Celebrating pokemon emeralds 20th anniversary

 Copyright: Pokemon and Pokemon Emerald are property of Nintendo gamefreak and the pokemon company 

Brevity and ethics: I have no affiliation with Nintendo or the Pokemon company 

This week marks the 20th anniversary of *Pokémon Emerald*, the crown jewel of Generation 3—and in my opinion, one of the best games in the franchise. With bug fixes, an expanded storyline, and a seamless blend of *Ruby* and *Sapphire*’s narratives, *Emerald* stands the test of time. After replaying it for this article, I can confidently say the game holds up perfectly.

I’ll never forget the Christmas morning I first got my hands on it. I had asked my grandma for a Game Boy Advance but completely forgot to request a game. To my surprise, she not only gifted me the console but also *Dragon Ball Z: Legacy of Goku II* and *Pokémon Emerald*. I dove into my new adventure the moment the holiday festivities wrapped up.

I was hooked for hours, exploring Hoenn’s vibrant cities, eerie caves, and sapphire-blue oceans. The crimson ash falling around the volcanoes was mesmerizing, and part of me secretly wished I could join Team Aqua—pirates are cool, after all. One of the most thrilling moments was scaling Sky Pillar to awaken Rayquaza and put an end to Groudon and Kyogre's rampage. The epic music and the dive for the Regis made the adventure even more unforgettable.

Catching Latias was another highlight. I remember feeling like Ash Ketchum, imagining her as the cutest new member of my team. After countless chases across Hoenn, finally capturing her felt like a huge victory.

Speaking of captures, taking down Rayquaza with an Ultra Ball and making him my team captain was legendary. My dream team—Rayquaza, Sceptile, Houndoom, Gardevoir, Armaldo, and Latias—carried me through every inch of Hoenn, and eventually, to victory against the Elite Four.

One memory that still cracks me up involves a wild rumor a classmate told me during summer school the next year. Apparently, if five people with Jirachi stood in a pentagram, Deoxys would appear. It was ridiculous, but that’s the charm of *Pokémon*—the rumors that made your imagination run wild. I could almost picture kids across the world standing in pentagrams, hoping to summon Deoxys. Sadly, I never got to see his Jirachi or battle a Deoxys.

I also fell for the infamous space exploration rumor to find Deoxys—it made sense! Deoxys was an alien, so naturally, *Pokémon*’s equivalent to NASA had to be involved. But even I didn’t believe Mirage Island was real. A location that only appeared once in a blue moon? It seemed too far-fetched, even for *Pokémon*.

These quirky moments are what make *Pokémon Emerald* so special, and why, 20 years later, it still holds a place in the hearts of fans everywhere.