  Groudon and Kyogre prepare to duke it out in Pokemon Emerald. Our money is on the big red guy. Free Willy doesn't stand a chance.
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Pokemon Trainers better be prepared for trouble...and make that double.
Shine up those Poke Balls. Get those Pokemon pumping iron and stock up on supplies at the local PokeMart. Pokemon Emerald's Battle Frontier is not for the novice Trainer who would be duped into trading all of their precious badges for a lowly Magikarp.
Set in the mystifying Hoenn region, players are thrust into a turf war between the nefarious Team Magma and Team Aqua in Pokemon Emerald. The game begins with a welcome plot twist. Having just moved to the hometown of Professor Birch, players save him from a Wild Pokemon attack and by doing so get to choose between Treecko, Mudkip or Torchic as their first Pokemon. This fresh start to a tried and true formula is certainly a long-awaited change to the seasoned player who has had to sit through the countless Pokemon Game Boy versions that have begun in the same repetitive manner.
As in the other editions, Trainers explore their world in true Legend of Zelda fashion by meeting people, making friends, helping others, overcoming obstacles and puzzles along the way while the main storyline progresses. Of course, the main goals remain the same: find and capture as many Pokemon as possible and win Pokemon battles so that your "pocket monsters" will evolve into more powerful beings.
In Emerald, the producers have thankfully played down the puzzle aspect. By doing so, players can spend more time exploring the vast land and its secrets rather than hitting frustrating brick wall after brick wall put in place with the sole purpose of impeding progress and sometimes slowing the game down to a crawl.
It is pretty clear early on that the actual Pokemon battles are the focus of Emerald. That is what younger players really want to do any way. The puzzles and travels are just detours until the next exciting tussle comes their way. They want to match wits, strategies with opponents and gain a sense of personal accomplishment when their Pokemon mature and gain new powers.
When it comes to battling, gamers have a whole host of options to choose from. There are the annoying, random fights with Wild Pokemon and other trainers as well as gym battles in the various cities. There are special Battle Tents and Pokemon Contests throughout the region too. That's small potatoes though. Trainers can enter tournaments and take up the challenges offered at the Battle Tower, the Battle Dome, the Battle Palace, Battle Arena, Battle Factory, Battle Pike and the Battle Pyramid.
While not a whole lot of imagination went into naming the locations, each offers its own set of challenges. For example, it is brawling American Idol style in the Battle Arena although you are not permitted to date any of the judges or have them instruct you on which moves to use in the competition. Trainers only have three rounds to impress the panel of judges. You cannot employ held items or switch out Pokemon. What that means is you can forget about strategy. The winner is the one who can cause the most amount of damage in the three rounds. Talk about your hard-core battling, eh? It is these stark distinctions between the assorted battle venues that really enhance the replay value of Emerald. It takes time to master them individually so essentially, it is like owning a slew of games in one.
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Pokemon's version of a tag team match...the double Pokemon battle.
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Pokemon Emerald is without a doubt the most expansive and challenging release for the Game Boy Advance to date. It is the answer to those who have bitterly and rightfully complained that not much creativity has gone into the gameplay as the series has progressed. While it is true that the designers should have revamped the GBA series a long time ago, Emerald is a good first step in the right direction. The series has turned an important corner and now it is up to the producers to keep the momentum going and improve upon their product for the next generation of Trainers.
