A Pokemon Emerald In Game Tier List

[Urnighter]

This is an in game tier list based on a rule set some friends and I have created for racing pokemon emerald. I want some feedback!

A Tier

Taillow

Shroomish

Makuhita

Machop

Ralts

Abra

B Tier

Skarmory

Carvanha

Numel

Electrike

Whismur

Geodude

Seviper

Seedot

C Tier

Spoink

Dustox

Baltoy

Marill

Zubat

Lotad

Aron

Oddish

Magnemite

Slakoth

Voltorb

Sableye

Gulpin

D Tier

Solrock

Swablu

Torkoal

Ninjask

Trapinch

Koffing

Chinchou

Tentacool

Grimer

Goldeen

Sandshrew

Beautifly

Wailmer

Poochyena

F Tier

Everything Else (Not worth ordering)

Free

Wingull

Zigzagoon

Rules:

-First person to get all 8 badges wins (there is no elite 4)

-You may only use drafted pokemon, and only one of each pokemon drafted

-Undrafted Pokemon may only be part of ingame trades or requirements to obtain them

-No pokemon may be obtained over level 22 (22 is allowed)

-Must finish with at least 4 pokemon within 5 levels

-Wingull and Zigzagoon are free and cannot be trained or used in battle (HMs only)

-Stat boosting moves and items are banned

-Revives are banned

-Any pokemon intended on being traded in an in game trade can be raised as long as you perform the in game trade at the -soonest possible time

-Free HM pokemon cannot be sent out intentionally

-Starter is free

Edited April 19, 2015 by Urnighter

[momogeek2141]

You don't get the EXP Share until midgame. At that point, Abra/Ralts will take a long time to train. Training before will take a while too because of constant switching. I would move them to upper C tier. Plus, they're rare and hard to catch.

I feel Sableye should move up. Sure, he sucks late game, but early on he is able to pretty much negate any enemy with his ghost typing. Although he is rare, so I wouldn't move him above low B.

Numel also shouldn't be B tier. He has far too many weaknesses (more than Geodude) so he should go down.

Ninjask definitely isn't D. He is literally THE fastest pokemon of them all (second only to Deoxys). Plus, he gets you shedinja, who can also be used in tight situations.

I think Shroomish should be top of A instead of Taillow, because Taillow dies really fast.

Also, when you say starters are free, do you mean that they can only be used as HMs? Because otherwise I would tier them as well.

[BBM]

Why is Aron so low? It's pretty good against Norman, Winona, and Tate+Liza too.

[JSND Alter Dragon Boner]

Numel is actually pretty okay for in game runs. But this was when I played Ruby and 90% of the stuff is weak to fire and the water is slow enough because lolingamepokemon 0 IV FTW

Shroomish I think should be lower since he is a deadweight for many parts of the game.... I think. He's okay-ish for first gym, but second gym onwards is a fuck you for the poor shroom.

I want to say Mag for B rank, but I recalled that his alvailability involves backtracking into Mauvile after you get Surf... so he's kinda eh

Elektrike too high? His starting move is a plain gutter trash, so you just need to get into the electric gym and get the TM to get him going. He's okay for the rest of the game I think.

[MRDRHAWK]

I wouldn't put Makuhita that high, considering you have Machop right below it. IIRC, you get Meditite in around the same time as Makuhita, which is a better Fighting type thanks to being dual-Fighting/Psychic and not being slow as balls.

I'd also put Whismur higher. Good availability and a decent-size movepool when you get to Exploud.

[momogeek2141]

Why is Aron so low? It's pretty good against Norman, Winona, and Tate+Liza too.

He's excellent against Norman because of his typing. But odds are that he won't have evolved then, so he has low base stats. He's good vs Winona, but the only move he gets that's effective is rock tomb, and he still isn't evolved. (unless you give him shock wave, which should go to your electric type.) Against Tate and Liza he's screwed. Claydol has Earthquake which should one-shot it. Solrock has Flamethrower and Solarbeam which should cripple it. So he should move up in the same tier. He isn't so good against the E4 either...

I wouldn't put Makuhita that high, considering you have Machop right below it. IIRC, you get Meditite in around the same time as Makuhita, which is a better Fighting type thanks to being dual-Fighting/Psychic and not being slow as balls.

Meditite doesn't appear in Emerald. And Machop can't get to his final evolution without trade, and evolves later, making Hariyama better. Not saying Makuhita shouldn't move down, he isn't that great.

IMO, the A tier should be the 3 starters, Shroomish (first weakness area is after Mauville) Electrike (best electric type, and they dominate in the E4) and maybe Absol. It's hard to do tiers for pokemon because there are 2358702984630 possibilities to consider.

Edited December 31, 2014 by momogeek2141

[BBM]

E4 aren't being fought.

Considering Norman is attacking Aron with like, Faint Attack, he doesn't need to be evolved. Aron gets Iron Tail iirc, which is a little inaccurate but more powerful than SE Rock Tomb and only Altaria and Pelipper pose threats in the Winona battle. Lairon hits Solrock, Lunatone, and Xatu for SE damage, so once Claydol goes down he should be okay. Solrock is a problem but it'll use up one turn with Sunny Day anyways, and you can kill it with Lairon + your partner by then.

He definitely doesn't deserve to be below Vulpix, who is around for two gyms and gets wrecked by one of them. Actually Vulpix may need to be removed from the list altogether because iirc wild ones at Mt. Pyre are ~level 25, which is over the limit? He's better than Magnemite too. Magnemite requires backtracking, isn't actually very good against Winona because it'll probably be underleveled, and gets wrecked by T+L way worse than Aron. It's good against Juan but I don't think that outweighs Aron being good against Norman and inferior availability.

Swablu needs to go way down. It's pretty terrible until evolution (which is after Aron -> Lairon btw), so it's pretty much just fodder until T+L, where it's okay but doesn't do anything of real worth, and then gets wrecked by Juan.

[JSND Alter Dragon Boner]

Makuhita is a trade pokemon early in the game with a fairly strong learnset

If anything he should be the top of A Tier. Unless I missed something everything about him is just so good

Yeah did not play gen 3 much

[Sasori]

Isn't Solrock pretty decent in the main game as well? His rock type will be helping in the 3 gyms that come after you get him. He resists Flanery, Norman and Winnoa gyms and hits 2 of those for super effective damage. He loses his shine after that, but its still pretty good if you want a crutch and levitate plus rock type also works well against team magma.

[MacLovin]

Given the criteria you've told me about, I'd raise Torkoal, Aron, and Solrock. Torchic could go in B tier because you can get it evolved by Roxanne if you solo everything iirc.

Aron's handy early on with all the normal types and it's load of resistances. Solrock gets rock throw and a few other alright moves to help out too. and a good bst.

Dustox higher, because protect+toxic screws Norman and a few other important pokemon in important battles.

I don't remember what level Vulpix comes, but it's not really useful, since it comes right before the water shit. Plusle and Minun are crap at everything but electric stab, but they get fake tears. The equivalent of a sp def screech.

Sableye is responsible for cheesing Brawly, it could stand to go to B tier.

I'd say drop Kirlia, since it's not that good without calm mind. Abra is probably better in terms of raw stats.

I mean, Ralts is gonna be babied, and you'll be underlevelled most of the game, so it's not really worth it.

Loudred is kinda just about average in performance for most of its exitence, but keeping it at lvl 22 means you'll be stuck with a normal type that's only saving grace is soundproof. Drop.

Shroomish should change places with Seedot. It evolves at lvl 23. :/ And it doesn't really have any saving graces outside of being another grass type right before Roxanne.

Seedot/Lotad both evolve around Roxxy, and are alright-ish for most of the game, can deal with the water shit lategame and get a useable movepool. Shiftry is pretty good ingame, and can take the tms noone else really wants.

[Who's going to use Aerial Ace, Giga Drain, and stuff like that? It gets pretty good coverage with Shadow Ball+Brick Break if you want to use those on it.]

Lotad's line isn't as offensive as Nuzleaf, but it serves alright, and you can get a Water Stone waaay later on, giving you something that can take a few hits from the likes of the twins and juan.

Slakoth higher. Vigoroth is kinda like a crappy Zangoose in terms of stats. It's not bad, and will be handy midgame.

Although raising it is going to be a pain, Vigoroth is waaay better than a non evolving Kirlia.

Spinda to C tier. it's lackluster in this kind of run, but it's not worthless.

Iirc, Pikachu comes at lvl 22 as the lowest in safari zone, so maybe it's alright with the thunderstone.

Same with alot of the safari zone pokes minus the 2 water types and rhyhorn. Wynaut could also be useful if you play it right.

Marill to at least B tier. Huge Power and a lvl 18 evolution make it pretty good with Return+Surf+whatever other physical type tms you have lying around.

I'd think Sandshrew could go switch with Baltoy, since it can evolve into Sandslash given your rules. Baltoy's just going to be a lump that can take an extra hit and never does anything given your criteria.

Machop should drop to lower B. You get it midgame, and the only thing it's remotely useful for is Morty's Mightyena around that time. [it doesn't evolve until the late 20s iirc.]

Skarmory to bottom of A. Aside from Tailow, it's most likely the only other useful flying type, since Zubat's a pain in the friggin ass to raise, unless you really love Crobat.

Gulpin to C tier. early Yawn is nice, and it can kinda help put your Rivals starter to sleep during your third fight, giving you the chance to switch out and pummel it.

If Zigzagoon were useable in battle, it'd easily be A/B tier.

Edited January 1, 2015 by Captain Britain

[Urnighter]

Hi guys,

Sorry I never replied to this!

Before I reply though, I would like to clarify one thing which I forgot to put in the rules. Each player must finish with at least 4 pokemon within 5 levels of each other. This is important because it limits the ability to rely solely on your starter and limits the usefulness of pokemon only useful for a few specific fights.

You don't get the EXP Share until midgame. At that point, Abra/Ralts will take a long time to train. Training before will take a while too because of constant switching. I would move them to upper C tier. Plus, they're rare and hard to catch.

I feel Sableye should move up. Sure, he sucks late game, but early on he is able to pretty much negate any enemy with his ghost typing. Although he is rare, so I wouldn't move him above low B.

Numel also shouldn't be B tier. He has far too many weaknesses (more than Geodude) so he should go down.

Ninjask definitely isn't D. He is literally THE fastest pokemon of them all (second only to Deoxys). Plus, he gets you shedinja, who can also be used in tight situations.

I think Shroomish should be top of A instead of Taillow, because Taillow dies really fast.

Also, when you say starters are free, do you mean that they can only be used as HMs? Because otherwise I would tier them as well.

Ralts learns confusion at level 6 which is enough to win most battles afterwards. Its incredibly high stats and early evolution make it very useful (I've first picked it twice before). It really isn't hard to train it 3 levels for a move, and after that it really can fend for itself. Yes, it's rare, but I find the time saved from slaughtering the second gym and coming out with 2 pokemon at decent levels makes up for it. Teleport is also useful for speed.

Sabley's late game issues significantly overshadow his usefulness early.

Will consider Numel, but it has a strong learnset and is the only fire type that can really be drafted.

As for Ninjask, bug is special and Ninjask's high stat is physical (His special attack is just 50). It doesn't help that Double Team, Swords Dance, and Agility are all banned. Arial Ace would be great on it, but that's 6th gym. I'll still move it up a few slots, though.

Taillow wins the second gym which means it's going to be super strong off the bat, and then Mudkip can handle the 3rd and 4th gyms. It also super effects grass which is Mudkip's biggest weakness. Serving as a good partner to the best starter is great.

I don't have starters tiered because you don't have to draft them. Everyone just picks what most compliments their team, which means Mudkip unless you drafted a water type or feel like mixing it up. I don't see a point in tiering them but I think you can imagine where they would fall.

Why is Aron so low? It's pretty good against Norman, Winona, and Tate+Liza too.

It levels slow and doesn't become powerful until the game is basically over. and as another user pointed out it isn't too great against the last 2 gyms.

Shroomish I think should be lower since he is a deadweight for many parts of the game.... I think. He's okay-ish for first gym, but second gym onwards is a fuck you for the poor shroom.

Elektrike too high? His starting move is a plain gutter trash, so you just need to get into the electric gym and get the TM to get him going. He's okay for the rest of the game I think.

Breloom's mach punch slaughters trainers. It does well against the 5th gym and holds its own against the last 2. An early game pokemon with early evolution that stays strong the whole game is fantastic.

Electric types are good and elektrike is fast and comes at a good time.

Not saying Makuhita shouldn't move down, he isn't that great.

IMO, the A tier should be the 3 starters, Shroomish (first weakness area is after Mauville) Electrike (best electric type, and they dominate in the E4) and maybe Absol. It's hard to do tiers for pokemon because there are 2358702984630 possibilities to consider.

No elite 4 so elektrike can't shine, and no pokemon can be caught wild above level 22 so Absol doesn't exist.

Where would you move Makuhita to?

Considering Norman is attacking Aron with like, Faint Attack, he doesn't need to be evolved. Aron gets Iron Tail iirc, which is a little inaccurate but more powerful than SE Rock Tomb and only Altaria and Pelipper pose threats in the Winona battle. Lairon hits Solrock, Lunatone, and Xatu for SE damage, so once Claydol goes down he should be okay. Solrock is a problem but it'll use up one turn with Sunny Day anyways, and you can kill it with Lairon + your partner by then.

He definitely doesn't deserve to be below Vulpix, who is around for two gyms and gets wrecked by one of them. Actually Vulpix may need to be removed from the list altogether because iirc wild ones at Mt. Pyre are ~level 25, which is over the limit? He's better than Magnemite too. Magnemite requires backtracking, isn't actually very good against Winona because it'll probably be underleveled, and gets wrecked by T+L way worse than Aron. It's good against Juan but I don't think that outweighs Aron being good against Norman and inferior availability.

Swablu needs to go way down. It's pretty terrible until evolution (which is after Aron -> Lairon btw), so it's pretty much just fodder until T+L, where it's okay but doesn't do anything of real worth, and then gets wrecked by Juan.

Good call on Vulpix, he's gone.

Swablu lowered, he used to be that high because we didn't make wingull free for fly so it was valuable. Again, good call.

I'll move Aron above Magnemite but still don't think he's too great. Speed is an issue in a run like this and he can be a pain to train.

Makuhita is a trade pokemon early in the game with a fairly strong learnset

If anything he should be the top of A Tier. Unless I missed something everything about him is just so good

Yeah did not play gen 3 much

That's only in Ruby and Sapphire, we're playing Emerald.

Isn't Solrock pretty decent in the main game as well? His rock type will be helping in the 3 gyms that come after you get him. He resists Flanery, Norman and Winnoa gyms and hits 2 of those for super effective damage. He loses his shine after that, but its still pretty good if you want a crutch and levitate plus rock type also works well against team magma.

TBH Solrock is one of the few Pokemon I never used in Emerald. Will take your word for it and bump him up a few.

Given the criteria you've told me about, I'd raise Torkoal, Aron, and Solrock. Torchic could go in B tier because you can get it evolved by Roxanne if you solo everything iirc.

Aron's handy early on with all the normal types and it's load of resistances. Solrock gets rock throw and a few other alright moves to help out too. and a good bst.

Dustox higher, because protect+toxic screws Norman and a few other important pokemon in important battles.

I don't remember what level Vulpix comes, but it's not really useful, since it comes right before the water shit. Plusle and Minun are crap at everything but electric stab, but they get fake tears. The equivalent of a sp def screech.

Sableye is responsible for cheesing Brawly, it could stand to go to B tier.

I'd say drop Kirlia, since it's not that good without calm mind. Abra is probably better in terms of raw stats.

I mean, Ralts is gonna be babied, and you'll be underlevelled most of the game, so it's not really worth it.

Loudred is kinda just about average in performance for most of its exitence, but keeping it at lvl 22 means you'll be stuck with a normal type that's only saving grace is soundproof. Drop.

Shroomish should change places with Seedot. It evolves at lvl 23. :/ And it doesn't really have any saving graces outside of being another grass type right before Roxanne.

Seedot/Lotad both evolve around Roxxy, and are alright-ish for most of the game, can deal with the water shit lategame and get a useable movepool. Shiftry is pretty good ingame, and can take the tms noone else really wants.

[Who's going to use Aerial Ace, Giga Drain, and stuff like that? It gets pretty good coverage with Shadow Ball+Brick Break if you want to use those on it.]

Lotad's line isn't as offensive as Nuzleaf, but it serves alright, and you can get a Water Stone waaay later on, giving you something that can take a few hits from the likes of the twins and juan.

Slakoth higher. Vigoroth is kinda like a crappy Zangoose in terms of stats. It's not bad, and will be handy midgame.

Although raising it is going to be a pain, Vigoroth is waaay better than a non evolving Kirlia.

Spinda to C tier. it's lackluster in this kind of run, but it's not worthless.

Iirc, Pikachu comes at lvl 22 as the lowest in safari zone, so maybe it's alright with the thunderstone.

Same with alot of the safari zone pokes minus the 2 water types and rhyhorn. Wynaut could also be useful if you play it right.

Marill to at least B tier. Huge Power and a lvl 18 evolution make it pretty good with Return+Surf+whatever other physical type tms you have lying around.

I'd think Sandshrew could go switch with Baltoy, since it can evolve into Sandslash given your rules. Baltoy's just going to be a lump that can take an extra hit and never does anything given your criteria.

Machop should drop to lower B. You get it midgame, and the only thing it's remotely useful for is Morty's Mightyena around that time. [it doesn't evolve until the late 20s iirc.]

Skarmory to bottom of A. Aside from Tailow, it's most likely the only other useful flying type, since Zubat's a pain in the friggin ass to raise, unless you really love Crobat.

Gulpin to C tier. early Yawn is nice, and it can kinda help put your Rivals starter to sleep during your third fight, giving you the chance to switch out and pummel it.

If Zigzagoon were useable in battle, it'd easily be A/B tier.

Will bump Aron and Solrock, not sure how much though.

Dustox is low because it is bad for so long after Norman.

Same issue for Sableye

Gardevoir>Kadabra in terms of stats which is the logic there. I really don't find it needs much babying beyond the first 3 levels or so. After that it's very strong.

But is Whismur worse than Geodude and Seviper? Not sure about that, and Whismur has tons of coverage.

Breloom's mach punch is far better than anything Seedot can offer. What is Seedot even using to attack with? Bullet seed?

That being said, I didn't realize you could get it in an in game trade which means way faster exp gain. will bump it a lot.

Why can't Kirlia evolve? Vigoroth is great, but Slakoth is rare and a pain to train. Will bump it a few slots.

What exactly makes Spinda not worthless?

Pikachu doesn't come below 22, banned.

Marill is iffy because water isn't that valuable of a type, I'll bump it above lotad.

You'll have to sell me more on Machop being worse than Skarmory or Carvahna but I'l consider it.

Speaking of Skarmory, it is hard to catch, and really rare. I'm gonna keep it where it is out of how long it takes to catch.

Will bumb Gulping to lower C.

Thanks for all the responses guys, I hope you didn't all disappear!