Something I never see anyone talk about is how much Emerald improved Pokemon distribution compared to RS. I'm not talking about wild distribution, which for the most part is almost the same, but among NPCs.
Several games prior to DPP are notorious for having "invisible" members of their regional Pokedexes that will not be seen in a typical playthrough because they aren't used by any NPCs, and have such convoluted or difficult methods of obtaining them that the vast majority of players won't stumble across it by accident. In GSC, this was fully intended and kind of justified by the fact that some of the new evolutions are meant to be hidden - a Super Nerd in the basement of Slowpoke Well hints at how to get Slowking, for example, though this still needs another game to accomplish. RBY has a whopping 26/151 Pokemon not used by any trainer. Obviously in DPP, BW, and XY the Pokedex is completed by seeing every species in it, so NPCs tend to have teams with every Pokemon in it.
But Hoenn has SO many Pokemon not used by anyone, including those that are super-rare. Emerald, of course, did not expand the Pokedex like later games do, but it did tweak NPC Pokemon usage to fill in the gaps in the Pokedex that probably confused a lot of people (I imagine a few casual players were surprised to learn Chimecho existed at all).
Examples (there might be more, but these spring to mind):
- In RS no-one uses Pinsir or Absol; Emerald adds a double battle with a pair who do, as well as another trainer in Victory Road with an Absol
- In RS no-one uses Spoink, but in Emerald a trainer in Mossdeep Gym has one
- The Jigglypuff line isn't used by anyone in RS, but in Emerald a trainer in Norman's gym has a Wigglytuff
- Chimecho is utterly invisible in RS but Emerald adds a trainer in the Trick House who has one
- Wobbuffet isn't used by any trainer in RS but Emerald adds two trainers who use it: one in Trick House, one in Mossdeep Gym
There are still a few gaps - no-one uses Starmie, Weezing, Rhydon, Heracross, Huntail or Gorebyss as far as I can remember, but the other members of their lines are used so it's not a gaping loss.
But the addition of species like Chimecho to enemy rosters is much welcomed. It makes the game world actually feel more lived-in for me; Chimecho is ultra-rare in RSE, but it feels really stupid if the player is the only one to ever find it. To me it's a great bit of world-building to imagine that some earnest Psychic or Hex Maniac stumbled across one as well.
Even if it remains frustratingly rare, giving you the "seen" entry tips you off that it exists and it gives you motivation to go after it. And the trainer who uses it is herself off the beaten path, so it's still not a sure thing you'll see it - but the fact that it's there is cool. I guess my point is - exploration should always be rewarded.
Too bad ORAS stamped pretty much all of Emerald's better changes out. Which is why, much like Crystal, Emerald outflanks the remakes and is the best Hoenn experience overall.
