Contests
Unlike Sapphire and Ruby, Pokemon Contests in Emerald exist only in Lilycove City. For
those new to the series, Contests pit your Pokemon against others in a kind of popularity
contest. In order to understand Contests, you need to understand the Berries, Pokemon
Condition, how to make PokeBlocks and which Contests require which skills.
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Berries
Berries have existed in Pokemon since its inception, but never have they been used as they
are here. Certain Berries will always work to heal Pokemon and correct status problems,
but others will be used exclusively to make PokeBlocks...which we will explain in a little
while. For now, here's a list of Berries, and what they all do.
Berry Use Location
Aguav Berry Awakens sleeping Pokemon; can confuse Route 120
Aspear Berry Thaws Frozen Pokemon Route 120-121, 123, Lilycove City
Belue Berry Pokeblock ingredient Route 123
Bluk Berry Pokeblock ingredient Route 114-115
Cheri Berry Cures paralyzed Pokemon Route 103-104, 123, Lilycove City
Chesto Berry Awakens sleeping Pokemon Route 104, 116, 121, 123, Lilycove City
Cornn Berry Pokeblock ingredient Route 123, Sootopolis City
Durin Berry Pokeblock ingredient Route 123
Figy Berry Restores HP; can confuse Route 120, Sootopolis City
Grepa Berry Pokeblock ingredient Route 123, Sootopolis City
Hondew Berry Pokeblock ingredient Route 119, 123, Sootopolis City
Iapapa Berry Restores HP; can confuse Route 120, Sootopolis City
Kelpsy Berry Pokeblock ingredient Route 115, 123, Sootopolis City
Leppa Berry Restores PP by 10 Route 103-104, 119, 123, Lilycove City
Liechi Berry Boosts attacks when Pokemon HP is low Mirage Island (Route 130)
Lum Berry Cures any status change Route 123, Lilycove City
Mago Berry Restores HP; can confuse Route 120
Magost Berry Pokeblock ingredient Route 123, Sootopolis City
Nanab Berry Pokeblock ingredient Route 110, 114, 120-121
Nomel Berry Pokeblock ingredient Route 123, Sootopolis City
Oran Berry Restores 10 HP Route 102, 104, 111, 123, Lilycove City
Pamtre Berry Pokeblock ingredient Route 123
Pecha Berry Cures poisoned Pokemon Route 102, 104, 112, 120, 123, Lilycove City
Persim Berry Cures confused Pokemon Route 104, 114, 121, 123, Lilycove City
Pinap Berry Pokeblock ingredient Route 114, 116, 120
Pomeg Berry Pokeblock ingredient Route 119, 123, Sootopolis City
Qualot Berry Pokeblock ingredient Route 123, Sootopolis City
Rabuta Berry Pokeblock ingredient Route 123, Sootopolis City
Rawst Berry Cures burned Pokemon Route 104, 112, 121, 123, Lilycove City
Razz Berry Pokeblock ingredient Route 111, 114, 120
Sitrus Berry Restores 30 HP Route 118-119, 123, Lilycove City
Spelon Berry Pokeblock ingredient Route 123
Tamato Berry Pokeblock ingredient Route 123, Sootopolis City
Watmel Berry Pokeblock ingredient Route 123
Wepear Berry Pokeblock ingredient Route 114, 117, 120
Wiki Berry Restores HP Route 120
You'll want to get good at planting Berries in addition to picking them, as this will be a
crucial skill in promoting the attributes you want each of your Pokemon to have. In order
to plant Berries, you must first get the Wailmer Pail, which you can find in the Flower
Shop on Route 104. Any time you pick a group of Berries, make sure you return one to the
soft, loamy soil, then water it with the Pail. That way, you'll be sure to always have a
wide variety of different Berries to choose from when you need them. Random Berries are
also available from certain people scattered around the maps. Read the walkthrough section
of this guide to find out exactly where these generous folks hang out.
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Pokemon Condition
Once you get the PokeNav, at the Devon Corporation in Rustboro City, not only will you be
able to see a map, you'll be able to track the status of your Pokemon's Condition. The
Condition is represented as a pentagon, with categories at each point: Cool, Beauty, Cute,
Smart, Tough and Cool. The closer the central area is to a point, the more your Pokemon
reflects that quality. Therefore, if the area moves toward the Cute, your Pokemon will
have a "Cute" condition. The only way to affect the Condition of your Pokemon is to feed
it yummy PokeBlocks, and the only way to do this is to get the PokeBlock case from
Lilycove City. We will go over PokeBlock production in the next section.
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PokeBlocks
Pokemon love eating PokeBlocks, because they help each creature's Condition. To make a
PokeBlock, you'll first need to collect Berries from around the map. Make sure you collect
a decent assortment of Berries before sitting down to create PokeBlocks, as that will give
you the most flavor options. Then head to the Contest Hall in Lilycove City, and find the
Berry Blender (on the right side of the hall).
Here, you have two options. You can choose to blend Berries with the the groups, or make
some with linked players. If your friends are good at blending Berries, recruit them,
because they will be better than the in-game characters, and that will result in better
PokeBlocks. To blend Berries, choose which Berry to drop into the Blender first. If you're
looking to make a Spicy PokeBlock, pick the correct Berry to make that happen (before
tossing the Berry in, look through the Berries in your Bag to see their attributes).
Select the Berry to drop it in. Other players (computer or otherwise) will drop their
Berries in, and then it's blending time!
The idea when blending is to hit A whenever the rotating dial lines up with the pointer
associated with your name. The dial will move faster and faster as time goes on, so it
takes some practice to get good at this. However, the more times you are dead-on, the
better your PokeBlock will be. When you are done, you will get a PokeBlock. A high level
PokeBlock is always best, simply because it affects Condition the most. Specific Pokemon
like different tastes of PokeBlocks. Try to give your Pokemon the kind of Block that it
likes the best. PokeBlocks come in four tastes, and these tastes affect different
Condition attributes. Here's how it shakes down:
Bitter: Raises Smart Condition.
Dry: Raises Beauty Condition.
Sour: Raises Tough Condition.
Spicy: Raises Cool Condition.
Sweet: Raises Cute Condtion.
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Contest Types
There are five different kinds of contests at each Contest Hall, based on the five
different Condition attributes. When choosing which Pokemon to enter in which Contest, you
need to look at both Condition and Category of Pokemon Techniques. Each Technique (battle
move) has a Contest component, which can be viewed at the Summary screen of each Pokemon's
description. It's a foregone conclusion that you will want to bring a Cute Pokemon (the
one with the most Cute in its Condition) to a Cute Contest. However, you'll also want to
check out what moves your Pokemon has. If it has a Cute Condition, but no Cute moves, you
may want to select a different creature. You also do not want to perform certain kinds of
Techniques in specific contests. Here's how that works:
Beauty Contest: Do not use Cool or Cute Techniques.
Cool Contest: Do not use Beauty or Tough Techniques.
Cute Contest: Do not use Beauty or Smart Techniques.
Smart Contest: Do not use Cute or Tough Techniques.
Tough Contest: Do not use Cool or Smart Technques.
There are four different Contest levels. To compete in a higher level contest, you'll
first have to win a contest at a lower level for each specific category (Cute, Tough,
etc.). For instance, you cannot win a Tough Contest at Normal Rank, and then enter a Cute
Contest for Super Rank. The highest possible level you can achieve with any Pokemon is
Master Rank.
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Contest Judging: Stage One
So you've entered a Contest. Now prepare to be judged! There are two stages of judging,
and the second is split up into several rounds.
The first round is the audience's reaction to your Pokemon. Remember all of the PokeBlocks
you fed your guy? This is what that was for. The audience will only look at the Pokemon's
Condition for the specific Contest you entered. Therefore, if you entered the Tough comp
with a Pokemon with a beefed-up Tough Condition, you will get high marks in the first
round. Simple as that. Just make sure your Pokemon is as Conditionally filled-out as much
as possible, and you shouldn't have any problems with the first round.
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Contest Judging: Stage Two
The second round of judging pits you against three other Pokemon in a showcase of your
moves. As we've indicated before, you want to make sure that the moves that your entered
Pokemon sports match the Contest you're in. There are five rounds in the second stage of
judging, so you'll have to be on top of your game to survive.
During the Contest, other Pokemon will try to mess you up and "Jam" you by using
intimidating manuevers. The trick to the Contest is to pull off moves of your own that
gain the most Appeal, while affecting the other Pokemon adversely. As we've stated before,
each Technique that your Pokemon knows carries a Contest component. Study your Contest
moves to see which has the highest Appeal rating, coupled with the highest Jam rating. If
these two things match, and exist within the category of move you're trying to pull off,
you will do well in the specified Contest.
As the rounds go by, your Pokemon will earn Hearts. The more Hearts, the better your
Pokemon is doing. The object is to be the Pokemon with the most Hearts at the end of the
five rounds. To do this, balance your Appeal and Jam moves, and try to intimidate your
opponents as much as possible. If you are able to make the opposing Pokemon nervous, you
will adversely affect that creature's performance, and add to your chance of winning.
To further increase your chances, you can pull of combinations of moves over the rounds
that exponentially increase Hearts. Dive/Surf is such a combo. Think of Techniques that
compliment each other and use those for even more judge love. You can also inspire the
crowd to cheer, which will result in more Hearts. In addition, using moves that are of the
Type of the Contest will greatly improve your chances of winning.
Winning the contest will earn you a ribbon. Once you have it, you will be able to compete
in a higher level Contest of that type. Good luck earning Master Ranks for all five
Contest Types!