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A Blake Guide to Pokémon Blazing Emerald*

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*nuzlockes

"What is blazing emerald" you poor, unfortunate chumps might be asking, well I'm here to tell you.

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Blazing Emerald (Ver. 1.6.0) is a hack of Pokémon Emerald, made by Struedelmuffin. It features many new regional forms and/or evolutions for existing Pokémon, new moves, new E4/Gym Leaders, some slightly changed plot beats, portraits for noteworthy characters, and many features that cannot be simply summed up in one sentence.

Discord:
https://discord.gg/GAbHMJ3

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Now, I spent the better part of a month playing this hack. I lost many runs, some of which didn't make it far at all. There are points in the hack where you will almost certainly die when doing it blind... or even, y'know, not blind. The second gym leader is pretty hard to counter in this hack.

QUICK ASIDE TIME
Nuzlocke Rules Used
1. You can only catch 1 Pokémon per route/area.
2. You must nickname all Pokémon you catch.
3. If a Pokémon faints, it's dead and cannot be used.
4. If you White Out, you lose.
5. Dupes Clause.
6. Shiny Clause: Maximum of 3. The hack greatly increases shiny chances (1/1000), and you can get a Shiny Charm after Norman.
7. Played on the Hard Mode setting. This means that you are playing Set mode, no bag use during trainer battles, and hard level caps. 15, 20, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60*.

*more on this later

Few more things.
--Party EXP/Single EXP is in options, to be toggled at will. For sake of expediency, I tended to leave it on, barring specific reasons to turn it off, which I will touch on later--
--EV Training opens up post-Norman, which is important (but fairly streamlined). You can pay a guy 10000 to reset EVs on a Pokémon--
--You can buy Heart Scales during Daytime in Slateport. 7500 a pop--
--A move tutor for Egg Moves (Pacifidlog, Star Piece payment) was added, but most Egg Move pools were made smaller--
--Most importantly, you can pay 25000 to a man in Sootopolis to swap abilities. So, if your Pokémon has a bad ability, just be patient!--

Starters
So, the first route of almost any Pokémon game is a bit of a contentious one, due to technically receiving your starter on it. I rule that starter doesn't count, but that's on your personal decision. The good news is, this route doesn't matter too much*!

There are many choices for starters. The hack is mostly built around choosing Clefairy, Eevee, or Pikachu, who have all received buffs... but there's a "Custom Starter" option available that greatly expands the pool/change's May's team.

https://wheelofnames.com/view/mmn-sgr/

ALL HAIL THE STARTER CHOOSING WHEEL (made by @Kazooie)

But I am here to smartly inform you that your starter choice doesn't matter. I mean, it does, but not in these overarching sense of whether you can win or not.

*That said, Clefairy/Eevee are both very strong standard choices. Clefairy helps a lot in the early game, while Eevee pops off in the lategame. Pikachu exists.

I personally recommend Clefairy, just because it learns Covet early, and this is very useful against the Rich Trainers (2 before Roxanne, 2 after) who have Nuggets. You can steal 20000 in the form of nuggets before you go to Dewford!

Instead, we're going to focus on your encounters and how to maximize their potential for the win.

Route 101
Other than your starter, the encounters are Wurmple, Zigzagoon, Poochyena, and Shinx. All are levels 3-4.
-The only garbage encounter here is Wurmple. Pray you do not.
-Run Away Poochyena is fine, cause it evolves into Intimidate Mightyena. Hustle Poochy bad.
-Zigzagoon is a solid HM mule, plus you get rewarded for that if you get the right ability. Can also contribute to later encounters.
-Shinx is the best encounter overall, probably. Intimidate Shinx is insane, Lithe Shinx is meh.

However, the TL;DR is that you don't have much control. You get what you get, that's about it. If you can skip it and make it to 102 first, by sheer luck, you can possibly get any of the above and come back, but there's a better strat on 102.

Route 103
103? Yeah, this is actually accessed before 102 in game. Now, the grass offers the same things as Route 101, with the same level ranges... but with Wingull replacing Poochyena. So, my advice? Skip it. Other than a lucky Shinx, nothing here is worth it, and Wingull is explicitly a bad encounter, at this time. Instead, come back once you getbetter fishing rods. Fishing here with those will either yield a Tentacool or Staryu (Good)/Staryu or Starmie (Super). Believe it or not, you don't want Starmie (shocker!), so you should come back with the Good Rod. It's a guaranteed Staryu, which has a very useful ability for both grinding AND battles.

I suppose you could try and manipulate this to guarantee a Shinx later in the game, but Staryu is better, overall. Especially with how anemic this game seems to be for good Special Attackers.

Route 102
Okay, we made it! The pool here is muuuuuch larger, but this is also the birth of a key strategy; Repel Scam. If you can make it through the route without an encounter, then you can buy Repels from Petalburg. If you come back with a Level 5 mon, your available encounters are narrowed to Zigzagoon, Poliwag, and Ralts. These three are the best encounters available at this time.

It is worth noting that the Water encounters on this route might be worth saving, if you feel confident. Surf can yield Poliwag, Marill, or Slowpoke, while Rods can yield Magikarp, Goldeen, or Corphish, depending on quality.

All of these (bar Poliwag) are available in Petalburg's ponds, so this isn't the only encounter available. Aim high for the Ralts, guarantee the Goldeen that you'll need for later (!?), or try and get a stronger water type? Up to you!

Zigzagoon is the worst thing you can get between Repel and Fishing, but it's also fine for the reasons above + being part of a later scam.

Petalburg City
You don't help Wally! Just get to leave!

You can't get anything at this point. But, once you get a Rod...

As mentioned, the encounter pool is as mentioned above... but unless you reaaaally want Slowpoke chance (6% vs 94% Marill), it's best to go ahead and come back to use the Old Rod. Getting a Goldeen is important for the Safari Zone later in the game, and... idk, use it as pivot fodder. Fuck goldeen.

Route 104
This route is a little notorious, because the top and bottom half of it are the same route. So it's only 1 encounter with the same encounter options. Kinda BS. And the encounters are a mix of the same and some new iffy shit, like a Snubull that might have Intimidate. So, what are we angling for?

Skip the fucking grass. Do not touch it. Under any circumstances. INSTEAD, proceed to the berry trees. At this point, either save a state OR hard save. It's save scum time (creator intended as needed!).

When you go to pick a berry, there's a small chance that a Hoennian Solosis will attack. This is a Grass/Psychic type that is guaranteed to be Level 5. Be patient, it will eventually appear.

Be warned, it has a worse catch rate than other stuff in the area, so if you wanna come back after you get the Great Ball from Petalburg Woods, feel free.

This Solosis is a super strong answer to Roxanne, and it gets Ripen at level 15. Ripen is Cosmic Power + SpAtk boost, which means setting up on the first mon Roxanne sends out leads to a clean sweep. It'll also have Magical Leaf (80 BST) and Confusion ready by that point, as well as Sleep Powder. It also has an ability that increases the healing it receives from moves. Really, really good mon.

Petalburg Forest
Before you enter, there are 2 things you must do.

1. Buy Repels.
2. Lead with a Level 9.

Doing this will guarantee that you get Ferroseed for an encounter, though it may take a while to find, as it is quite rare. However, it is nearly as strong, if not stronger, at answering Roxanne. I don't think it maintains quite as much value in the long run next to H!Solosis, but it's still very strong. Curse, Seed Bomb, Iron Head, and Pin Missile are all fairly early, before you can transition to its more traditional, bulky builds.

Also of note is the Grunt fight. Still just a level 10 Poochy. Beat it and get a Great Ball, continue on or backtrack to solosis. Technically speaking, there are berry trees on the other side, so...

Rustboro City
No opportunity for an encounter here now. You'll revive a Fossil later on.

This will most likely be Claw, as Root offers less of what you need when you need it, so don't get hopes up for Lileep.

However, before going to the next route, make sure you lead a Level 9 or 10 (depending).

Route 116
Time for more repel scamming!

Poochyena, Whismur, Nincada, Abra, Mareep, and Skitty are the possible encounters. Whismur is only level 8. Poochy and Nincada are 8-9. Abra, Mareep, and Skitty are 9-10.

Poochyena is okay (only if Run Away), Whismur sucks ass, Nincada can be good, and Abra/Mareep both offer strong options. Skitty has a gimmick, but it got buffed, so.

If you repel with a 9 in the lead, you have a 17% of hitting a Poochy, 10% Nincada, 15% Abra, 9% Mareep, and 2% Skitty. No, this does not add up to 100%, as it's the chance of them appearing on any given tile. You are most likely going to get a Poochy, least a Skitty.

If you have not already caught Poochyena, I would recommend going in with a Level 10 in the lead instead. This makes Pokémon much more rare, with Abra at 7.5%, Mareep at 4.5%, and Skitty at 1%, but these encounters are all better than a Poochyena or a Whismur. Just be patient, and you'll get a good team member.

Rusturf Tunnel
Sadly, you are here for Whismur. Tyrogue does exist here, but it's pretty bad to not get the Whismur here, as it greatly reduces your chance of getting an encounter that you'll want to get for Wattson.

Just catch a Whismur. Use it as pivot fodder or leave it on the bench idk

General Notes for First Stretch
Solosis and Ferroseed are both great at getting through this part of the game, as they are strong options against Roxanne. Most basic trainers don't amount to much of anything, especially not in the face of any Water or Grass types, with a few exceptions.

You can enter the gym with a level 9~ solosis and solo it, getting most of the EXP needed to get to 15. Get to 15 before the Roxanne fight, get Ripen, and set up. However, if things get hairy, do not be afraid to swap. This is why we have the Ferroseed on backup.

Her team is Aron, Geodude, and Hoennian Mareanie (Rock/Poison), so be aware of that. Mareanie has Poison Sting and Spike Cannon (25 BST, up to 5 hits), so it may be better to just swap to Ferroseed, if you didn't set up enough Ripens/you fear a crit.

Other than that, uh... Yeah. Maybe skip the May fight on the way out of Rustboro, as it is quite scary for the point in the game you're at.

Oh! And! Try to avoid the rich people you see until you have Thief or Covet. Those early nuggets are too fucking nice. As mentioned, Clefairy can make fighting them earlier a thing, but you can also go to Slateport and get Thief before coming back.

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That's all for now. Next post should cover the Dewford Stretch, which is... a little bit of a doozy, I think?

Anyway, thanks for reading! Seriously, check out the hack, it's cool as hell! I really enjoyed trying to surmount it, and achieving it felt amazing. I wish I had the talent or equipment to animate and/or record this, but alas.

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Alright fuckos, we're moving on to the second section of the game, and probably the only part where your pathetic "choice" at the start of the game has any major impact, supposing you didn't pick some rare niche shit. Or even if you did.

We're on the road to Dewford! After you do the plot with Briney and Aqua, you can then take the boat down to Dewford, where we will get... more encounters than you probably think, buuuut...

Dewford Town
You get the Old Rod here! Just to the left of the gym. As mentioned, you probably wanna use this time to backtrack to Petalburg, in order to get a Goldeen. While the upcoming gym isn't the best for sac pivots, it's still more use than you'll get out of it later.

!!!WARNING WARNING WARNING!!!
Do NOT approach Steven with the letter before you finish up whatever you need on the mainland. Briney will refuse to take you back to Petalburg until you finish the gym, if you do.

Anyway, now that you have the Old Rod... fish. Now. You'll get either a Magikarp or a Carvanha. Once done with that, head right.

Route 107
Same deal. You'll get either Karp or Piranha.

Next, head back to Dewford then north, to...

Route 106
Why did we come here to fish last? Because the old rod encounters are different!

Yes, in this spot, you'll get either Magikarp... or Hoennian Tentacool (Water/Electric)!

It's a really strong Pokémon, though not at this point. This way, you get 2 very strong + 1 solid encounter guaranteed, instead of accidentally getting Karp on 106. This also makes later encounter management easier!

With the guaranteed encounters out of the way, head south. No, do not go to the cave yet.

Dewshine Beach
A new area made by the hack! This area has a few interesting encounters... but some just plain suck. Wingull, Kakuna, Weedle... vs Azurill, Swablu, Krabby (idk why, but can have Speed Boost), Skorupi, and Paras. While most of these likely won't impact your run too much, I would still advise...

Skip this encounter for now. Getting a Wingull here locks out a decent chunk of neat things, which have certain niches to fill. Sure, the thread of Weedle persists, but better to cut one shitty hit, ye? You can get Wingull from the ocean routes, so hold off until you can surf on 108.

If you really must get an encounter to round out the team, though, it's fine too. You lost neat things, but not absurdly important things, if you're unlucky. As such, I'd say go for it if you don't wanna wait.

There's a battle with Gym Leader Blake (!?) at the bottom, where you help fend off Magma Grunts, and you can also get the White Flute from a Fisherman. Make sure to grab said flute, it's helpful later.

Next up, it's time to go north again!

Granite Cave
REPEL YOU FUCKER, REPEL

I REPEAT, DO NOT GET AN ENCOUNTER HERE

This is one of the last encounters you should get in your run. After all, some powerful options (Aron, Riolu, Hoennian Dunsparce) are available down here, if you repel with a level 14 on the lowest level... but the issue is that Sabelye can also show up. And you have guaranteed Sableye encounter later. On top of that, you MIGHT get a Lairon in Victory Road, or even a super rare Lucario! By waiting until you've touched Victory Road, you greatly increase your chances of getting a valuable asset for winning the run. Aron and Dunsparce in particular offer a lot, but more on that when we get to the E4.

Note: There are Google Spreadsheets for this hack to document. They list Aron on the second floor as Levels 14-15. This is incorrect, as they only appear at Levels 13-14 there.

So yeah, this is also a skip for now. Just repel until you get to Steven, making sure your lead is 15+.

Dewford Gym
This is now a Dark gym. Respect the fuck out of it. Sableye, Murkrow, a double battle you can stumble into... I would NOT enter below level 18, under any circumstances. And then there's...

Z.png

Yes, I know this morty looking fucker shares a name with me. But I would not be a Mono-Dark trainer, so there.

His team is a Murkrow (20), Sneasel (21), and Houndour (22). They hit HARD. But what makes this fight so scary?

His signature move is PURSUIT.

Yep. Swapping out will often result in a death, and it's awful. This is the gym you are most likely to lose to, out of the first 5. Hell, maybe out of all of them? It's hard as hell for the point in the game, and the lack of good counter options. Even a lucky early Gallade (the ralts from earlier sometimes has a dawn stone) isn't enough. You know what helps a lot, though?

Gyarados. Intimidate. It doesn't have good moves yet, but it at least has that ability.

The Tentacool isn't bad either, and Ferroseed is far from the worst. Flaafy and Luxio both perform decently in here, too. So just make the best of what you got.

General Notes for Dewford Stretch
Most of the important stuff has been covered, but keep those skipped encounters in mind. They're important to come back to, after all.

There's a massage/item parlor at Dewshine Beach, so that's also important to remember.

Before going to Slateport, return to Petalburg (if you didn't get Goldeen yet) and Rustboro, as you can speak to Steven's father to get a Link Stone. As in, an item that evolves any trade evo, even stuff like Rhyperior that usually requires an additional item.

-----

Until next time, which will hopefully be tomorrow!

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BEHOLD MOTHERFUCKERS

Another update. On one of the more important stretches of the run! Your new level limit is 30, and the trainers in this stretch are scary as fuck!!!!!!!

Route 109
This is where Briney drops you off, just south of Slateport. I suggest returning to catch a Buizel here later, but you can't catch shit here atm.

Make sure before progressing past Slateport to come back and complete the Seashore House (that's the name, iirc?), because Soda Pops are hilariously efficient, especially at this point in the game.

Slateport City
You're just here for plot. However, once you have the Good Rod, you'll return to catch a Wailmer. There's also... well, we'll touch on that once we have said Good Rod.

For now, DO NOT MISS THE THIEF TM.

One of the Aqua Grunts in the first floor of the museum gives it to you. It is missable.

Oh, and since I didn't mention it, this game uses Gen 6+ TMs. I'd say Gen 5, but you CAN use TM Learning Shuffling to refresh PP, such as in Gen 6+.

Next, stop at the Pokémart. Buy a harbor mail.

Next go north!

Route 110
Rabbit season? No, it's God damn DUCK SEASON.

farfetchd.png

And we're after one of these sick ass mother fuckers.

What? You say that Farfetch'd sucks?

Fuck you. Farfetch'd is one of the strongest guaranteed encounters in this hack, thanks to its new Hoennian Evolution!

unknown.png

(fun fact, i learned that this is apparently a fairly well known fan evo, made before SwSh existed. Neat!)

This glorious fuck is a Fighting/Flying type, with either Hyper Cutter (subpar, but good against intimidate!) or Resolute (gen 5+ Sturdy). What? You wanna know how to get one?

You just raise a Farfetch'd to level 28! I'd suggest waiting until 31, so it learns Fake Out first, but that's up to you. Indeed, Mallar'ki is a strong-ass addition to your team, both as a strong pivot due to Resolute or just a murder hobo. Or both!

Anyway, back on topic. All you have to do is Repel with a Level 20 in the lead, and you're guaranteed this prime specimen. The only thing you really lose is Ponyta or a Krabby later on. so I guess you coooould Repel with a 19 to rule out the Poochy/Wingull but keep Ponyta...

But are you some kinda nerd that wants a bitch pony over a fucking CHAD DUCK SAMURAI?

I didn't think so.

btw, don't progress too far, May's team is fucking scary and level 26+, so hahaha you'll get your ass beat to next tuesday

What you SHOULD do is go into the cave next to the Trick House. Sure, it has a trainer in front of it, but she only has a 25 Drowzee.

Click To Reveal Cave Name
Yes.

Now, there are only 2 lines available in this cave. Whismur and Diglett/Dugtrio. Do you see why we wanted the Whismur now? Catch it and start training, it'll fucking dunk Wattson.

After you beat May by some miracle, you'll head up to Mauville. I'd suggest not fighting many of the trainers in the area between Slateport and Mauville, as they have proven to be dangerous as hell on many playthroughs. You have been warned.

Mauville City
You fight Wally. Avoid using Steel-types that can't fight Magnemite well, because his has magnet pull, and he WILL steal a kill.

Get the Mach Bike.

Get HM06 Rock Smash.

Get the Coin Case.

Go west!

Route 117
This is... one of the most annoying routes in the game, for me. You wanna see this encounter table?

unknown.png

Roselia and Ivysaur are both insane encounters, being some of the best Grass type options in the hack, while also helping with the "not enough special attackers" problem I mentioned earlier.

More chances at the Marill/Slowpoke/Corphish set up, too! Which, like, cool, chance at Slowpoke is sick. Just...

Why are both Ivysaur and Roselia confined to this one spot? It makes me grumpy. I love them both, while Butterfree and Beautifly are both garbage encounters. Ditto isn't much better.

Do what you want here. I have no solid strategy other than "pray".

You may also choose to wait until you have Rock Smash. There's a hidden area deeper inside of Petalburg Woods, with a brand new encounter pool and different locale. It holds the best HM Mule you can imagine, but also has an encounter pool in front of it, with Caterpie/Beautifly lines being the most common things... despite the three Hoenn starters also hiding there.

Continue to Verdanturf. We'll have to do this again to get the Strength HM after Wattson, but for now, go into Rusturf Tunnel. Head to the left once you do, then down into the grassy area. "Help" the blackglasses man, then climb the cliff, and you'll find....

Burning Grotto
If something happened to your Diglett, you have a chance to get a Numel (not amazing for this use) or a Geodude to fix that problem. Ground types kinda win against the Electric Gym (shocking!), so it's not terrible.

However, unless you plan to repel in order to guarantee either a Magmar (24-25) or Numel (22-24), I suggest waiting. You don't want to get Zubat as your encounter here, as there's a better place to get it later on. You'll come back once you get Strength to get a stupidly cool item, anyway.

Return to Mauville, go north. We'll go east before moving on, but there's a scary trainer that way. Just make sure, before moving up to Fallarbor, you DO go east and grab the hidden Heart Scale.

Route 111
Okay, this one is very much on you, as a player, to decide how you consider your encounters. There's a water/rock smash encounter earlier on here, and the Desert is technically part of this route!

However, the desert is uh... difficult to manipulate. You'll get either a Trapinch or Sandshrew in Mirage Tower, but that's a different pool, and the Desert has a pretty even mix of "neat" and "eew". As such! I say! Smash a rock and get a Geodude here, to guarantee a cool encounter later!

But you can't do that until post-Wattson. Hmph.

The surf pool is Marill/Slowpoke/Goldeen, but Old Rod can get Kabuto and later rods can get Barboach. Not really worth it, but neat.

Return to Mauville, and go to...

The Game Corner
There's a poster top left. Press its button.

Go to the right of the counter and look behind a potted plant. Jump into the hole.

(side note: You can get Gible, Larvitar, or a hack original mon here, as well as the 3 original elemental stones, dream balls, and Link Stones. Decide which of these you want later, unless, again, desperate for a ground type to fight Wattson)

Traders Den
Yep, seperate area! This connects to the Secret Tunnel from earlier. There's not a ton to do here, but there's a Wonder Machine! For 10000, you get a Lv. 5 Pokemon "traded" to you!

...I have no idea how it works, if I'm honest. It usually gives me garbage, but occasionally gave me sick shit. Not commonly, though. I'm not sure what the proper timing for using it is? Maybe once you get all of your guaranteed encounters, but...?

Return to Mauville once more. If you don't get the encounter, just keep it in mind.

Mauville Gym
just use dig 4head

no really, dugtrio can eat this shit for breakfast and take maybe 4 total hits during it, none of which are damage that comes close to killing it even with a crit

there's no strategy other than that

Graveler/Golem can use Magnitude. Not as consistent, but has no issues.

Numel seems awkward to use here, but I've never had to, so.

There you go, you got a badge. Because you knew your type matchups. Hop would be proud of you.

General Notes for Mauville Stretch
Everything is scary and trying to kill you, except for Wattson's gym which will roll over and die like a fucking bitch

You unlock a lot of unique encounters and other such things in this stretch, and if you get here, it means you beat Blake. Which means, barring recklessness or absurdly bad luck, you proooobably should be able to make it past Norman, at the very least.

Make sure you're training your Gyarados, by the way! Probably your Tentacool or Carvanha as well! You will very much need them for the next stretch! Be good to your Ground type as well.

For Gyarados, hold onto Dragon Rage. Trust me. I don't think you have a reason to throw it away, anyway, but have to be safe.

Make sure to start training Farfetch'd around this point, if you hadn't already. It will also be very useful for the upcoming stretches... Even the E4, if it survives that long.

-----

See you soon!

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I would love an update for further into the game! I am starting this challenge myself but am very concerned that the level lock is 60 for the elite 4 when they have up to lvl 75 😬

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