Is it Possible to Beat Pokemon Emerald with Just a Smeargle?

People have used a team of Smeargle, but what about just one?
Edited by: Me
Custom Smeargle art by: ‪@Pentax25‬

[@philclip23]

When I was younger, I used a Smeargle in my party just because I could teach it Fly. Flying around the game on a Smeargle just made me feel like an absolute madlad.

Now I imagine it painting itself a pair of wings, Drawn-to-Life style.

[@corenlavolpe6143]

I imagine it flies the same way Tails does

[@ekim613]

ima be that guy and say i dont think it could learn the HM so im curious to know how you got it to know fly? from a linked battle or an in game one?

[@emma48586]

@@ekim613 probably just teach fly to another mon and engage in a double battle, then sketch your partner

[@solidzack]

Or fight a Ditto with a Pokémon that knows fly, then switch to Smeargle

[@TheZackofSpades]

Repeatedly fighting Norm with nothing but a Smeargle has the energy of a rebellious son telling his pops “I won’t just be a trainer like you, I am an ARTIST”

[@dissraps]

"Now ill fight you later i have to clock in at starbucks"

[@edoyuki1030]

​@@dissrapsFailure management

[@crazychristopher1989]

You can Sketch the move Surf before even getting the HM after beating Norman. A youngster south of Slateport City owns a Zigzagoon that knows Surf.

[@iododendron3416]

And you can also get thunderbolt froma zigzagoon in the third gym!

[@ziocarlone]

@crazychristopher1989 yes, exactly. I tried this challenge with a friend during the covid-19 lockdown and we used that trainer to get Surf and we used it for a long time.

[@DemonRaticate]

Don’t forget about the random Kecleon in Flannery’s gym with Flamethrower of all things… so Surf, Flamethrower and TBolt before Flannery!

[@BRYCONIC]

Lol I love how all these unique pokemon trainers live rent free in my head. Wow what a great memory!

[@vinegarhusbands]

any trainers or wild pokemon that know leech seed?

[@lumensmith9787]

The reason the AI looks like it always gets double protect against Winona is because of a quirk with the way the AI selects moves. Essentially it will roll the move before selecting it, so if protect fails it just won't use it, this is the same reason why the AI sometimes doesn't use moves that should OHKO because they hit a very unlikely range. There's still a 50% chance protect will fail, but Winona just won't use select the move if the roll fails.

[@catholic_zoomer_br]

Frickin AI using save states smh

[@lumensmith9787]

@@catholic_zoomer_br basically yeah lmao

[@fortnitesexman]

kinda wish the psychic trainers had special ai where they used prediction like this, like having a move that sucks against your pokemon, but using it anyways because it's super effective against the pokemon they know you're switching into they actually pull this shit in gen 1 as far as i remember and in general i wish different groups of trainers had different behavior or movesets to fit their personalities and such

[@andreaaurigemma2782]

Source? I am aware of AI predetermining a roll but not of AI "predicting" a miss?

[@TwigsGames]

Not true? I've had the ai try protect multiple times in a row and fail

[@arthurjeannin3357]

High Jump Kick actually deals you half of the damage it would have dealt the enemy when you miss in gen 3, not an eighth!

[@boianko]

Came here to say this, according to Bulbapedia 1/8 of the damage is a gen 2 thing.

[@jamtone4492]

Gen 5 and onward it does 50% of your max hp. Thats what jrose was refering to i believe.

[@reinerzufall1292]

Yeah I doubt a Lv31 Slaking has like almost 640 HP lol

[@yokoelf1293]

The fact that Sketching Ice Beam from Glacia is so convenient and powerful against the next member Drake is the reason I like these videos. There's always a new surprise or some creative strategy that can be made up that shine a new light on these games that have already been beaten countless times.

[@lilwoodiewood3457]

Not that creative to add a ice move or much strategy if u actually cared about strats competitive battling is where ud be at this game is ment for a 5 year old to beat .. it's not hard to beat the cpu

[@haveagoodday7021]

@@lilwoodiewood3457ok bro

[@valx5]

@@lilwoodiewood3457Aiight bro

[@slippythefrog]

I know this consistency is unfeasible, but this has been the coolest thing you've ever done. Jrose month has been so awesome for my boredom.

[@wickederebus]

A month of edited videos is hard, but a month of VOD uploads would be doable

[@MrCrousenn]

Cheers up my days too, love the constant stream of content. Absolute machine of a man

[@Richard_Nickerson]

@@wickederebus VOD?

[@Richard_Nickerson]

Yeah, I already lament the end of this month. The daily uploads have been awesome.

[@TortoiseMaximus]

@@Richard_Nickerson recording of a stream that is unchanged to as it was when live

[@charallave1000]

The pokeball thing was such a big brain move lol. Glad that the month of Jrose is going strong!

[@Evenmixer]

Hey Jrose, I'm not used to donate to content creators but you definitely deserves it 🙌 I really enjoy watching your pokemon runs and as an old content creator (I stopped years ago) I know how difficult it is, especially the type of runs you're making Thank you a lot, for the ideas you have for the runs to entertain us, for the good format of your videos (long but enjoyable) and finally for your commenting that makes the video fun and interesting I'm not the only one but I also will be sad once your month of Jrose will end and when you'll finish the pokemon 1st gen runs Keep up your awesome work !

[@phoebe5114]

Couldn't have said it better myself. Jrose is a killer creator.

[@cylumsaberstyle2602]

King behaviour

[@pablo_hermandez_]

Who’s a good pay piggy :)

[@strawbtangerine6087]

@@pablo_hermandez_ Jesus Christ lol

[@michaelabrown7226]

Damn why does he only reply to comments to defend himself but doesnt reply to amazing friendly comments

[@caliburnleaf9323]

Amusing how Smeargle was basically a glorified Wingull in the early game, but without its STAB bonus. Sketch really made for interesting decisions as the game progressed.

[@billdewall6152]

You had me at "I think I just sketched astonish." Never change, Jrose. Your dad jokes sustain me.

[@khaotix64]

You are one of the hardest working content creators who goes above and beyond for us. Thank you Jrose ❤️❤️

[@carltonhenry7671]

Did u use one hand or two ??? Lol

[@qweschuning]

Yes.

[@moshadj]

Thank Jrose for Jrose

[@Hitmanfreak123]

@@carltonhenry7671 yes

[@kcidd12]

his narration is 💯👌

[@gravethestampede3454]

You can always tell your in for a trip whenever these videos breach the hour mark

[@1up20x6]

Smeargle's sketches in this run: 1: Water Gun 11: Wing Attack 21: Hi Jump Kick 31: Magnitude 41: Sleep Powder (Replaces Water Gun) 51: Crunch (Replaces Wing Attack) 61: Ancient Power (Replaces Magnitude) 71: Surf (Replaces Ancient Power) 81: Thunderbolt (Replaces Surf) 91: Ice Beam (Replaces Crunch) After replanning: Calm Mind and Ice Beam (Replaces Hi Jump Kick and Crunch)

[@Willingmess]

Awesome! It’ll be really fun to see the strategic decisionmaking that’ll have to go into crafting a moveset for smeargle! It’s really fun to explore the movesets out there in the game and see what’s possible.

[@SillyInsaneGamer]

Honestly, it's awful lol I've done a Smeargle solo in up to 3 generations and while it seems amazing that you can get so creative with various moves for every gym and encounter, the stats are just SO awful to deal with LOL! I mean, it's fun but just SO annoying hah

[@trev_jackson]

I think a Double-Battle/Solo Run of two Smeargles would be worth watching

[@lemurw431]

Impeccable timing literally just came on to see if it was there and here it is! Another impossible challenge for us to sink our teeth into! Month of Jrose has been incredible so far!

[@HaydnG266]

Interestingly, in Pokémon Colosseum, Smeargle learns Sketch, Tail Whip, Double Slap and Iron Tail

[@prpiyer8325]

you were already my favorite pokemon youtuber but the community reference made me smile as big as the moon, loving the month of JRose and your content in general, keep it up!

[@Ridorana12]

I use to adore Smeargle for the sheer fact that I couldnt consider so many possible combinations of move sets. Although, I'd have to have multiple smeargle, but it was cool.

[@dragonseatcheese8727]

"And today I'm going to slam my head into THIS brick wall for your entertainment!"

[@765craven4]

I've been doing a 6 Smeargle run of Pokemon Black and I'm just gonna say your dedication here is amazing. I actually allowed myself to use non Smeargles as long as it isn't a trainer battle just to get Level-Up moves onto non Smeargles and Sketch them that way using Double Battle grass. Allows much more versatility and comes at the cost of the time investment of having to grind up other Pokemon.

[@chairkun3095]

Regarding Pelipper never failing 2 Protects in a row, I think gen 3 has an AI quirk where the opponent sometimes calculates whether a move will succeed before it decides to use it. So on the turn after the first Protect it'll determine whether the next one will work, and if so it'll use it, otherwise it'll go for one of its other moves. Bit of survivorship bias there.

[@kode-man23]

Every time, every time somebody says Magnitude in a Pokemon game, I always say "Pop, Pop" in my head. And every time I just assume that nobody else would get it. Thank you Jrose for finally saying the thing.

[@chaosvolt]

In this episode, JRose demonstrates why it'd be way less annoying if Sketch could just let you *pick a move* like Gen 1 Mimic.

[@chaossnowkitsune6377]

Funny I was actually been thinking something similar while rewatching this.

[@dse763]

Would have been useful if Smeargle has Splash.

[@HECKproductions]

that would make sketch way too overpowered tho

[@chaosvolt]

@@HECKproductions Fair I guess, but that's kinda the problem with Sketch in a nutshell. Not giving you any real way to filter for what move your target uses makes it very sketchy (heh) which is bad since that's the core of what makes an otherwise underwhelming pokemon even remotely useful, while having free rein to pick the move you want would be potent as hell. There's no real middle ground with that sorta thing.

[@AzureKite]

Smeargle runs are really fun, because you can use any move, so it's a lot about figuring out what are the best moves you can use. This video (just like all of your videos) was a joy to watch.

[@allbrave8781]

Smeargle is my favourite pokemon in the Sun and Moon games, because it is so easy to teach it any move fairly early, and it can have some really silly move sets. You can teach it Boomburst which is STAB 140 base power 100% accuracy 10 PP and no negative side effects (unless its a double battle). It also allows for infinite SOS chaining because you can teach it recycle and give it a leppa berry for infinite PP restoration, and a healing move for infinite health regen.

[@averyv7986]

7:30 If I recall correctly, most user submitted text-based gameplay guides (remember those, with the ASCII art?) were comprehensive enough to list every single trainer encounter, their Pokemon stats and movesets

[@NoLimitSquad]

As a content creator myself, I know you put a ton of thought and planning into Month of Jrose well before Nov/Dec. Great job bro

[@dylahn7]

shameless plug

[@ArtUndertheArch]

@@dylahn7 perhaps but there’s a reason full-time content creators pay people to edit their content - one high quality video takes dozens of hours, let alone a month of them

[@roamingnyiad]

So this is ONE Impossible Challenge that DOES actually sweep the post-game battle with Steven in Emerald. It may have been quick, but still AWESOME that Smeargle can do Steven's battle AND the rest of the game. All in all, awesome run! Very happy to see this! =)

[@rafaelbelemlavrador4645]

Having to wait to sketch a move during an elite 4 battle, thus risking bad luck, was pretty unique...

[@Luminous13]

Your videos have been my go to for curing insomnia for years now. I sometimes watch older videos since I don't exactly watch them most of the time. Now that I get a new and exciting video to watch while sleeping every day I am super happy. You are the real deal man, much love

[@CIoudStriker]

I have the theory that the AI only ever double protects when it sees that it will work, which is why you don't see it failing that often.

[@dynamitedemon9972]

Haven't even started the video yet and know this is gonna be a banger

[@LunarWingCloud]

You can tell because it's over an hour, the beefers are always his best

[@fairlyimaginary8895]

Thank you for the Community reference! Glad I’m not the only one who obsessively says “pop pop” every time I hear that move. It made the Numel video excruciating for me lol

[@kevintreese4544]

This is interesting! This seems like it’ll be really unique compared to other runs.

[@cyphate]

I think this is a really good example of how if you can learn a bunch of high power coverage moves you really can win with anything

[@Slickcactus]

That Wingull tactic at the start was a very smart play 👏

[@dennisdunker8764]

Ok so pretty much most of your runs id never have the patience time or foresight (planning ahead) to do... but this is such a cool run. Kinda mapping out which moves you wanna sketch and what not. Super unique. Very enjoyable to watch!

[@TheJum]

To date, your emerald ditto solo run is not just my favorite video of yours, but one of my favorite videos on KZbin. Smeargal is also amazing so far. I hope you do more Emerald runs.

[@rordongamsay8478]

56:47 I'm guessing you remembered Sketch with the Move Reminder, because you couldn't have overwritten High Jump Kick otherwise. Extremely interesting video tho, I was hooked from start to finish. By the way, you sketched Astonish? I sketch Encore. Since you are on the month of Jrose, you are under the effects of Encore. I look forward to the next video.

[@uvega414]

Been waiting for todays episode to drop all day , loving month of jrose 🎉🎉🎉

[@geodudism]

This is the most fun video you uploaded in a while! Though most are interesting regardless, keep it up, much love

[@blastification2]

Couldn't you have gotten past May 2 more easily by Sketching Surf off of that one Zigzagoon on the beach south of Slateport? That seems like a move that would be worth keeping long term, too.

[@johnapple6646]

Which trainer has surf this early in the game?

[@blastification2]

@@johnapple6646 Tuber Ricky. Like I said, he's on the beach south from Slateport.

[@leeeitrem1743]

Every day you make my days better. Im currently pending separation from the US military and life looks a little bleak. Thanks for making these days so much more enjoyable. I love your content.

[@plebisMaximus]

Always great to see Emerald on this channel.

[@KingOfAquariums]

Dude I love the longer videos. I enjoy all of your content for sure! Please don't "sell out" to just 10 minute videos like similar channels do. Or atleast have some longer ones like this. I've been a fan for a long time and Will always watch your content!

[@commandershepard4235]

I've watched a lot of your runs, I don't know why but this one has been the absolute Most Fascinating so far

[@whatsthedealwithairlinefood24]

Dude, how do you get these many videos out so quickly?! Feels like an endless stream on content Definitely entertaining, I’m just amazed by the sheer amount of content being put out

[@pattyofurniture694]

Same!!! I wonder how many months he was preparing for this.

[@ChillDragonGaming]

@@pattyofurniture694 probably one of the many reasons for his hiatus a while back. That was a fairly long period and some of these challenges probably took a while to finish. So it makes sense to me at least.

[@QbiKz]

There was a video last week (I can't remember which one) where he said the footage was from like 2 years ago so I think he's been saving up for a while

[@OrigamiAhsoka]

Smeargle’s such a unique Pokémon and this was such a unique run because of it. I’d love to see you try to do this in other games, too!

[@KyleLeeman]

After years of sporadic and inconsistent jrose uploads, this month has been a true joy

[@musupasu]

Thank you for these videos Jrose, they are best to watch while trying to get baby to sleep

[@3mac555]

Such a banger of a month! Great content every single day

[@bigkevinm84]

Really enjoyed the video, don't mind the long run time at all! Smeargle is not one of my favorites but I have used it competitively like most others watching. I think the calm mind, bolt/beam strategy was really smart. Crunch and High Jump Kick were good for a while but what you won with is basically perfect coverage. I was really expecting you to sketch spore instead of sleep powder, but Shroomish doesn't learn it until level 54. Glad sleep powder at least hit sometimes when it needed to. Been enjoying every video, the month of JRose has been fun.

[@spencersmith3573]

I think there's a Zigzagoon on the beach on Slateport City that knows Surf. That might have been a good move to Sketch for Flannery

[@beunjoris]

Early game: Ah yeah water gun and wing attack Late game: Set that could be considered competitive

[@AKingofBacon]

This really brings me back to your Sun/Moon guides that pretty much started your rise on KZbin! Nice to see you using a Smeargle again

[@FlyinTonite]

Boy that Smeargle sure got sketchy at times. I’ll see myself out.

[@yurr7408]

Lmfao your commentary is just top-notch. "I think I just sketched astonish because I didn't expect that!" was so funny

[@SomeGuy712x]

Nice job with this Smeargle run, and thanks for at least showing the Steven Stone battle this time. Yeah, maybe not as epic as the Elite 4 and Champion, but I still like seeing that battle at least attempted to close out an Emerald challenge run.

[@briannovak3623]

God may the month of jrose never end! These videos have been 💯💯💯

[@HenryMidfields]

9:00 I initially thought you were being sarcastic with Combusken considering your water gun. Never expected this to be in sincere mode oof.

[@Ghee_Buttersnaps]

Gen 3 is Best Gen 💜💙💚💛🧡❤️

[@thatenglishgentleman]

Agreed! Zangoose is best boy

[@2GlitchinAwesome]

Not only did you beat the game, you had full health after the last battle, much respect to this run!!!

[@LetustheDragon]

I know it's somewhat unrelated, but I loved making Smeargle learn Legendary Signature Moves. I think Solgaleo's Sunsteel Strike was my favourite just because....I mean it's Smeargle.

[@chaossnowkitsune6377]

Ah Pokerus... the bane of my existence. I have been playing pokemon since Gold version.(as while I technically had Blue version of was my brothers and he never let me play it) and to this day not counting the red Gyrados I have only ever run into two shiny pokemon. Both of which were graveller that immediately used selfdestruct. Pokerus meanwhile and I am not kidding I have gotten on about twenty different playthroughs of various versions when I am just trying to play regularly.

[@kaitlynbanks340]

Thanks for all the hard work you're putting into this channel! Love watching your videos with my husband. He's a huge fan!

[@RoyArkon]

Another run with tons of creativity and figuring out what to do at any moment! Fantastic work once again dude!

[@TheCalmPsycho]

"I just sketched astonish..." That was so cringe I can't help but love it.

[@TheSaviorOfNone]

Pikasprey Blue has done a 6 Smeargle challenge. Those were my favorite videos.

[@JonseyThe]

JRose is such a goat, loving this month of videos

[@xj-may]

I’ve been a fan since the beginning and this has to be one of the coolest runs you’ve ever done. This sounds like it was a super fun run to do, going through all the Pokémon you have access and trying to figure out what the best move to Sketch is

[@brandondawson4086]

Jrose I can't even begin to tell you how much more of love and appreciation I have for you for the community reference🤣! Thank you for the month of Jrose dude!

[@MarkTheDead]

Thank you for your videos. They're genuinely some of the best gaming content on the site, very genuine and passionate.

[@erinzoretich]

"I think I just Sketched Astonish!!" Omfg 🙄🤣

[@DrPotatoSkins]

Something about this challenge seems a bit... sketchy... In all seriousness, this is gonna be a fun, if tedious and kinda difficult, run from the look of it. I forget if Smeargle can relearn Sketch from the Move Reminder. If it can Jrose is in business, but if it remembers the move Sketch copied instead of Sketch... ooh boy. As for what solo run to do next in Kanto, I have an interesting question: Which Gen 1 Fire-type is worth using your Fire Stone on? You've done Eevee and Flareon, now how about Growlithe/Arcanine and Vulpix/Ninetales? As a massive Arcanine fan, I would like to know which is best. (Day 17 of asking)

[@smoothburrito]

Your passion for the secret dog is strong. May the RNG gods bless this run.

[@Matthias.Abaddon]

Fun fact 9 months later- the successful Roxanne battle had the AI go wild toward the end is because rock tomb is a speed control move. Once Smeargle was tanks enough to survive enough rock tombs until nosepass outsped, Roxanne would, mostly, not use rock tomb any more despite it having the best base power.

[@angwelio]

Glad to have something to accompany my late night adventures of doing homework way later than I should Thanks Jrose, I love the content

[@EpicFail7777777]

Don't forget you can use heart scales to re-learn sketch anytime at the move relearner

[@ljafrain]

It's 5am in the UK, Im really sick and this video pops up in my notifications. As you would say - clutch.

[@spookyboi317]

That astonish joke was s-tier 😂

[@mr.number9279]

Smeargle stomped the game in with a lot of fun and unique tools. Love Smeargle runs. This was a great video.

[@PillzmansFox]

So I decided to look into it a bit, Juan is Wallace's tutor and had originally given his gym to Wallace before R/S but between R/S and E (with info from ORAS) Wallace asks Steven to give his offer a second thought. Wallace perhaps bribes Steven and accepts so he can find rare stones. Wallace becomes the champion as well as a Master Coordinator (and in the manga dates Winona) and Juan comes out of retirement to take care of his gym. And we also know HG/SS happens before Emerald because Steven is still the Champion (or he reclaims his title).

[@ihatemondays33]

Serebii has every move a trainer can has on that route you just have to look up the route and then it'll show you every trainer and their moves

[@Red-yt2dk]

This is one of the best runs you've done, I have no complaints on this one! Awesome work jrose

[@haruwu9556]

i can't believe just as i opened the app this got uploaded i was so excited for the video, once again jrose tysm for this month of content :D i use ur videos to sleep since i overthink and can't sleep without them (adhd things) so this month has been a bless for me rlly thankful for ya

[@grieveromega6060]

You have done a lot of very cool runs. But even in that expectation level this is high class content.

[@orchidmtg5186]

I dont comment on most videos i watch but i felt like i had to thank you for putting this amount of effort lately. Its been a blast to get a new video every day and i watch all of them.

[@jptheflipper3825]

that was exceptional sir, thought you would have a far harder time than that, but your strategy for getting your moveset and how and when to use it was brilliant. if I may suggest and this is not to say your methods have any flaws, I have a method for getting the moves you want for sketch quicker to an extent. Gen 3 introduced double battles and as you know, Emerald added a lot more of them. you can use Sketch on your teammates moves. so if you want a particular move, just have a Pokemon with that move as your 2nd team member, get in a double battle and sketch it. I have used this many many times for custom movesets including a set used for hunting roaming legendaries and it works every time. if you try Smeargle for fire Red and Leaf Green, it could work, imagine Smeargle with Spore and Swords Dance or Calm Mind

[@restorasenrisei9991]

Smeargle runs are fun for the vastly different playstyle it requires. Nice work, Jrose.

[@lpnp9477]

I love you for many reasons but especially that Community reference. That was streets ahead.

[@shanemiller1182]

11:33 "just to make it an even number, I'll level up to level 29" 🤔🤔🤔

[@jamesmoore1945]

That magnitude reference earned my like

[@Ben-nc3rb]

Ngl, hearing that ‘pop pop’ brought a smile to my face, I salute you sir

[@lukefenton7809]

Was getting a little worried that the month of Jrose was going to stop, but make sure to take care of yourself mate!

[@clearandsweet]

Me, at the start of this video: so sleep and boost with two damaging moves, right Me, 40 minutes in when Jrose figures out this exact strat: FINALLY

[@Lybrel]

"month" and actually delivered. what a legend. N1 Jrose

[@RenoReborn]

You could go to Mosdeep before doing the Flying Gym, technically you could save Winona until last if you wanted to, the blockade at Lilycove is flagged by progression in the Magma/Aqua storyline and doesn't care what Gym badges you have.

[@petelee2477]

15:10 to be fair it's also 130 base power in modern pokemon so I consider it more viable now.