Pokemon Emerald Squared (GBA) - A Double-Battle–Focused Pokémon Emerald Enhancement with Gen 9 Mechanics
Game Information
Hack Name: Pokemon Emerald Squared
Original Game (ROM Base): Pokémon Emerald
Hack Status: v2.6.1, 16.042026
Language: English
Content: Double Battle focus, Enhancement, Improvement, New Mechanics
Note: This hack should not be confused with this other hack of the same name.
Table Of Contents
About This ROM Hack
Pokémon Emerald Squared is a Pokémon Emerald enhancement hack built entirely around Double Battles. From the moment you save Professor Birch, every single trainer battle and wild encounter becomes a doubles fight, fundamentally changing how Pokémon Emerald is played.
Built on the pokeemerald-expansion base and incorporating multiple community-developed feature branches, Emerald Squared aims to feel like a VGC-style reimagining of Hoenn, blending modern competitive mechanics with expanded content and quality-of-life systems.
Story Overview
The core Pokémon Emerald storyline remains intact, but it is enhanced with expanded areas, side stories, and additional encounters designed around double battles.
A dedicated side story is planned to eventually unlock a new area tied to high-BST and box-art legendary Pokémon, which will be introduced in a future major update.
Key Features
- All Battles Are Doubles: Every wild encounter and trainer battle after saving Birch is a double battle, fully redefining combat strategy.
- Tera & Mega Mechanics: Both Terastallization and Mega Evolution are implemented and unlocked at different stages of progression.
- Tera Type Changing: Players can modify a Pokémon’s Tera Type, allowing deeper team customization.
- Pokémon Rebalancing: Many Pokémon received buffs to stats, abilities, and moves, ranging from small defensive tweaks to complete redesigns.
- New Abilities: Brand-new abilities are added to support doubles synergy and balance weaker Pokémon.
- New Moves: New moves are introduced to expand tactical options in double battles.
- New Items: Additional held items are added, many designed specifically for doubles play.
- Buffed Weak Items: Previously underpowered items such as Adrenaline Orb, Absorb Bulb, and Cell Battery have been significantly improved.
- Boss Trainer Party Pools: Major bosses draw teams from a pool of possible Pokémon, making encounters unpredictable and increasing replayability.
- Randomized Starters: Fire, Water, and Grass starters are randomly selected from three different regions.
- Second Starter Gift: Professor Birch gifts the player a second starter shortly after receiving the first.
- Bike Swapping: Players can swap bikes instantly by pressing R.
- Progressive Pokevial: The Pokevial increases in capacity as Gym Leaders are defeated.
- Expanded TM List: Every TM from Pokémon Scarlet & Violet is included, along with two brand-new TMs.
- Gen 1–9 Pokémon Availability: All Pokémon up through Generation 9 are available, excluding box-art and 680 BST legends (planned for Patch 2.0).
- Infinite Repel: A permanent repel option removes wild encounters when active.
- EV / IV Editor: Players can directly edit EVs and IVs for team optimization.
- Minimal Grinding System: Optional toggles allow 0 EVs or perfect IVs via Birch’s Lab bookcase.
- Super Candies: Special candies instantly level Pokémon up to the current level cap.
- Expanded World: New and expanded areas are added throughout Hoenn.
- Updated Battle Backgrounds: Battles feature modernized and refreshed visuals.
- Side Story Content: A narrative side path leads to future legendary-focused areas.
- Modern QoL Enhancements: Numerous quality-of-life improvements reduce downtime and improve pacing.
Known Bugs & Issues
- Documentation is still a work in progress
- Balance adjustments are ongoing
- Box-art and 680 BST legendaries are not yet available (planned for Patch 2.0)
Screenshots
.png "Pokemon Emerald Squared ss00")
Download Links
16.04.2026: Mediafire
Documentation
--v2 update--
Agartha Unlocked:
- The new postgame area Agartha is now fully accessible
- Includes legendary Pokémon encounters
- Agarthan trainers are now rematchable
- Regigigas is intentionally unavailable and planned for a separate future area
Agartha Questline Start:
- If not already started, the Agartha questline begins by interacting with the central pillar inside the house south of Littleroot Town
New Quality-of-Life Features:
- Auto-Run Toggle: New lever added in Professor Birch’s Lab
Bag System Overhaul:
- Expanded from 5 to 8 item pockets
New categories:
- Transformation Held Items
- Battle Held Items
- Medicine
- This structural change is what causes the save incompatibility
- Rematches Added:
- Gym Leaders and Elite Four are now fully rematchable
- Rematches are mandatory for players who wish to access the Battle Frontier in a future update
New Item – Burglary Kit:
- Allows the holder to attack through Protect and Substitute
- Does not bypass screens (unlike Infiltrator or Unseen Fist)
- Announces itself in battle: “[POKÉMON] is looking to break in!”
RTC & Shading Restored:
- Real-Time Clock functionality and time-based shading have been re-enabled
Balance Changes
Move & Item Availability:
- Protect is now obtainable much earlier
- Can be purchased in Slateport City from the former “Power TM” vendor
- Same vendor also sells Ability Patches, Ability Capsules, and Soul Dew
Legendary Pokémon Reworks:
- Nearly all underperforming legendary Pokémon (including trios and quartets) have been buffed
- Changes include:
- New or adjusted abilities
- Improved move pools
- Stat rebalancing
- Designed to make them viable for postgame content and the upcoming Battle Frontier
Trainer Overhauls:
- Every Gym Leader has received adjustments ranging from minor tweaks to major reworks
Notable Pokémon & Ability Changes:
Druddigon is now the only Dragon-type with access to Follow Me and Fake OutNew abilities introduced, including:Twincast: Moves target both opponents (applied to select two-headed Pokémon)Sharp Scales: Spikes-style effect triggered on hit (Veluza)Corrosive Odor: Applies Corrosive Gas on entry (Garbodor)Ten Steps Ahead: Psychic-type moves gain +1 priority (Xatu)Bug Fixes:
- Encore no longer locks Pokémon into the same target
- AI behavior improved when using Encore
- Shops now correctly restock items after becoming Champion
- Additional general bug fixes inherited from pokeemerald-expansion
Developer Information
Developer / Team: MajoraGuy
Credits:
- The entire emerald expansion development team and community, with special thanks to those mentioned in the first paragraph.
- Waffles8me for the first of 10 custom sprites
- PSF, PCG, Buffel Saft, and Pawkkie for the various work in maintaining and allowing the usage of their repos and feature branches.
Source & References
Official Thread / Website: pokecommunity
Community Link: https://discord.gg/NaK4JMCEng
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What makes Emerald Squared different from other Emerald hacks?A: The game is entirely built around double battles, making positioning, synergy, and move selection far more important than traditional single-battle hacks.
Q: Is this hack suitable for Nuzlockes?
A: Yes, but it is very challenging. Boss trainers use randomized party pools, making hardcore Nuzlockes particularly difficult.
Q: Are Mega Evolution and Terastallization both usable?
A: Yes. Both mechanics are implemented and unlocked at different points in the game.
Q: Can I avoid grinding EVs and IVs?
A: Yes. Optional toggles allow players to use 0 EVs or perfect IVs, significantly reducing grinding.
Q: Is the difficulty adjustable?
A: There is no traditional difficulty selector, but optional systems (EV/IV toggles, Super Candies) allow players to tailor challenge level.
Q: Does this hack add a new region?
A: Not a full new region, but expanded and brand-new areas are added to Hoenn.
Q: Will the Battle Frontier be expanded?
A: Yes. A fully reworked Battle Frontier with VGC-style formats is planned for a future update.
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