Man.. I love Gen 3 as much as the next Pokemon rom hack enthusiast, but it genuinely feels like people are letting their enjoyment of popular enhancement hacks (where everything just gets buffed to extreme degrees for "viability") get in the way of actually meaningfully contributing to this project. Not every Pokemon needs to get +20-30 buffs to a stat, or have insane amounts of type changes like Drayano popularised in his Gen 4 hacks, or to have every move get an insanely strong secondary effect that people are so used to having in Gens 8 and 9. I suspect not a lot of SmithPlays' audience were around for the competitive scene when Gen 3 was current, but back then you didn't NEED to have all of this to be viable. Realistically the only thing you needed was coverage and that made you viable. A Gengar with Giga Drain at 60 power was still strong enough to take down Swampert. There's a reason why Skarmbliss became so strong (mixed attacking wallbreakers weren't common), and there's a reason why BOAH Tyranitar (Tbolt, Focus Punch, Crunch) was so feared. And it was because they had type coverage against the most commonly used powerful Pokemon. Every Pokemon that needs a buff for viability's sake in Emerald can do just fine with some extra type coverage from moves, with some notable exceptions mentioned in this video (like Delcatty). The game will never be as difficult as real competitive battling and your Pokemon do not need competitive builds with insane movesets to be useful in this rom hack.

Instead of giving Steven a tyranitar, give aggron sand stream

Give the regi trio the sprites they used for the secret base dolls. Its a crime their overworld sprite is just pallet swaps and their dolls are substantially better. Lol

Making Rayquaza OP is in fact good game design because imagine you are a 9 year old kid and you catch Rayquaza. You want that thing to feel like the most broken Pokémon.

Not to go too far down the beldum rabbit hole, but if you make it a rare encounter in granite cave, you could have an NPC in dewford tip the player off ie “I heard Steven likes coming to granite cave because he found his partner pokemon there/special connection with his metagross” idk just a minor thing but I love relevant NPC dialogue

Fun fact: The E4 does have slots for rematches in the code, but they reuse the same team for each of their rematch slots!

Aggron is such an iconic Hoen Pokemon that gets let down by its special bulk. I think a subtle way to buff him would be giving him either 10 more base hp, or taking 10 away from physical defense and buffing special defense by 20

Please do not lower Rayquaza's level. Level 70 Rayquaza is iconic. If you want a hard game, you do not use cover legendaries.

Manectric should get Flamethrower and overheat like it gets in later gens

Masquerain has the RAIN in its name. Bug/Flying is so overused through the gens. Bug/Water fits its name, fits its preevolution and is something new at this point. Makes it so much more interesting.

The event tickets should be prizes for master rank contests. It's like winning an all expense paid vacation on a game show since its a boat trip. It's at lilycove so you're next to the ship anyway. And there's 4 tickets so you can do 1 ticket for each contest, with the 5th contest doing something for Celebi or Jirachi since the other mythicals are taken care of with the tickets. Perhaps Jirachi since "make a wish" feels like a game show theme. And then to build on that, its ok if only some or none of the followijg is considered, feebas being a gift after winning 1 contest is a good start. Then good berries for low ranks, good pokeblock berries for the next. Access to tm's or move tutors for the 3rd rank and the event stuff for master, with more tms or move tutors or best pokeblock berries for repeat winnings.

I think Phoebe should have a Chimecho. Not ghost type, but in OR/AS she is seen at Mt. Pyre and her grandparents are the orb keepers. Also, nobody uses Chimecho in Gen 3. Maybe you could slightly buff it's stats.

Idea: how about giving Stevan a Shiny Metagross in reference to the anime?

Hey I'm one of those people whom their favourite Pokemon is in fact Masquerain and has been since the release of Emerald. When the question was popped about how someone like myself would feel about its type being changed; after spending literal decades with my little buggy boy being neglected I'd say I'm practically BEGGING for a little extra sauce just this one time, something to spice my boy up and really make him feel loved. And nobody can convince me running STAB Hydro Pump on this tiny bug wouldn't be insanely cool.

Surskit idea was the best thing I heard in the last 3 streams. Truelly fixes the entire issue. Nobody used surskit some people now will due to this so it doesn’t ruin any peoples memories its a pure buff no change 🤩

I think the people criticizing updating Sturdy are missing the point. Yes, it's a change and feels different, but it's in line with the changes as intended. We're swinging the Beldum in the opposite direction by suggesting we can't make ANY changes. It's the opposite problem of people suggesting making too many changes. Some changes SHOULD be made. And if we're seriously gonna discuss giving utility to moves that do nothing, I think it makes sense to at least address one or two abilities that also do nothing.

Missed out on a portion of this stream, but the idea of Surskit matching Masquerain's base stats is a great one. It not only gives a usable Bug/Water type, but makes both of them into solid Bug type options. Putting it later in the game seems fine, especially since it's so rare early on anyway.

I think Steven's main gimmick in his superboss fight should be sand. And while I understand you aren't going competitive, it would go hard considering sand is the most powerful mechanic in Gen 3's meta, since the main thing is dealing with it, abusing it and playing around it. Steven could use this to symbolize that he is the strongest trainer in Hoenn by having his whole team benefit from sand and I feel Skarmory having spikes would work well off spikes because if you switch you risk being hit by sand and spikes or Toxic if it decides that option. Claydol also knows Light Screen so it could lower Water's damage output and giving a mon Sunny Day would force the player to use other mons to beat him other than Water, it would also put Swampert on an even playing field because he couldn't be damaged by sand, but its water moves could take a hit in power in return. I just don't think Steven's team should change drastically outside of debatably Aggron for Tyranitar, because his team matches his hobby as a rock collector and explorer. I feel Beldum being in Granite Cave steps on the toes of Mawile and Aron, as it would just overshadow them entirely. Juan should still be tied to contests. And I know you don't want to change Battle Frontier move tutors, but I do think making the elemental punches more accessible would help movepool diversity, Blaziken knowing Thunder Punch would give it a chance against water as well as a move option for Sceptile. And for Pokemon like Grumpig it would insure that running the three punches would give it an actual moveset instead of ONLY have STAB Psychic for damage, and considering how lesser used it is and how overshadowed it is by Gardevoir, it could have a niche of knowing all three punches as opposed to one. I would give Gardevoir the Zam and Gar treatment of Crystal Legacy just let it know ONE elemental punch between Fire or Ice (it doesn't need Thunder Punch when Shock Wave and Thunderbolt exist). And it wouldn't be that bad because while it would get an extra moveslot in Shadow Ball so that its moveset isn't just Psychic and Thunderbolt, it would force the player to think between choosing a elemental punch or Shadow Ball for coverage or getting rid of Calm Mind. I do think its worth considering with Ghost being special it nerfs Banette and Dusclops because they would no longer have STAB for their type. And considering they make up over half the Ghost types in this region, its far more shaky to change compared to the previous two games and something worth thinking about. I feel making Masquerain a special counterpart to Ninjask would be interesting as well as giving it Hydro Pump since it would be the ONLY bug type with water moves.

Shedinja’s DEF and SP.DEF stats should be reduce to 1 and transfer the rest of those stats to SP.ATK. 👀👀👀

Tyranitar is too untamed and wild for Steven’s team. Steven is portrayed as being very formal and sophisticated so his Pokémon should reflect that. His team shows his fascination with valuable stones and the ancient past as well as his status as the son of Devon’s president. His steel types represent the futuristic technology of the Devon corporation (this is why aggron still works despite being similar to tyranitar). Steel types also demonstrate his wealth since metal is commonly associated with expensive objects. The fossils and claydol are all living rocks that tie into Steven’s fascination with the ancient past and the fossil reviver works for the Devon corporation which explains why Roxanne and Steven would both have them. Maybe magneton could be cool but it definitely wouldn’t help for swampert (unfortunately no magnet rise in gen 3). The Regis would work great for his character since they are essentially robots from the ancient past. The only issue is explaining how he has them in the story. A buffed relicanth with a grass move could be a cool addition to his team and potentially explain why he has access to the Regis. I think it would be sick to include a storyline where Steven and Wallace use their Relicanth and wailord to open the Regi chambers. Maybe you can meet Steven and wallace in pacifidlog town and you can follow them to the sealed chamber. This would also give some much needed attention to pacifidlog town. This could definitely be out of the scope of this hack though Another interesting Pokémon for Steven is solrock. It could have sunny day and solar beam for water and ground types. It can also have psychic for fighting types and it has levitate for ground immunity.

The idea of making Masquerain and Surskit Sidegrades is amazing. Surskits my favorite Pokemon, so the ability to use it would be amazing. It might feel weird to some, but no one uses Masquerain and I can't remember even seeing NPCs using it, so I don't see how it would effect people to much to take them out of the experience.

Shiftrys hands are literally leaf Blades Not giving it to it would be criminal

What if Steven offered us a battle in Granite Cave, give him a lvl 5 beldum and a more appropriately leveled Aron. Maybe even another mon. The dialogue could even be something like ‘I see you have a gym badge’ etc. making it fitting for him to use weaker mons. Upon defeating him: ‘the care you put into training your Pokémon is evident. Would you consider doing me a favor? I am rather busy at the moment and I can’t give another beldum the attention it needs. Would you raise it ?’ Then he gives you the beldum you just battled. Level 5 would still be fine and fit the scenario. Having him say “another beldum” also foreshadows his role/strength later. This being the only way you can get it would really add to the narrative you wanted to build around it being special and contributing through the game. You could get it before the 2nd gym and take it to the E4, while still maintaining the nostalgia of it being a gift from Steven. Maybe you can show it to him later at full happiness and he gives you something else? A cool item etc. Just some thoughts

1:47:00 Starmie could be added to Tate & Liza team, since it's psychic type and space-related (Lunatone moon, Solrock sun, Starmie star). Starmie would make their team more resistant to surf spamming. If it wasn't a Legacy thing, I would add a Zen Headbutt Minior, since it's flying type it would also resist earthquakes in that double battle :D

Sceptile wants to be a special attacker, but in vanilla Emerald, it learns only Grass and Dark for special moves by level up, and Dragon Claw via TM. while it was said that the Battle Frontier move tutors would not be moved to pre-E4, I would argue the elemental punches SHOULD be tutor moves pre E4. Sceptile could learn Thunderpunch, and that would be nice coverage making it usable against flying types and threatening Gyarados, Pelipper, and Tentacruel. the thing is, historically throughout the franchise, Game Freak gives Sceptile almost no special coverage, and an insane diversity of physical coverage. I wouldn't suggest making Sceptile physical. HOWEVER. making a mixed set viable by slightly buffing its attack wouldn't be unwarranted. take 5 points from Sp.Def, move to Attack. it doesn't need THAT much bulk. if you want to give Sceptile coverage it never had before, that's fine, too. it should be able to learn Shadow Ball. have it learn Extrasensory. sure that WAS Nuzleaf's signature move, but Game Freak later gave it out like candy, so screw exclusivity. with Thunderpunch, Shadow Ball, Extrasensory, and Dragon Claw it has some tools. random unrelated aside: give Masquerain the exact stats it has in modern games. also give it Bubblebeam and Giga Drain by level-up

Love to see what you guys will do with the lileep/cradily moveset! Leech seed would be awesome :))

I thought it might be nice to swap Phoebe and Brawly due to the amount of available Ghost vs Fighting types. Shuppet / Duskull / Sabeley could be a nifty second gym battle while Brawly could easily whip out something like Machamp / Heracross / Breloom / Medicham / Hariyama. If you wanna go really funky you can give Heracross Endure + Salac + Reversal which in conjunction with Swarm Megahorn will make you think twice about killing it with your Flying/Psychic type. To make Phoebe good/memorable you have to add more mons to the regional dex and even then only Gengar is an actually good Ghost type but that's lame. That's something I'd rather do for the rematches so she becomes increasingly threatening with the National Dex available.

To people who say if you saw Surskit you would assume it’s not good, I would like to introduce you to Luvdisc

Manectric, Banette, Mawhile, Sableye, and Absol should all get stat buffs closer to their Mega forms. Also... just remove Abra line from the main game. Alakazam had its time to shine in both CL and YL. This would help with the over saturated Granite Cave encounters and allow for more gen 3 mons to have their time in the sun.

Kirlia being within the level cap for Brawly would be nice, and it also shouldn’t be weaker than the starters. But in exchange Gardevoir should be level 36 instead of 30. Now assuming you’re playing with level caps Gardevoir isnt available until gym 7, but now it doesn’t just live in the box until it evolves either

So no joke, the people saying Focus Band being multiscale gave an idea of how to fix Sturdy. Make it a worse Multiscale, so it reduces damage by only 25% when at max HP. So maybe the stuff with it and x4 weakness can avoid being one-shot

The whole surskit masquerain thing is a moot point now. I think gamefreak realized they fucked up that’s why we got dewpider/araquanid in gen 7. Would definitely be fine with a stat buff tho

I hope you continue to do more of these streams! Even if I can’t listen to them live I enjoy watching it back

Steven should use the best stone evolution: Delcatty

I love the idea with you and the staff having secret bases to find and battle, with clues to the next.. dope!

Sableye and Mawile in granite cave feels very iconic to me

I've heard you mention you loved doing the contests as a kid, I know your far away from sorting contests, but my issue with them was I never gave them much thought in the past mainly because of effort keeping a track and collecting them. What you think about adding a page to the "Badge Case" showing what ribbons you have won all in one place a swell as on the Poke's stat menu? its a nice nod to May's Ribbon case in the animation aswell.

Mons I'd consider adding: Qwilfish: A mon rather underrepresented in Gen 2, only in one regional dex (Kalos) afterwards. Would make for some water diversity and poison diversity, could be seen on like Aqua Admins and Archie fights, etc. Available from fishing as soon as after Good Rod is obtained. Electabuzz: This is obvious. Electric types need diversity, and this line is the best fit. Not too powerful, could actually use Elekid in the early game for once (not including romhacks). Available first on 110. Jynx: With Electabuzz in, I'd also consider adding this line, as it brings an alternative psychic type for the late-game that is faster than Gardevoir and can deal with Drake. More ice types are always welcome. Would consider adding this early but likely would keep it until Shoal Cave. Magmar: We need more fire. This can be a staple in Flannery's gym, as well as on Magma trainers (Magby for grunts, Magmar for later fights). Anywhere pre-Flannery works. Houndoom: This mon just fits so perfectly in Hoenn im shocked its not in the dex. Could be an e4 mon, should be on Maxie's team, etc. Would probably not make it available until midgame/after Norman tho. Gligar: Another shafted Johto mon, the counterpart to Skarmory in most people's minds. If you buff the moveset, it can be usable. Found first in the Desert. Piloswine: More shafted Johto mons! Ice type! Shoal Cave. Murkrow: This is a mon you should be getting early. It's Dark type, can be useful into Tate and Liza, can Fly, and has useful utility. Misdreavus: Yet another lost Johto mon, and we need ghost types. Mt. Pyre works here, but would not be opposed to gettting it prior to Winona. Hitmons: Fighting types are dearth here, and these guys could rectify it. Would probably make Tyrogue a Safari encounter, but they could be nice late-game mons. Sneasel: If you do not buff it, make it available early. If you do, keep it in Shoal Cave. Adding all of these mons buffs the Hoenn dex to 221. comparable to the Enhanced Sinnoh Dex. This collection adds some much-needed type diversity to Hoenn, allowing for more unique trainers to fight, better evil teams and gym trainers, and overall gives more options to the player. None of the Johto mons feel out-of-place, and even the Kanto mons fit like puzzle pieces. I would probably not add any mons not contained in this list, as things like Forretress, Gengar, Ampharos, Arcanine, etc. feel either definitively Kanto or Johto and not like they belong in Hoenn.

Personally im still in favor of Sableye being in Granite Cave since its literally the darkness pokemon and lives in Dark Caves like Granite Cave. And feeds on gemstones, which more than likely are in Granite Cave given Steven’s presence there and the fact he collects and hunts rare gemstones and minerals. Although if he’s getting a buff, then im okay with him getting moved since he desperately needs one. I could also just be biased based on the fact that it’s anime debut was in Granite Cave 😅 Hella happy Beldum is finally obtainable in the main game though, i’ve been in favor of him being a rare Granite Cave encounter for years. So cheers to that 🙌🏽

Idea for Castform : Make Forewarn ability set weather according to stone it's holding Sun stone - Drought Water stone - Rain Hard Stone - Sand Storm Ice stone (Not in Gen 3 have to add) - Hail This way Castform don't have to waste turn setting up weather...

I have to say as a freshwater scientist Masquerain should not become bug water type! Aquatic insects like Surskit spend the first part of their life in water and then emerge into flying insects to breed! So this evolution line makes sense, but I will admit it would be cool though.

Consider letting grass types use growth in the overworld to grow berries

I think surf should be limited to Pokémon actually large enough to ride on

since i missed the stream maybe something interesting would be give sceptile Cross Chop as move (yes i know its more special and it already got new moveset options) but it fits with the arm blades and gives it a option to hit steel mons aswell fitting later movepools such as X-scissor solarblade wibe

I feel as if stylistically, Tyranitar would be a much better fit on Sydney. Hear me out, he is already the Dark trainer, he loves high offense (according to bulbapedia) and most importantly, since this is the “weather” game, Tyranitar’s sand stream would be a perfect combo for Sydney to switch into Cacturne with its Sand Veil ability.

If you encounter Rayquaza before the e4 then it should be lvl 45. If you encounter it after, it should be lvl 70.

A lot of people seem to want to buff Sceptiles PhyAtk just because it has a good physical move pool, but in Emerald it has a decent special move pool as well. Leaf Blade, Dragon Claw, Crunch from egg, and Thunderpunch from move tutor. Not the best, but still pretty good. If anything, I'd suggest maybe giving it Shadow Ball as a Crunch replacement seeing as Ghost/Dark will be swapped for Phy/Sp. It doesn't have a terrible Atk stat anyways, base 85 is pretty respectable when its supposed to be the SpAtk of the starers. The physical coverage options are still going hit for decent damage when they're used like they're supposed to be used.

In addition to making Surskit / Masqerain sidegrades, what is your opinion on doing something similar to Nincada / Ninjask? Its another unique bug type combo in gen 3 that evolves into a bug / flying type that feels like you never get to see its full potential in its base form. Or what if you can get exclusive ground stab moves on Nincada if you don't evolve it for a while? It would be at the cost of a higher BST from the evolution, and possibly also at the cost of the evolved form's stab flying or other great moves?

Masquerain is in my top 10 favourites and i wish it was Bug Water, but for this Rom Hack giving it Raining Day and Hydropump/Surf would work fine. I know you don't want to change abilities but there could be a case for ability 1 Intimidate ability 2 Swift Swim leaning into Bug Water type but maintaining the Bug Flying type.

I would love to see a end/post-game fight where you fight both champions at once in a double battle

If the secret base pseudo elite four idea was grass type focused, that would solve the lack of grass specialists and also neef swarmpert. Plus its thematically consistent.

I would love including wild double battles at low percentage throughout the game. Encountering plusle and minun, a double battle where serviper and zangoose hate you more.... I think people underestimate how much wild battles make up gameplay.

Event moves, like extreme speed linoone, to be egg moves. Yes, bellydrum extreme speed linoone is brokingly good, but it'll be post game, so who cares? You'd have to get a post game growlithe, raise it to the 50s, and then breed it, so it won't be unbalanced for an in-game experience. And that way, people get the event moves they like.

I would be very cautious with adding non-Hoenn pokemon to boss fights. Emerald in particular made a point to give gym leaders more Hoenn mons. Adding Tyranitar or Houndoom to Sydney might sound tempting, but a big part of his team is that he has an all new, all dark team, as opposed to Karen from the previous game filling out her team with non-dark Kanto mons. Even Steven only uses a single old pokemon in Skarmory, which was so underused in Johto most people think it came from RSE anyway.

Just realized, if Steven got a Tyranitar, half of his team would be weak to Steel types (T-Tar and the two fossils)... The type he specializes in....

Relicanth would be a great addition to Steven’s team. It’s basically another fossil and it is tied to the Regis. I could definitely see an addition to the story where Steven and Wallace use their relicanth and wailord in the sealed chamber. They would then catch the Regis so that they could have a fighting chance against kyogre and groudon. There can also be an event at pacifidlog town where Steven and Wallace tell you to meet them in the sealed chamber. This would provide a story reason for Steven using a Regi on his team and it would add content to pacifidlog town while simultaneously giving Wallace more time in the story

In case it helps, I've been goofing around with these teams in the first gym and having a lot of fun. Youngster 1: Aron, custom moves, Tackle only. Youngster 2: Anorith, Geodude, default moves Hiker: Lileep, Rhyhorn, default moves Roxanne: Corsola, Aron, Nosepass This might not fit with any buffs you intend to give Corsola, but I'm playing with default stats and it feels fine. Aron may be the wrong 3rd pokemon to give Roxanne, but it feels fine so far. Metal Claw may be a little juiced for this point in the game, so it probably has to stay level 12. Makuhita dunks on Roxanne, but that trade is easily moved.

I was thinking, how about making phoebe a mt pyre specialist instead? Like most of her pokemon are mt pyre based (with the exception of sableye and maybe a shedinja tho) Imagine a dusclops, banette, sableye, with the addition of ninetales, medicham, chimecho, shedinja, they kinda vibe with phoebe's vibe

One idea i have is the Winstrate son should be like a mini boss. I think you fight him on victory road, but he isnt even named as a winstrate. His family members talk him up, and then you dont even realize you fight him when you do. If not making him a mini boss, at least name him "winstrate" instead of "cooltrainer"

So, I thought I'd collate my thoughts on the Masquerain situation, because it really demands more detail than I could provide with the constraints of chat messages. Also, I do recognize that some of what I'm going to say is well-outside the intended scope of the patch. However, I want to present the full overview, and that is going to lead into what I think is an inevitable conclusion. Putting it simply, Masquerain is a problem-ridden Pokemon. I love it, as I love all of Gen 3's Bug-types, but it is not good. Despite having a monster ability (Intimidate), that doesn't save a Pokemon with its mix of poor Base Stats, terrible typing, and, worst of all, considerable rarity. Even buffing its Base Stats (which it sorely needs), assuming you keep its identity intact, will still leave you with a Pokemon that puts a lot of its stats into being tanky... with a type combo that is swimming in weaknesses. Worse, even the few types its good against are often packing coverage moves that will destroy it, updated stats or otherwise (Rock moves on Fighting and Ground types are the persistent bane of Bug/Flying). Its Gen 6 buffs were very welcome, don't get me wrong, but this presents it with another problem: Identity. More specifically, where it fits-in, because there's something else we haven't consulted: Beautifly. Both are Special Attackers, both have the same typing, and both can be caught very early game. Where Beautifly differs is its better offenses and (marginally) better Speed, which contrast Masquerain's superior bulk. Even in Gen 3, Masquerain is largely the better Pokemon, but Beautifly has some level of an argument; however, when Gen 6's buffs comes along, Masquerain takes the lion's share. It now equals Beautifly's Special Attack and outspeeds it while also being tougher, leaving Beautifly with only two advantages: its marginally better Physical Attack (which it no longer uses after the Physical/Special Split) and its access to Grass-type coverage moves. In short, because these two Pokemon can be acquired at the same time, have the same typing, and have a very similar identity as far as stats go, it is nearly impossible to preserve their identities without making one of them (most likely Masquerain, since it actually has a good ability) definitively better. Changing types is really the only elegant solution to this, as... despite the relative lack of advantage that a Flying subtype offers to Bugs (to the point that it's arguably a nerf over mono-Bug typing), this difference still gives Beautifly a distinct identity compared to Masquerain and therefore provides a much greater list of reasons to use it. Even though Masquerain would be heavily buffed by such a change, and its typing would be better on the whole, Beautifly would have some niche appeal due to having exclusivity on certain matchups... at least compared to Masquerain. Lastly, as for the game-feel aspect... Despite my username, Bug is my favorite type, and Hoenn has around half of my favorites (included my beloved Dustox; yes, by the way, I was the one who sent that $15 Streamlabs donation; idk why it yeeted my username), so I feel I'm somewhat qualified to speak on the matter. And, ever since I was a kid, I've felt like they really just... wasted an opportunity by turning Surskit, a Bug/Water type that was entirely new at the time, into another trite Bug/Flying type (currently the 2nd most common dual-type combination, after Normal/Flying, tied with Grass/Poison). Instead of being something unique that had the opportunity to really shake things up, it was just... another Bug/Flying type, another one lost in that crowd. All of this is purely anecdotal, but since hypothetical feelings were brought into the equation, I figured I'd bring actual ones. And, as far as I know, that's not an uncommon sentiment. I'm not blind to the fact that the last thing Hoenn needs is another Water type, nor is this comment... okay, small essay intended necessarily to achieve a Bug/Water Masquerain in this hack; I think you've made it abundantly clear that this simply isn't within the scope of this project. Rather, I felt I was obligated to lay all this out and present the case as best I could, so that any rebalance of Masquerain (and the other early Bugs) that does get implemented can be as well-rounded as possible.

For rayquaza, i think just giving it a late legacy version sky attack and access to calm mind via tm is all it wants. The other box art legends got boosted moves due to their abilities, but rayquaza doesn't, making his performance feel worse than the other 2. Wouldn't you rather have access to base 225 water spout and perfect accuracy thunder? Or just regular old dragon claw or outrage at base 80 and 90? Or non-stab hyper beam or a weak fly just to take advantage of dragon dance? And while it geys dragon dance, kyogre gets calm mind, and groudon gets bulk up, rayquaza does get bulk up via tm so its not like it stuck to the theme of each of them getting a unique buffing move. Rayquaza debuffs weather, which is rare in-game, and is just slightly better salamence otherwise. Which feels bad compared to the others, since its supposed to be the best of the 3. Giving the sky diety sky attack so it can use it with dragon dance, and allowing it to use calm mind via tm will let it boost dragon and its other special moves.

I think Tyranitar deserves to be on Stevens team 100%, but I think there needs to be a Aggron rework first. I think taking his 180 def and taking to 170, take SpA to 40, and buff SpD to 90 it keeps his BST the same while giving him much needed bulk that prevents him getting 1shot by Gardevoir w/ Thunderbolt. Unless we have a discussion about raising Aggron's BST, which I am all for lol. He is one of my favorite all time mons and wish he had more love in development

regarding on the berry farming, you can use the move Growth as the overworld interaction to make the berry instantly grow.

as much as you say physical sceptile doesnt make sense, while from a balance point no, most of us would have used him physical with leafblade just due to brick break and eq

I kinda love this idea of doubling down on more water types. Hoenn just is so clearly water dominant. it would make sense that it would be a water pokemon paradise and there would be excessive water types. Def agree with a Masq change to Bug/Water

I don't think changing Masquerain to water is a long shot, the name comes from masquerade and rain, so water feels right for it

Castform never got a sand form. Its asking a lot, but if that was remedied, that would be good. Does this make Castform better? No. But it makes it cooler, and sometimes that makes it better just by itseld. And it's an obvious hole that's just begging to be filled. My hopes for this change is low, but it doesn't hurt to toss around ideas. Also, having sunny routes would be cool since the only overworld rain other than the legend's cataclysm is rain. Having it be after a rain route makes it feel like the sun is coming out and the rain made it hot and humid. Or have it on the rainy routes itself, since it randomly rains or is normal. Raining or sunny on some water routes also have a nice atmosphere about it too, and help break up the routes by making it the weather sea routes and the normal weathered ones.

Relicanth actually makes A LOT of sense for Steven, his whole thing is collecting rocks and fossils, he has both the fossils on his team, and Relicanth is known as a living fossil, it’s ANCIENT.

1:10:00 This should also be done for Nincada. It also loses its unique Bug-Ground typing.

I'm all for buffing Sturdy, personally. My 'nostalgia' for gen 3 Sturdy is not knowing it even existed because it never did anything for me or the opponent. My more recent feelings from when I just replayed Sapphire were frustration and disappointment about having two Pokemon in my team with a practically useless ability. Modern Sturdy would be so good for the Pokemon that get it this gen too. Most have a typing and/or stats that make them very easy to one-shot. The Aron line especially would *love* new and improved Sturdy.

Nuzleaf should get grass whistle since it's pokedex entries say it has it. Even if it's just nuzleaf and not seedot and shiftry. Lol

I think everyone who wants a physical special split should try other emerald hacks that already have that. There are a few and they’re all great games (albeit mostly challenge hacks). I originally wanted it too but after playing through crystal legacy i think these projects are really something special.

If chat is really keen on making everyone S tier, changing types, adding fairy, physical special split, adding bosses in places where they make no sense, etc. I’d like to introduce them to a guy called Drayano. He’s been doing this a while and his stuff is very much that (not my thing). Honestly what a bunch of goobers.

I recently did a Dark only run in Ruby and I ended up running a special Absol set. I caught a modest absol and EV trained in SpAtk. I taught it calm mind, thunderbolt, ice beam, and flamethrower. It ended up being pretty decent! It definitely needs the physical stab. 75 spAtk is workable and it gets plenty of coverage options.

What never made sense to me, psyduck gets the same ability as rayquaza because they both disappate weather. Cloud Nine and Air Lock

Any chance that Dustox can learn early Toxic to synergize with its level-up Protect and Beautifly can get Sleep Powder to try to recreate the Butterfree magic?

The only change we need for the starters abilities is there should be an announcement for *when* they activate.

I don't know if you've already answered this elsewhere, but are you going to make a legacy version of Fire Red, or do you only intend to do it with the third versions of the games?

Since Claydol is defensive, how about letting setup Sandstorm. And if you want to give Steven a legendary, give him Registeel with Curse, Sandstorm, Earthquake & Explosion, holding the Leftovers. In the rematches, Glacia can use a Regice while Roxanne sports Regirock. Also buff Sandstorm it's modern effects. Also do to hail should have Snow's added effect

The problem with removing Sableye from Dewford Cave is that Brawly is kind of a tough boss, but Sableye completely walls his team. Kinda feels it's meant to be the nearby counter, similar to Diglet/Dugtrio being available right next to Serge's gym.

Double battle with magma and aqua leaders, Double battle May and Wally in victory road and Double battle Steven and Wallace as champions. If you make more pokemons viable as in the other legacy titles, this could mean having two teams, one for singles and one for doubles, and i think that would be fun. Also changing parts of the story to make this changes logical and natural

Give Phoebe a Kecleon since since it can turn invisible like a ghost vanishing, also give her a Shedinja as well as maybe Ninetales for its dex entries

For tropius a little bit earlier availability would be very nice, but more importantly move leech seed from egg move to level up so it can be effective as a bulky stall flyer, especially with giga drain it would be great in doubles and make it feel like it can do something Since they want it to be like a gentle giant tanky build give it stunspore, stunspore fly giga drain and leech seed would feel so good on it even with its current stats as is

Please be sure to stick to the element of a Gen 3 developer mindset in all regards to stick to the Legacy theme. Type changes shouldn't be discussed or entertained as those rom hacks already exist. Keep legendary pokemon levels as they were. Stick to the pokedex/entry details for those pokemon you wish to improve to best incorporate movesets and maybe stats where needed. I also think gen 3 was going for avoid one hit Knock outs with Sturdy, so that'll be a viable change to fit not getting one tapped by a Super effective hit or OHKO move that hardly exist in the game. Other skillsets should receive an update that stays in line with that thought process as well. You can also consider those team changes for many post game battle events or even contests as well. Keep up the great work, you've guys got this!

Archie and Maxie should definitely use rain and sun form castform

Make Juan and Wallace a double battle.

If you buffed surskit it would be on my team 100%. I love that thing and hate evolving it

I get where everyone asking about phy/spe split are coming from. I didn't agree with the Dark Ghost phy/spe swap in Crystal and I don't agree with it now. If you are changing that, might as well implement the split. The goal should have been to try to balance the game within the limits of that original design decision of the devs.

Remember Steven's last name is Stone. So having mineral based pokemon is best for him

Great content as always and I respect the fact that everyone had their own experiences and “feel” for this. That being said, personally, I don’t understand the Sturdy debate at all. Every time I got back and play Gen 3 I have to retrain my brain into remembering how it works. It is a worthless ability that adds nothing to the game, and changing it gives Mons a viable tool that works how my brain thinks it is supposed to work anyway. If you change it, I personally will go on thinking that’s how Sturdy has always worked because it’s how it always should have worked. Also let’s add Jimothy Gen 3 staple team in postgame.

Out of curiosity (unsure if I missed this anywhere) but are you making surf hit your ally in double battles? In Gen 3 it only hits enemies, but in Gen 4 onward it hits allies too. I think that would be a reasonable nerf for surf if you intend to put more double battles in the game.

Steven Team: Tyranitar (Leftovers) - Dragon Dance - Earthquake - Rock Slide - Hidden Power Bug Metagross (Lum Berry/Leftovers) - Meteor Mash - Earthquake - Agillity - Rock Slide Aerodactyl (Choice Band) - Rock Slide - Earthquake - HP Flying/ Sky Attack (if buffed) - Rock Slide - Double-Edge Skarmory (Leftovers) - Spikes - Roar - Protect - Toxic Latios/Latias (Soul Dew) - Calm Mind - Dragon Claw - Ice Beam - Thunderbolt Jirachi (Leftovers) - Calm Mind - Psychic - Fire Punch - HP Grass (To kill Swampert)

I haven't watched the full length of the VOD yet but maybe make Surf and Muddy Water also hit adjacent allies like Earthquake does? So there would at least be some kind of drawback of using these strong moves in a Double Battle. Surf was changed to exactly that in Gen 4 btw.

Since Treecko line has Pursuit, I recommend Sceptile use Feint Attack?

Surskit/masquerain getting the scyther treatment is cool, but I think you dont have to make them strictly equal. Surskits water/bug type is strong against roxanne, and resists brawly. Its a cool early game mon in theory. Just needs stats. it belongs on route 202. I'm suggesting to just make surskit a bit better, perhaps give it early raindance as a niche, but then still give masquerain slightly better stat. Surskit cant compete with the other water types in the region is my main issue.

What do y’all feel about Banette being part Normal? It has lots of Normal type moves AND it’s supposed to be a possessed toy.

I don't think the type change for Masquerain is a big deal. I've never used it and while I assume it's a flyer, it could be water type. Bug/flying is over done while bug/water is special. It's an auto buff because of all of flying type's weaknesses compounding the bug type's. Stats alone wouldn't remove 4x rock, 2x ice, 2x fire, but water type will. Weak to Flying and Electric at 450 base stat would be very niche but very usable. IDK if it should be able to learn Surf or Fly tho - it isn't big enough to hold weight.

Man, we get it, but the attitude sometimes is just not it.

Juan should have suicune They kinda look like each other think suicune flowing mane and Juan's scarf is also white and flowing He is also the "legend" that had to be beaten to become champ

Dragon sceptile is very within reason. It’s mega evolution is a grass/Dragon and in Renegade Platinum dragon sceptile worked well. Also monotype starters are boring and sceptile is the only one. Sorry for asking for type changes just got to you saying that at the end of writing this