Emerald Glitchless FAQ

Q: Why did you reset?
A: One of three reasons:
1. I died. Speaks for itself
2. I failed my manips
3. The run was too bad to continue (assume this if nothing else)

Q: What is rng manip?
A: In Emerald, the way rng works is that each frame has a specific value that determines things like ivs, nature, random npc movement, etc. Thus, by pressing A on certain frames and moving in certain ways, I can manipulate the rng to get favorable outcomes.

I use rng manip to good stats on Mudkip and Rayquaza, getting an Abra and Taillow encounter, and catching both Abra and Taillow turn 1.

Q: Why is Mudkip the fastest?
A: Good attacking stats, STAB Surf, solid gym matchups, and access to various HMs all make Mudkip the best overall starter for this run. Its speed isn't great but it still gets the job done.

Q: Is it really worth it to get Rayquaza? It seems like a massive detour.
A: It ends up being worth it for a couple of reasons:
1) Swampert struggles heavily against the the last couple of fights in the run, especially Sidney, Drake, and Wallace
2) Getting Rayquaza doesn't end up being as much timeloss as it may seem since it also acts as the Waterfall poke. Even if we didn't get Rayquaza, we would still need to manip and catch another slave for Waterfall. Thus, the only timeloss is the timeloss in going to Sky Pillar a second time, which is easily made up for by the faster fights.

Q: Why do you catch Abra?
A: Teleport! You aren't able to use Fly until after Winona which is quite late into the run, so as a temporary measure for getting around the map, teleport is used. Helps cut down on a lot of detours, namely going back to Petalburgh after getting PokeNav (skips a double battle), going to Petalburg from Lavaridge to battle Norman, going back to Mauville after Norman, and doing Mt.Pyre before Winona to evolve into Swampert before Winona.

Q: Why do you pick the girl?
A: In the second rival fight, the lead is different depending on whether the rival is a boy or a girl; the boy leads off with Slugma and the girl leads off with Wingull. Slugma is *much* easier to set up on than Wingull so it ends up being better to pick the girl. Also, she's cute.

Q: What is the worst fight?
A: Uh... there's a lot of bad fights. Most of the major fights can end the run with a poorly timed crit or Mud Shot miss and even some of the random NPC fights are pretty rough. Even after getting Rayquaza, you can still die to Wallace. It's difficult to say for sure which one is the worst but the most notable ones are Cooltrainer Jody (Zangoose trainer in Norman's gym), the second rival fight, Flannery, Norman, and Tate and Liza.

Q: What are the IVs of Mudkip and Rayquaza?
Mudkip: 21/23(-)/28/30/29(-)/29  (Naughty Nature)

For Rayquaza, there are actually 4 different Rayquazas that could be manipped. Since hitting the exact same Rayquaza would be frame perfect, having 4 different frames to hit gives us a lot of leeway. Those Rayquazas are:

3/30(+)/30/25/12/13(-) (Brave Nature)
13/25(+)/12/29(-)/28/28 (Adamant Nature)
28/29/28/23(+)/13/20(-) (Quiet Nature)
20/23(+)/13/11/9/17(-) (Brave Nature)

The first Brave Rayquaza is the most ideal one to hit, followed by Adamant, the second Brave one, and Quiet as the least ideal.

Q: Why don't you manip perfect stats?
A: It's technically possible but it's not worth it. Rng manip is limited in Emerald and manipping perfect stats would require waiting for a long time for the correct frame to appear, far longer than the time perfect stats would save. Similarly, manipping a female mudkip would make Flannery much better (avoids Attract from Torkoal), and manipping a Mudkip with Mudkip with Hidden Power Ice would make Winona much faster. However manipping both, alongside the requirements of good stats, just takes too long for it to be worth it. It's also the same reason why pokerus manip isn't worth it, it takes about 9 minutes for the first pokerus frame to appear.

Q: What is WR?
A: 2:29:51 by WaveWarrior.