Emerald Challenge Patch
Emerald challenge patches with Giftlocke, custom starters, Duos, 4 Moves and SuperMON.
CHANGE LOG
Patch notes
v0.5.2
- Fixed a softlock in Wally's catching tutorial in 4 Moves, SuperMON and Duos: Wally can now use his Poké Ball and catch Ralts.
- The tutorial exception does not change the player's battle item restrictions. Existing in-game saves remain compatible.
v0.5.1
- Giftlocke now ends the attempt when the whole party is lost. Badges, story progress, items, party and stored Pokémon reset, and the next attempt begins at the professor’s lab with the chosen run options retained.
- Every Giftlocke attempt starts with a random Pokémon. A new attempt rolls a new starter; saving and reloading within an attempt keeps the same roll.
- The rival’s starter is selected automatically: a super-effective type matchup first, then super-effective level-up move coverage, then a random choice among the three if neither provides an advantage. Equally strong candidates are chosen at random.
v0.5
- Added Giftlocke: keep your chosen starter and receive one random Pokémon after each of the eight Gyms. Gifts use all 493 available National Dex Pokémon and arrive at the defeated leader’s highest level.
- Wild captures, non-Gym gift Pokémon, eggs, in-game trades and Pokémon prizes are blocked in Giftlocke. Normal move learning remains available.
- The next Gym reward is saved in advance. A full party leaves the same reward waiting at that Gym’s statues; collect it before challenging another Gym.
- Giftlocke starts with reusable HM field items and a Candy Jar. Its level cap is on by default and can be switched off on the second settings page; EXP, Rare Candy and Day Care respect the cap.
- A Giftlocke whiteout heals the team and returns the player to the professor’s lab, preserving Gym rewards and story progress.
v0.4
- Reworked starter selection to follow FireRed: choose the first partner, second partner, rival starter and mode, then configure each partner in order.
- Added Duos with two independently configured partners, double wild encounters and double battles against trainers with at least two Pokémon. Single-Pokémon trainers and scripted wild encounters retain single battles.
- The first May or Brendan battle pairs Torchic with Lotad, Mudkip with Torkoal, or Treecko with Wingull in Duos.
- Each partner has a separate move, nature, ability and Hidden Power IV setup. Both partners must be ready for trainer doubles; four Revives are supplied for each Pokémon League attempt.
- Added a second Run Options page: Spinner Behaviour (On / Off / Rotators), Wild Encounters (On / Off / B Repel), and Evolutions (On / Off). Use L/R or the page row to switch pages; the settings are saved with the run.
v0.3
- Unlocked all 493 National Dex Pokémon in starter selection. Hold SELECT with Left or Right to move five places at a time.
- Added saved SuperMON scoring and level caps. EXP stops at the current cap, and beating its trainer unlocks the next cap; Rare Candies and Day Care cannot bypass it.
- Pokémon with no second ability now use Ability 1, including existing Pokémon previously assigned an empty second slot. Valid second abilities remain selectable.
- Added the provisional 100-point Emerald SuperMON route, ending with Steven in Meteor Falls. The starting cap is Lv15 before Roxanne.
- In SuperMON, Wallace awards an infinite-use Candy Jar after the League. It follows the Lv78 cap before Steven.
- Removed the orb flashing, screen shaking and orb sound effects from the Archie and Maxie cutscenes.
v0.2
- Added the Generation IV move and mechanics foundation while retaining the established public challenge roster.
- Added a Spinners Off option.
- Fixed Fateful Pokémon handling.
- Updated the player and rival name presets and new-game defaults.
v0.1
- Introduced the setup menu and starter configuration.
- Added optional HM-replacement items.
- Added a temporary gift Magikarp for the Tate & Liza battle.
AT A GLANCE
What changes?
- Giftlocke: a random starter plus one random Pokémon per Gym
- 4 Moves, SuperMON and Duos modes
- Two-page Run Options with spinner, encounter and evolution controls
- All 493 National Dex starters
- Hold SELECT + Left/Right to skip five starters
- SuperMON scoring and trainer level caps
- Hidden Power, ability, and nature choices
- Optional HM items
- SuperMON Candy Jar after the Pokémon League
- Temporary Tate & Liza helper Magikarp
Development status
This remains an active testing release. All 493 National Dex starters are now available, and Emerald's SuperMON scoring is provisional.
Continuing a run
The ability correction works with an existing save. New SuperMON runs receive the complete saved scoring and cap progression; older builds cannot recover victories they did not record. Keep a backup of your save before updating.
Duos setup
Start a new run, select both partners and choose Duos in Run Options. Configure each partner when you receive your starter. Run Options page two also works in the other challenge modes.
- Spinner Behaviour: On, Off or Rotators
- Wild Encounters: On, Off or hold B to repel
- Evolutions: On or Off
Giftlocke
Start a new game, choose Giftlocke in Run Options. Your starter is random and the rival is chosen automatically. Use L/R to reach page two and set Giftlocke Cap to On or Off. The cap starts at the first Gym leader’s ace and advances through the Gyms and Pokémon League.
Each Gym gives one random Pokémon. If your party is full, make room in the PC and return to a statue in that Gym. The waiting gift stays the same when you save and reload, and must be claimed before the next Gym challenge.
Losing the whole party ends the attempt and clears its progress. Return to the professor’s lab for a fresh random starter; your run settings stay selected.
- Random starter plus eight Gym rewards
- Normal move learning and evolutions
- Reusable Candy Jar and HM field items
- No wild catches, other gift Pokémon, eggs or in-game trades
PROJECT LINKS
Archive
THANK YOU
Credits
- pret/pokeemerald contributors
- Challenge-run testers