Pokémon Emerald walkthrough/Route 102

Route 102

This is the first route in the game where you will encounter trainer battles and berries. If you walk in front of a trainer (or if you talk to one), an exclamation mark will appear above his head and he will challenge you to a battle that you cannot refuse. The positive side of this is that you gain more experience by defeating trainers than random encounters and you are rewarded money. The downside is that, should you lose, you will be returned to the most recent Poké Center you were at and you will lose some money. If desired, you can avoid some of them by walking behind or beside them - they only challenge you if they are directly looking at you.

The trainers on this region are low level, and may carry one or two Pokémon around level 5. They will mostly be Pokémon you fought previously, with the exception of two, the Taillow and the Shroomish.

During your travels you may encounter oddly shaped trees that contain berries. There are many different types of berries in the game that do different things. For example, on Route 102 you will find Oran berries and Pecha berries. The Oran berry will heal a Pokémon 10 HP and the Pecha berry will cure poison. The best part is that if you allow your Pokémon to hold the berry, it will be used automatically and you won't waste a turn using an item of your own. Remember, once you pick the berries you will have to plant a berry to make it grown into another full tree to get more.

As you traverse Route 102, fighting trainers along the way will allow you to pick up some money and experience. Also, keep an eye out for a potion in the grass just before Petalburg City.

Pokémon	Levels	Encounter Rate
Poochyena	3-4	30%
Zigzagoon	3-4	15%
Wurmple	2-3	30%
Lotad	3-4	20%
Seedot	3	1%
Ralts	4	4%

Lotad
Lotad is a Grass/Water type, a rare combination, that protects against some of its weaknesses. It also comes with Astonish, a Ghost-type move that can hit anyone except for Normal-type Pokémon, so don't bother trying to hit Zigzagoon with it. It has mediocre stats all across the board, but its final evolution, Ludicolo, makes a great special tank, with high Sp. Defense and HP. Leech Seed is marvelous on Ludicolo, and the surprising Rain Dance set hurts a lot if you're unprepared. However, it has a lot of trouble taking on Pokémon that pack Substitute or status moves.
Recommended Movesets
Set 1 Rain Dance	Set 2 Staller
Leech Seed Ice Beam Rain Dance Surf	Leech Seed Hydro Pump Toxic Synthesis

Seedot
Seedot is a very rare Pokémon in Emerald, and one of the best Grass-types out there, except perhaps Sceptile and Breloom. It has excellent Special Attack and Attack, and its evolutions are Grass/dark, giving them immunity to the powerful Psychic type. It is a very versatile Pokémon, and it has several ways of boosting its offenses, enabling it to become a surprisingly huge threat. While it can't abuse the move Growth and its Chlorophyll ability as effectively without permanent sun, Swords Dance is an excellent boosting move for it. it isn't starved for coverage at all thanks to its great movepool. Due to its frailty and multitude of weaknesses, however, Shiftry isn't quite the kind of Pokemon one can thoughtlessly slap on a team and expect to sweep. It needs quite a bit of support, but do look out for Shiftry, as that crafty grin isn't all it has to its name.
Recommended Movesets
Set 1 Sweeper	Set 2 Swords Dance
Giga Drain Brick Break Aerial Ace Extrasensory	Swords Dance Shadow Ball Brick Break Fake Out

Ralts
This is a Pokémon to look out for. Its Sp. Attack and Sp. Defense are through the roof when it evolves into Gardevoir at level 30. It has an immense movepool, and this is the key to keeping it from being outclassed by other Psychics. However, it has severe Speed problems, so it will not often sweep teams unless it has a Salac Berry to back it up. Nonetheless, it can mess with common Psychic counters, such as Metagross and Snorlax, and is an excellent team supporter. Gardevoir's support movepool includes Will-O-Wisp, Wish, Taunt, and Encore, and allows her to disrupt the enemy's team while aiding her own side. Offensively, Gardevoir has base 125 Special Attack, along with Psychic, Shadow Ball, Focus Blast, and Thunderbolt to deal massive damage to incoming foes. She also comes with the rare Trace ability, allowing her to copy an opponent's ability and turn the tables on them. Gardevoir has a few problems to address, however. Due to Gardevoir being a balance of offense and defense, if you're looking for a Pokemon who specializes towards one specific role, Alakazam may be more suitable. As with Alakazam, Gardevoir has low Defense and HP stats, meaning that she is vulnerable to Pursuit-wielding physical attackers. Gardevoir's 80 base Speed is also rather average, allowing many other Pokemon to outspeed her. Nevertheless, Gardevoir's Trace ability, great movepool, and spectacular special stats all are advantages that make her unique.
Recommended Movesets
Set 1 Special Sweeper	Set 2 Trapper	Set 3 Weakness Counters
Calm Mind Psychic Thunderbolt Ice Punch	Calm Mind Hypnosis Mean Look Psychic	Fire Punch Ice Punch Thunderbolt Psychic

Trainer	Pokémon
Youngster Calvin 80	Poochyena♂ Lv.5 No item
Bug Catcher Rick 64	Wurmple♂ Lv.4 No item
	Wurmple♂ Lv.4 No item
Youngster Allen 48	Zigzagoon♂ Lv.4 No item
	Taillow♂ Lv.3 No item
Lass Tiana 48	Zigzagoon♀ Lv.4 No item
	Shroomish♂ Lv.4 No item