Want to be a part of our newsletter? You’re welcome to submit content including (but not limited to) questions, fanart, short stories, memories, photographs of your collection, or even Pokémon tattoos! We will happily publish them in our mailbag and share them in future issues of our newsletter. This week’s question comes once again from a reader called Altair.

Altair:

Did you (or someone you know) ever get to complete the Pokédex in a Generation 3 game, like Pokémon Emerald? I remember that there were quite a few hoops to jump through to get this done, since at the time of release, not all Pokémon were obtainable in the game, forcing players to wait for Fire Red and Leaf Green later, and even trade over from Pokémon Colosseum to complete the Emerald dex.

Official artwork of the Hoenn Pokédex

Thanks for your question once again, Altair! To my knowledge, I don’t remember any of my friends telling me that they completed the Hoenn or National Pokédex for Generation 3, although I’m sure some of them did. It’s not something I usually attempt either, but maybe that’s something that will change in the future!

On top of jumping through hoops, I do recall how much effort it would take in order to obtain every released Pokémon in Generation 3 games: Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, Emerald, FireRed and LeafGreen, Pokémon Colosseum and XD: Gale of Darkness, plus additional games such as Pokémon Channel to obtain a Jirachi, all necessary pieces of hardware and link cables, and any time-limited events necessary. If you didn’t have friends to trade with, it could end up costing a fortune!

Thankfully, it became a lot easier as the generations rolled by, allowing fans to obtain Pokémon with the Global Trade System (GTS), WiFi trading, and Pokémon Bank and HOME services.