Games
Emerald: Hoenn with both teams, Rayquaza and the Battle Frontier
Pokémon Emerald is the third version of Ruby and Sapphire for Game Boy Advance, released in Japan on 16 September 2004, North America on 1 May 2005 and Europe on 21 October 2005. Team Magma and Team Aqua both appear, Groudon and Kyogre clash, Rayquaza sits at the centre of the story, and a Battle Frontier of seven facilities, among them an expanded Battle Tower, waits for strong Trainers. Today it runs only on an original cartridge in Game Boy Advance hardware or a DS with a GBA slot, with no Virtual Console or Switch release found on nintendo.com or pokemon.com as of 8 November 2026.
Editorial record, read 8 Nov 2026.
Emerald runs both villain teams and ends the crisis with Rayquaza
The official Japanese page describes Emerald as another version of Ruby and Sapphire, built on their story with new episodes added. Team Magma and Team Aqua, which each lead the plot in only one of the earlier versions, both stand in the hero's way here. Groudon and Kyogre, which awoke only in Ruby and only in Sapphire, fight each other in heavy rain at sea, and the page says Rayquaza, a third ancient Pokémon, is tied to their clash. pokemon.com names Rayquaza as the legendary at the centre of the storyline. The map, the starters and the opening match Ruby and Sapphire, and the Gym table below lists the leaders.
Emerald links with FireRed, LeafGreen and the DS games
Emerald sells alone. Its official Japanese page lists the Game Boy Advance Game Link Cable and the Wireless Adapter among supported accessories, and in Japan it was sold either on its own or with the adapter in the box. The official page for FireRed and LeafGreen confirms trades and battles between those games and Emerald, which is the route for most Kanto species. Pokémon also move on from Emerald: the Diamond and Pearl page names it as one of the cartridges that Pal Park reads from the DS's Game Boy Advance slot. pokemon.com adds that Pokémon from any Game Boy Advance game could move into the later DS games, so an Emerald team has a future beyond the cartridge.
The opening is Ruby and Sapphire, with new battles on the way
The opening is the one Ruby and Sapphire use: the hero moves to Littleroot Town and Professor Birch gives a Pokémon and a Pokédex, according to the official Japanese page, and Nintendo's Japanese preview names Treecko, Torchic and Mudkip as the choice. Two changes show early. Trainers who stand apart can both spot you and run in together, starting a double battle against two opponents, where earlier games only paired Trainers who stood side by side. And the PokéNav gains Match Call, which lets you talk to registered people at a distance and lets Trainers call you to ask for a rematch. Rock types still resist Fire and take double damage from Water and Grass, so a Torchic start needs early help.
The Battle Frontier has seven facilities, each with its own rules
The Battle Frontier is new in Emerald. The official Japanese page describes seven facilities open only to Trainers whose strength its owner, Enishida in the Japanese version, has recognised. The Battle Tower runs single, double, multi and link multi battles, each set against seven Trainers. The Battle Dome is a tournament where you see the opponent's team and pick two of your three. The Battle Palace lets your Pokémon choose their own moves according to nature. The Battle Arena fixes the order of three Pokémon and judges a match on mind, skill and body after three turns. The Battle Factory lends rental Pokémon and lets you swap after each win. The Battle Pike sends you through one of three doors at a time, and the Battle Pyramid is a dark maze where your own items stay outside. Frontier Brains, pokemon.com notes, head the facilities.
The rest of the postgame fills the legendary list
Emerald widens the legendary list. The official Japanese page shows Groudon and Kyogre both appearing as wild Pokémon after their clash, where Ruby and Sapphire allowed only one of them, and leaves the place they appear as a surprise for the player. pokemon.com adds that both Latios and Latias can be caught, beside Rayquaza at the centre of the story. Match Call keeps the region worth revisiting after the credits, since Trainers you have registered call you for rematches. The Battle Frontier, covered above, is the largest part of the postgame, and it is where a team built during the story meets its strongest tests.
Each Pokémon animates as it enters battle
Emerald gives each Pokémon its own animation when it appears from tall grass or leaves its Poké Ball, according to the official Japanese page: some roar, some flap their wings, some move as if glad, and Pikachu jumps and laughs. The battle rules otherwise follow Ruby and Sapphire, with abilities, natures and double battles. Natures matter most in the Battle Palace, where the official page says Pokémon choose their own moves by nature and have likes and dislikes among moves, and a girl beside the facility can read their feelings. The ability data in the PokéAPI cache gives Synchronize to Abra, Ralts, Espeon and Umbreon.
Emerald adds move tutors that Ruby and Sapphire lack
Ruby and Sapphire have no move tutors in the PokéAPI version groups, which list only level-up, egg and machine for them. Emerald lists tutor as well. In the move data in the cache, Emerald tutor moves include Body Slam, Double-Edge, Ice Punch, Thunder Punch, Fire Punch, Seismic Toss, Substitute and Thunder Wave, 30 moves in all across the species the cache holds. Abilities themselves are unchanged from Ruby and Sapphire. In the ability data, Kyogre has Drizzle, Groudon has Drought and Rayquaza has Air Lock, the three legendaries at the centre of the story. The move finder on this site lists the Emerald tutor learnsets by species.
Emerald in 2026 means a GBA cartridge
Emerald needs Game Boy Advance hardware, and Nintendo's support page confirms the Nintendo DS and DS Lite play it in single-player mode only, without trades or link battles. pokemon.com notes that Pokémon from any Game Boy Advance game could move into the DS games that followed. The route today is a chain: Pal Park in Diamond and Pearl reads Emerald from the DS's Game Boy Advance slot after the National Pokédex is complete, Poké Transfer in Black and White or Black 2 and White 2 needs two DS-family systems, Poké Transporter moves the Pokémon into Pokémon Bank, and Bank sends them to Pokémon HOME before its service ends on 25 February 2027. Transfers through Poké Transfer and Poké Transporter are one way.
| Feature | Ruby and Sapphire | Emerald |
|---|---|---|
| Villain team | One per version | Both |
| Story legendary | Groudon or Kyogre | Rayquaza, with Groudon and Kyogre both wild |
| Battle facility | Battle Tower | Battle Frontier, 7 facilities |
| Double battles | Two Trainers side by side | Two separate Trainers can also team up |
| Move tutors | None | Yes |
| Battle sprites | Static | Animated on entry |
Sourced: the Japanese Emerald product pages, pokemon.com and the PokéAPI version groups, read 8 Nov 2026. The eighth Gym leader, Champion and nature-tool rows were cut pending a source.
| Badge order | Leader | Badge | Type | City |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Roxanne | Stone Badge | Rock | Rustboro City |
| 2 | Brawly | Knuckle Badge | Fighting | Dewford Town |
| 3 | Wattson | Dynamo Badge | Electric | Mauville City |
| 4 | Flannery | Heat Badge | Fire | Lavaridge Town |
| 5 | Norman | Balance Badge | Normal | Petalburg City |
| 6 | Winona | Feather Badge | Flying | Fortree City |
| 7 | Tate and Liza | Mind Badge | Psychic | Mossdeep City |
| 8 | Juan | Rain Badge | Water | Sootopolis City |
Unverified. Leaders, badges, types and cities, including Juan as the eighth leader, rest on game knowledge; no official page read on 8 Nov 2026 lists them.
5 checks before you act
- Pick a starter knowing Rock types resist Fire and take double damage from Water and Grass.
- Register Trainers in Match Call so rematches become available.
- Watch for pairs of Trainers who stand apart; both can join one double battle.
- Study the Battle Frontier rules before building a team for one facility.
- Complete the National Pokédex in Diamond or Pearl before planning a Pal Park transfer.
Read next
Sources read for this page
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