when it's true that you did, you have to think to yourself, was it worth it? and maybe it was but at the sanme time, that's 30 hours of time that you spent playing Pokemon Emerald AGAIN. but it wan't pokemon emerald either, it was one spefici person's dream of what they wished Pokemon emerald would be, a dream that they dreamed so strongly that they just went and made it themselves, and you have to give them credit for it" - but then it makes you think "well what would I want Pokemon Emerald to be?" and I can't find a good answer for that because Pokemon emerald is already jkind of exactly how I would want it to be. If I could make my call, the only change I would make to pokemon emerald is to be able to run indoors. And I'm not joking." - When we choose to shape our world, is it enough for us if we are constantly paving over our past, sanding down the rough surfaces of our memories in order to create something new? When I go to Japan, am I the type of person who would rather buy a Japanese Kit Kat or try a bun with Red Bean paste? Would I rather visit a local bar, or visit one themed after my home state to experience someone else's perspective of a place that I am familiar with? - Playing through pokemon Emerald Seaglass in the way that I did, I felt a strange sense of unease. I looked at myself every morning in the bathroom as I held my anbernic in my left hand and my toothbrush in my right. As the bristles vibrated over my molars, my left hand, scrunched into a claw, would navigate Flouis from one breezy battle to the next. ## A Collection of Anachronisms - trainer sprites come from gens 2, 3 and 4, like I wouldn't notice. - mechanics come from all over - wishing stars from gen 8 - fairy types from gen 6 - physical special split from gen 4 - moves from as recent as gen 9. - Dire Claw for Weavile - Bouncy Bubble from LGPE - Z-Moves from Gen 7 - Gems from Gen 5 - Pokemon with later gen evos are there - Scyther and KLEAVOR of all things - Annihilape is in this game. - There are so many different things from across the franchise all put together here, - They seem to be "favorites" of the creator, or at least ones that encourage creative play. ## What You Remember Pokemon Being - The game looks like "what you remember Pokemon Crystal looking like", rather than what what pokemon Crystal actually looks like - For all of the retro aesthetics, there's actually even more impressive animations done in the game here that the original Pokemon emerald lacked - The sprites on the landscapes and buildings look like they were lifted out of those fanmade sprite "reimaginings" of the gen 2 games. - The gameplay is what you wish Pokemon Emerald had now with all the modern convenience features. - I imagine that it would be difficult for anyone to return to Vanilla emerald after some of these convenience changes. - Playing this is intended to evoke a similar sense to your first jaunt through Emerald, with the challegnes and surprises that come from a remixed version of an original game. - Brawly's Heracross is a nw challenge meant to stand in for the previously, also difficult, Brawly's Makuhita. You know that mon already and how to handle that strategy, so now here's a newer, harder mon. - Level Caps are introduced precisely so you aren't allowed to overlevel. - This is a whole separate debate about these kinds of restrcitions on the player and require a lot of nuance - seaglass tinted lenses. Its what you wish a remake of these games would be like - it is emerald but now you can run indoors - it is Crystal if Crystal looked like one of those sprite art images on deviantart in 2014. - You get to use all these Pokemon with cool types early on in the game. - Examples - Treecko gets the Dragon type when it evovles into Grovyle. Yanmega, Aggron, Altaria all are Dragon types now and you can have them before the sixth gym like it's nothing. I could also go and get an Applin, which evolves into a Grass/Dragon type. It's rare that you get more than 1 Dragon type before the halfway point in the game, and here you could have a team with a majority of dragon types without using any of the cheat codes if you wanted. - Chimecho as a Steel /Psychic type. That's a cool new typing you can have as early as the second gym. - You can find Beldum in New Mauville - Effect is that you get to try out the experience of having these late-game mons earlier on, but you can also see how much easier some of these typings make the game. ### What's Missing? - where is the bike path? - caught me especially off guard. Everyone references it, but it just isn't there at all. - where is trainer hill? - There's literally a retroachievements achievement about this.... - Where is the berry powder machine on the second floor of the pokemon center? - Multiple NPCs reference it and it is just gone. - This is the reality of a romhack, and I don't think it should be a large blight on the overall process of recommending a game, but this is a kind of polish that I would hope is eventually cleaned up in later patches. - What it lends to *MY* playthrough is a sense of unreality, a dreamlike feeling that nothing i see is really consistent. Was it always gone? Did I just imagine this Mirage Tower looking different? - No seriously, why does mirage tower look different? - Why does Mirage Tower come back at all? - Why was the entrance into Route 11 changed?? ### What is Nostalgia for Pokemon anymore? - What do we actually think of when we are nostalgic about pokemon? - The sprite art, - this is pixilation leading to abstraction, our brain filling in the gaps between what we see and what we imagine. - The wide selection of pokemon - the first time you go through a world and find new mons is revolutionarily cool. - I found myself excpetinoally curious about what i might find. - it's why i don't care for X and Y, the new mons are missing. ### In the Lotus Gem Made of Seaglass - There exists a world where all I do is play Pokemon Emerald over and over again, just with slight variations. But because I know the world so well, I can enact a continuous power fantasy through control over this world, if I let myself do so. - The scariest thing is that I am not alone in this sense of fantasy. I am existing in a world someone else made because they wanted to create the feeling of nostalgia and apply it to a place it should not exist. - This isn't nostalgia, it's a new experience. It feels familiar and friendly, but disorienting. A Beldam's World designed to entice me and me specifically. - why do i feel so horrible whenever I think about what emerald seaglass really means in the greater context of Pokemon and myself? - Someone understands what i've wanted was to just do the same thing again and again and when i ran out of ways to do that thing in a novel way, I'd still want to go back. - it is truly a respite from a world of bullshit. - But it's also the section of zero ranger. - I need to break the lotus gem - I cloud be satisfied playing gen 3 forever given how much everyone else loves it too. But is that what I want for myself? ## On Level Caps - In Pokemon Emerald Seaglass, there are soft Levels Caps that prohibit you from using items on your Pokemon to boost their levels beyond those of the upcoming gym leader. - These pokemo ncan still gain exp in regular fights, but items like Exp Crystals or Rare Candies will not work. - What this does is that it forces players to not take the easy way out and ovelevel their mons to heck and sweep through the game without any challenge. But if the player wants to embrace the grind, they can still do so. - This is my favorite way to allow this compromise, I think - Hard level caps work in the difficulty, Kaizo-like hacks that are more concerned with finding the proper line to progress through a fight, rather than to raise mons for a fight itself. - Hard level caps in a game like near-base Pokemon are far less appealing to me. If I want to grind, I should be allowed to do so. Emerald Seaglass allows me to do that. Sometimes the grind is fun, sue me for not minding repetitive tasks. I like random encounters. If you don't like random encounters, then you don't enjoy RPGs like Pokemon. # Favorite Moments / Memories - # What were you doing when not playing this? - # Relevant Links -